Timeline
1822: J. Makens Merrow purchases a powder mill in Mansfield, Connecticut for the manufacture of gunpowder. The mill is destroyed shortly thereafter by a gunpowder explosion.
1838: J. Makins Merrow founds the first knitting mill in American in partnership with his son, Joseph M. Merrow, under the name J. M. Merrow and Son. This knitting mill is located on the site of the old gunpowder mill in Mansfield, Connecticut.
1840s: A machine shop is established at the Merrow mill to develop specialized machinery for the knitting operations.
1877: The world's first crochet machine is invented and patented by Joseph M. Merrow, then-president of the company.
1892: A need for expansion leads Merrow to rebuild its plant in Hartford, Connecticut.
1894–1947: Over 100 patents are issued in the Merrow name, most notably for the first shell-stitching machine and the first butt-seaming machine.
1964: Merrow expands operations in the South by opening Franklin Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary, in Lavonia, Georgia.
1972: Merrow acquires the Arrow Tool Company of Wethersfield, Connecticut, a machining subcontractor.
1982: Merrow moves its location from Hartford to Newington, Connecticut.
2004: Charlie Merrow and Owen Merrow great grandsons of Lena Bryant (and great nephews to Joseph B. Merrow) with their father Robert Merrow, organize a buyout of the Merrow Machine Company and move its headquarters to Wareham, Massachusetts, changing its name to The Merrow Sewing Machine Company.
2005: Merrow announces it will continue production of all major lines of sewing machines.
2008: Merrow develops and releases a dozen web based tools including video, interactive application & stitch finders, the social network for stitching named merrowing.com, a "needle configurator" and a new online store
2010: After moving to Fall River, MA into the historic Granite Mill Buildings, Merrow opens the only Sample Room for industrial sewing machines in the USA, and adds custom built industrial sewing machines to its standard product line.
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