ABSTRACT
Some mention has already been made of developments affecting industry in the Gladbach area. Meanwhile, however, the developments in connection with the economic history of Elberfeld-Barmen had inaugurated the modern period in the area’s economy. Intimately linked to weaving was the spinning industry, which achieved much greater significance in Gladbach than anywhere else in the district. In the mid-1830s there were already three water-powered, three steam-powered, and ten hand spinners in the Kreis with a total of 29,776 of the district’s 62,566 cotton spindles. Housing conditions reflected the low pay and rapid population growth. Before the advent of industrialization, the bulk of the populations of Gladbach, Rheydt, and Odenkirchen had consisted of winders, warpers, dyers, finishers, and rovers. Even if factory workers could not earn much themselves, their wives, children, and aged relatives could contribute something to the income of the family through part-time work winding yarn and thread in their homes for the manufacturers.
