Whitin Machine Works and The Village of Whitinsville
In 1831, Paul Whitin's third son John Crane Whitin designed and had patented a new cotton picker machine that outperformed others in the previous mills. This was to be first of other successive inventions that would establish the Whitin Machine Works as a great textile machinery company.
In 1847, the Whitins built "The Shop," which consisted of a new textile production area that was four times larger than the brick mill. It contained machine shops, foundries, and other specialized structures.
As the family textile businesses expanded, so did the village of Whitinsville. More housing was provided by the company for new workers on North Main St. and on other side streets as Irish workers poured into the labor pool that same year (1847). Just seven years prior, John C. Whitin had developed the first of stately mansions, which had occupied land where the Whitin Gymnasium now stands. During this time also, Paul Whitin Jr. had married Sarah Chapin and built a new Italian-styled home, along with his brother in 1856.
In 1864, Betsy Whitin decided to split the family businesses among the four sons. Paul Jr. got the Rockdale and Riverdale Mills. Charles P. received the 1845 Whitinsville Cotton Mill and the 1826 brick mill. James F. got the Crown and Eagle Mill of North Uxbridge, and the land near the Whitin Railroad Depot, where he built in 1866, the Linwood Cotton Mill with his brother Charles. However, it was John C. who got The Machine Shops of 1847 (The Shop) proper, which had just been expanded along North Main Street.
The Whitin family continued to hold the Whitin Machine Works privately until 1946. By 1948, the company was operating at peak capacity, employing 5,615 men and women. However, the business began a decline over then next two decades. In 1966, Whitin Machine Works was sold to White Consolidated Industries. The plant would struggle along for another decade, when in 1976 the doors were closed. The huge plant is now occupied by a variety of smaller businesses along both sides of the Mumford River in Whitinsville.
Read more about this topic: Paul Whitin
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