[SUBMITTED PHOTO]This large four-post handmade loom was owned by Mr. Baer of Beckley, W.Va. It was passed down to his daughter, Louise Richmond Baer Honts. Donated to the Botetourt County Museum in 1966 by her son, Judge George E. Honts, Jr., it is upstairs in the Valley Industrial Room. The loom holds warp threads under tension to facilitate interweaving of the weft threads. Four intricately made heddle bars are on the right side. Each one has a different spacing of cord-wrapped reeds through which a warp thread passes. The heddle bar helps the weaving process by creating an opening between alternating warp threads. The woven cloth was used to make clothing, bedding and curtains out of flax and wool threads.
