despite the opening of the railway, weil der stadt continued to be dominated by agriculture. it was not until 1893 that a clothes manufacturer built a factory with four looms outside the town walls. the mill later produced beyerle blankets. the increase in the population and industry was still limited. in 1910, only 1,859 people lived in the town, which was not much more than in previous decades. the inhabitants mostly grew hops and raised sheep.