Wamsutta Mills - History

History

The Wamsutta Mills were conceived by Thomas Bennett, Jr. of nearby Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Bennett had originally thought of locating the mill in Georgia, where he had previously worked in a mill owned by fellow Fairhaven native Dwight Perry. However, one prominent New Bedford investor, Congressman Joseph Grinnell stipulated that the mill be located in his home city. On April 8, 1846, the new corporation was granted a charter from the Massachusetts General Court. By mid-1847, Bennett raised $160,000 for the mill, mostly in small investments of ten shares or less from skeptical New Bedford businessmen who were unfamiliar with the textile industry. The first meeting of the stockholders was held in 1847 and Joseph Grinnell was elected president and Thomas Bennett, Jr. the secretary. Bennett also served as the superintendent of the Wamsutta Mills from 1846 until 1874.

Construction of the first mill began in 1847. Designed by Seth Ingalls of New Bedford, it was a stone structure, 212 feet (65 m) long by 70 feet (21 m) wide, with five stories. David Whitman of Rhode Island served as an advisor during the construction and setup of the mill, which was initially fitted with 10,000 spindles, with room for 5,000 more. The first cloth was made in February 1849. The company also built housing for its workers. Soon, business began to boom. In 1853, capital was increased to $300,000. A second four story mill, 240 feet (73 m) long by 70 feet (21 m) wide, was built in 1855. Along with these progresses came a change over from whale oil to gas for illumination. A third mill, a duplicate of the second, was built in 1860–1861 outfitted in 1862 and opened in 1865; the delay was due to the Civil War and labor and product shortages. By 1868 the capitalization of the company jumped to $2,000,000 and a fourth bigger mill was built. Mill No. 4 was constructed in brick, 495 feet (151 m) long by 70 feet (21 m) wide with four stories.

Thomas Bennett, Jr. retired as superintendent in 1874 and was replaced by Edward Kilburn. The company continued to grow. By 1875, capital reached $2,500,000, they were shipping to Australia. Mill 5 was added north of Mill No. 4. Also of brick construction, it is 433 feet (132 m) long by 93 feet (28 m) wide. It was shortly after this time that the finer fabric percale was made at Wamsutta. New Bedford is known to be the first city in the United States to make fine cotton. In 1880, the Wamsutta Mills took out the old Whitin spindles and added 20,000 Rabeth spindles, which were made in Pawtucket, Rhode Island by the Fales and Jenks Machine Company. In 1882 the construction of mill number 6 was begun. It is also of brick, three stories high and 569 feet (173 m) long by 95 feet (29 m) wide.

By 1883, the Wamsutta Mills had six mills and produced 26 million yards of cotton cloth annually. Joseph Grinnell remained on until 1885 when he died at the age of 96; and Andrew G. Pierce, William Wallace Crapo, Oliver Prescott, and Charles F. Broughton successively took his place.

By 1892, with a total of seven mills, Wamsutta was the largest cotton weaving plant in the world. In 1897 Wamsutta was operating 4,450 looms and employing 2,100 workers.

In 1917 plans were in the works for this massive mill to receive a modernization overhaul. Machinery was upgraded and replaced and the steam power was replaced with electric. A new focus was directed toward fine sheets and pillowcases complete with advertising campaign geared towards the public. By this time, the company operated a total of 229,000 spindles and 4,310 looms, in a city with numerous large spinning and weaving mills.

Prior to the Great Depression, in the 1920s, the city of New Bedford, along with many other northern textile towns had their own depression. During this time, four of the city's factories closed down. The following decade almost two dozen closed. Wamsutta, however, increased its sales in 1925 while others were liquidating and closing. By 1935, their sheets were henceforth known as Supercale instead of percale. Additionally, they manufactured a new product called Lustercale, a blend of 60% cotton and 40% high strength Avril rayon. This blend feels like cotton but is somewhat softer. At some point Wamsutta changed the fiber content of Lustercale to 100% cotton. They also created the perfect weave for sails on sailing ships. Furthermore, because of the wars, they created tailored their products for hot air balloons, gas mask fabric, military uniforms, and supplies. Many other fabric types were created for many other purposes and to this day Wamsutta remains a household name for fabrics.