Highlights of CWSG's History

• September 1980: Dan Overly, Executive Committee of the Craftsmen’s Guild of MS gathers weavers with the help of the Handweavers Guild of America, in the hope that a guild will be formed.
• August 1981: Newsletter announces: “We are officially the Chimneyville Weavers Guild”.
• 1982: The membership recruiting profile states: “The purpose of the Guild is to foster weaving, to provide an environment of growth and sharing with its members, and to educate the public about the role of weaving today as well as throughout the history of Mississippi.”
• April 3, 1982: The first Sheep to Shawl is held at the Mississippi Craft Center on the Natchez Trace Parkway.
• October 1983: The guild participates in the Indian and Pioneer Festival at the Mississippi Craft Center on the Natchez Trace Parkway, sponsored by the Craftsmen’s Guild of MS.
• 1984: The first guild study group, on color, is organized.
• January 1993: The guild hosts a board meeting of the Handweavers Guild of America.
• 1993: A traveling Gulf State exhibit with five participating guilds is organized for the Year of American Craft.
• 1994: The guild is an early supporter of the Handweavers Guild of America’s Fiber Trust.
• April 1994: The guild changes its name to the Chimneyville Weavers and Spinners Guild to reflect the increase interest in spinning by its members.
• January 1996: The guild hosts its first Roc Day in Canton, MS.
• March 1999: The guild incorporates as a non-for-profit organization in the state of Mississippi.
• Spring 1999: The guild hosts Southeast Fiber Forum at the Millsaps campus, in Jackson, MS .
• January 2002: The guild hosts Roc Day in Raymond, MS.
• January 2008: The guild hosts Roc Day at the Mississippi Craft Center in Ridgeland, MS.
• 2008: The guild web site is started: https://www.cvillewsg.com/.
• 2008: The guild moves its home to the MS Craft Center in Ridgeland, MS, as guest of the Craftsmen’s Guild of MS.