Our Story

In the 1800s, Manayunk was an exciting mill town populated by skilled workers, weavers, craftspeople, and artisans. Our building located along the heart of Main Street was built in 1822 by Ann Dawson as a cotton mill, to take advantage of the key location at the mouth of the Manayunk Canal. Surely she was one of the few, if not only, women in her time to open a factory. Nearly a hundred years later, the building was purchased by the Krook family in 1912, and transformed into a woolen mill. By this time, Manayunk had established itself on the world scene for the manufacture of truly superb textiles.

By the end of the 20th century, textile manufacturing had almost completely moved overseas. The Krook family operated their woolen mill until 1992 when they finally closed their doors and sold the building to local entrepreneur Harry Renner IV. He brought the lagging facility back to life as a space for retail business and established Manayunk Brewing Company and Restaurant in the process.