California Silk Center Association facts for kids

The California Silk Center Association was a company in California that tried to encourage silk farming in the 1800s. It was a short-lived company, meaning it didn't last very long. The association helped found what is now the city of Riverside, California. It started in November 1869 in Los Angeles. However, the plan to grow silk was stopped in 1870 after its president, Louis Provost, died. He was the only expert in sericulture, which is the raising of silkworms for silk. By then, the company had bought about 5,500 acres of land near Rubidoux Rancho. They had also planned to buy another 3,169 acres. Many mulberry trees had been planted to feed the silkworms.

Why Silk Farming?

To encourage silk farming in California, the state government passed a law. This happened around 1865 or 1867. The law offered money, called a bounty, to people who grew silk.

Bounties for Silk Production

• You could get $250 for every plantation of 5,000 mulberry trees that were two years old.
• You could also get $300 for every 100,000 good silk cocoons you produced.

This encouraged many people to plant mulberry trees and try to make silk.

History of the Association

The California Silk Center Association was formed with big plans. They bought 4,000 acres of land. This land is now part of Riverside, California.

A Colony for Silk Growers

The association wanted to create a special community there. This community would be for people who grew silkworms and wove silk. About sixty families were ready to move to this new colony.

The End of the Dream

Louis Provost, the leader of the group, died soon after the land was bought. Because of his death, the colony project failed.

The Silk Craze

At first, people made a lot of money from silk farming. But it wasn't from making silk fabric. It was from selling silkworm eggs!

• When the industry started, silkworm eggs sold for ten dollars an ounce.
• One silk farmer reported making $1,000 per acre in just sixty days from selling eggs.
• Another farmer made $1,260 per acre in one season.
• His profit from three acres of trees and cocoons was more than his neighbor's profit from 10,000 acres of grain.

Because of these huge profits, the "sericulture craze" spread quickly. Many mulberry plantations were planted. So many, in fact, that the state almost ran out of money paying the bounties. The law offering bounties was stopped around 1867 or 1868.

The Cost of a Flag

Out of hundreds of thousands of cocoons, only one piece of silk was known to be made. This was a flag for the California State Capitol. This flag cost the people of California a lot of money. When you count the bounties paid and the wasted effort, it was about $250,000.

The Decline of Silk Farming

A dry year in 1869-70 made it hard to plant new mulberry trees. A writer in 1869 thought silk farming would bring in more money than half of all other farm products in the state.

But Louis Provost died in April 1870. Also, there were too many silkworm eggs for sale, and not enough people wanted to buy them. The silk farming craze suddenly stopped. The silkworms died from lack of food. The mulberry plantations, which had been planted for bounties, were neglected and died. Millions of trees were planted, but almost all of them died.

The Land is Sold

The California Silk Center Association sold its land. It was bought by Judge John W. North's Riverside Colony. The silk experiment failed. But it wasn't because California was a bad place for silk farming. The problem was with the silk farmers themselves. They didn't work together. They were spread out all over California, from Siskiyou to San Diego. There weren't enough farmers in one place to build a silk factory. There also weren't enough weavers in the country to make fabric from the raw silk. And companies didn't want to invest money in silk factories.