Breck and Swift

Also known as: Breck's Mill
Owner: William Breck, unknown Swift, Joseph S. Dixon
Industry type: Textile mill
Location: Breck's Mill site
Active dates: c. 1832-1839

Summary: William Breck and business partner Swift leased Louis McLane's mill site as early as 1832, employing 60 people and processing 2,000 lbs. of cotton per week on 1,600 spindles and 30 looms. Breck then formed a partnership with Joseph S. Dixon and purchased the mill site from McLane for $16,500 on July 15, 1835. On March 27, 1839, Breck and Dixon sold the property to Charles I. Du Pont, the uncle of Breck's wife, Gabrielle Josephine du Pont and owner of the textile mill Louviers, for $17,000. Charles I. du Pont & Co. expanded into the site, calling it the Rokeby Manufacturing Works. Breck remained superintendent of the mills.

Citations: A Brief History of Breck's Mill. Hagley Research Report.

Boatman, Roy. The Brandywine Cotton Industry, 1795-1865. Hagley Research Report, 1957.

Hancock, Harold. The Industrial Worker Along the Brandywine. Hagley Research Report, 1956.

Hinsey, Jacqueline. A Brief Outline History of Breck's Mill. 1986

National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Breck's Mill Area, July 1969.

National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Henry Clay Village Historic District, December 1987.

Scharf, John Thomas. History of Delaware 1609-1888,. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co., 1888.