Inside the Abandoned National Silk Dyeing Co.: Paterson, NJ's Forgotten Textile Mill (Photos)

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  The text message from my friend J was simple: a list of addresses in Newark and Paterson. An invitation. An urban treasure map with Xs marking forgotten places. I picked the one on Piercy Street. Pulling up, I saw the building wasn’t exactly hiding. It was a behemoth of brick and colorful lettered graffiti, a whole city block of decay. A door gaped open next to an old loading dock, but the scene gave me pause. Mounds of illegally dumped trash lay along the floor of the loading bay. This part of Paterson has a tough reputation, and the open doors felt less like an invitation and more like a dare. I took a deep breath and stepped inside. The air was thick with the smell of dust and damp. I found myself in a vast, open space littered with plastic containers and skeletal metal shelving. I moved deeper, drawn toward the old boiler house section. Before I reached it, I walked into a room that stopped me cold. Everything was stained a deep, blood red. A fine crimson powder coated the fl...
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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.




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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