At Left: Wide view of front-right side of loom. Rockers are of the peg and hole variety, with two pegs in the loom base and corresponding holes on the underside of the rockers. At Right: Detailed view of warp beam brake system. It is of the "spoon and peg" variety with spoon and pegs rectangular in shape. This loom was donated to the museum by the late Dorthy McCombs. Ms Combs, was was greatly interested in weaving and spinning and earned her masters degree with a thesis, Textiles of the Colonial Period.

She willed her antique spinning and weaving equipment to Smithfield Plantation, where she had been a dedicated volunteer for years. The most significant item in her collection was this loom, built around 1810 in Montgomery County, Virginia. Smithfield Plantation is a living history museum located on the outskirts of the Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University campus. The plantation was established in 1774 by William Preston and his wife Susanna Smith Preston. Smithfield Plantation Museum Return to Loom Photograph Index