#Rope October 2

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Yesterday I began a new challenge of attempting to master tying 15- 20 different knots. That means in October to complete the 30 Day #Coach4aday Knot Challenge I am going to be working daily with ROPE. Today I refresh myself on the square knot.

Way back in 2016 I did a series of posts on unique things about North Carolina. One of those articles was about on the first rope manufacturing establishments in North America. That industry was owned originally by one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Joseph Hewes. He located this business in Edenton NC. 

These factories were called “Ropewalks”. Hewes’s business went by the name of Edenton Ropewalk. Ropewalks are long covered walks, buildings, or rooms where ropes are manufactured. Hemp fiber is converted into yarn, which is then used to make rope, twine, and cord.

Edenton Ropewalk

Production at a ropewalk, involved an artisan, called a spinner, slowly walks backwards while feeding yarn into a large turning wheel.  The turning wheel tightly twists and spins the yarn into rope.

The Edenton Ropewalk covered a massive 131-acre plot of land and produced a variety of ROPE, twine, cordage, and cables. Skilled slaves performed most of the labor, and a record from 1838 shows that 22 slaves worked at the ropewalk. The slaves included male and female workers ranging from 10 to 79 years old.

Ships need cordage. The Edenton Ropewalk became one of the leading suppliers of superior rope and cordage to the ship builders and Edenton’s thriving shipping industry during the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries.

Found below is a great YouTube video that shows you how a Rope Walk operated to manufacture ROPE

It is not to late to come join us in the 30 Day #Coach4aday Knot Challenge.