Gloversville Continental Mills

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After the Fire: What Remains of Gloversville Continental Mills A Field of Bricks The bricks were everywhere. Not stacked, not standing. Just scattered across the ground like something vast had simply let go. What used to be Mill No. 3 of the former Gloversville-Continental Mills now spread out before me like a field of rubble, stretching from Beaver Street all the way back to the Cayadutta Creek bank. Thousands of bricks, the same ones that had held this building upright through more than a century of American manufacturing history, lay in random heaps with nowhere left to go. In one corner, pressed against a sealed-off wall, sat what remained of steel beams, HVAC machinery, and other miscellaneous load-bearing beams and the remains of 40 historical knitting machines. The fire had taken everything soft about them. What was left were twisted red-brown skeletons of rust and charred metal, piled on top of each other like they had tried to hold on and failed. Standing there in the ...
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United Wiping Cloth Company






Sometimes, in the quiet race to document the past, you’re just a week too late. That was the story with the old garment factory on Lloyd Street. I had just pinned its location in MyMaps for a trip to Pennsylvania, a promising brick shell I hoped to explore, when the news broke. It was gone.


In its place was a fresh scar on the landscape, a void where a piece of the city’s story once stood. The demolition was swift, a decisive act funded by half a million dollars in county and state money, taking with it a handful of long-abandoned row homes that had been its neighbors in decay.


This wasn't just any building. The building was originally built as a meat packing facility for Armour & Company in the early 1900s, and was later acquired by Milton Sorin and his United Wiping Cloth Company. For decades, it was the United Wiping Cloth Company, a place of work and purpose. Over the years, it had supplied rags to many varied manufacturing concerns all over the eastern United States, until its rooms fell silent for good in 2001. In 2004, a short-lived business, Auro Apllicators and Assemblies, Inc., called it home. A decade later, it found a second life. Around 2012, its sturdy industrial frame was carved into apartments, its large windows once again looking out over a city of residents, not just workers. It became a place people called home, but reportedly, one person may have only lived there.


But a devastating fire in January 2020 ripped through the building, gutting its new life and leaving behind a blackened, hollowed-out husk. The fire silenced it. For years, it stood as a wounded giant, a stark and silent monument to what it had been.


If you have a connection to any of these vanished workplaces—whether you spent time here at United Wiping Cloth Company, or have preserved a fragment of their history in your family's life, a photo, a video, a product, an employee badge, a catalog, or an old advertisement—I would be honored to share your piece of the story here. These tangible memories and personal accounts are what truly animate the silent shells we see today; they give voice to the past in a way that maps and corporate filings never can. Every image or recollection you share helps to fill the gaps, honoring the skill and community that once filled these now-quiet spaces. Please feel welcome to contribute, and know that you will be fully credited for helping to preserve this important chapter of our local heritage.




👕 Did You Work at the United Wiping Cloth Company?

Were you a former employee of the United Wiping Cloth Company, or did you live in the apartments after its conversion? Do you have photographs, employee badges, product samples, or memories of this Shenandoah landmark? Share your stories, as this building was lost to fire and demolition in 2020 and 2025 respectively.

📩 Share Your Memory or drop a comment below — full credit given to every contributor
⬇ Keep Reading — More Pennsylvania & Industrial History
🏭 More PA & Northeast Manufacturing Stories
From garment factories and wiping cloth plants to iron works and breweries — explore the diverse industrial legacy of Pennsylvania and beyond.
👕 The United Wiping Cloth Company operated for decades in Shenandoah — now it's been erased by fire and demolition, leaving only memories and a scarred landscape.



Source(s):



1. Lee, H. S. (2025, September 18). Officials tout demolition of former garment factory, homes in Shenandoah. Republican Herald. https://www.republicanherald.com/2025/09/18/officials-tout-demolition-of-former-garment-factory-homes-in-shenandoah/

2. Lindenmuth, K. (2025, September 19). Demolition begins on Bower Street neighborhood. ShenSentinel. https://shensentinel.com/news/demolition-begins-on-bower-street-neighborhood/

3. Reid, A. (2020, January 17). Fire tears through former factory in Shenandoah. WFMZ.com. https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/poconos-coal/fire-tears-through-former-factory-in-shenandoah/article_031510a8-3928-11ea-a325-5706842c2742.html

4. Lindenmuth, K. (2020, January 17). Massive blaze destroys former United Wiping Cloth building on east end. The Shenandoah Sentinel. https://shensentinel.com/news/massive-blaze-destroys-former-united-wiping-cloth-building-on-east-end/


Location: 125 Lloyd St, Shenandoah, PA 17976, USA

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