This tool is called a hand hook and was used in many different industries as a way to secure and move heavy loads. Alternate names for this are box hook, cargo hook, loading hook, docker’s hook, baling hook, and hay hook. While the purpose of this specific hook in the archives is unknown, we can speculate that it was used to move bales of cotton in the textile mills. The handle is beautifully burnished from use over time, attesting to the hard work done in Lewiston’s mills.