Ira Draper
description- – A photograph of a portrait painting of Ira Draper from the book Five Generations of Loom Builders: A History of the Draper Corporation by William H. Chase. In 1816 Ira Draper patented the self-acting loom temple. Loom temples kept the cloth straight on the loom, but they constantly had to be readjusted by the operators. Draper's self-acting loom temples did not need to be readjusted, thereby greatly increasing productivity. This innovation eventually became the first and most successful product of the Hopedale Community, and was the foundation of the Draper Corporation.
- – Looms--History
- – Textile industry--Massachusetts--Hopedale
- – Draper Corporation
- – Draper, Ira
- – Draper family
- – Hopedale (Mass.)
- – 1951
- – Is part of the Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – image/jpg
- – Image is from page xii of Five Generations of Loom Builders: A History of the Draper Corporation
- – English
Cotton Chats
description- – Draper Company pamphlet
- – 1901-1923
- – Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – text/pdf
Slater's block
description- – Located at the intersection of South, North, and East Main Streets, this factory store served the community and employees of the S. Slater&Sons factories. A horse and carriage are tethered to a post at the front of the store. This site is currently occupied by the main office of the Webster First Federal Credit Union.
- – 188?
- – Part of the local history collection of the Chester C. Corbin Public Library, Webster, Massachusetts<http://www.corbinlibrary.org>
- – image/jpg
- – Image from Webster illustrated: twenty-eight views; New York : Lithotype Printing Co., [188?]
Slater's cambric mill.
description- – Located in Webster's East Village, the Slater Cotton Mill was the first mill built by Samuel Slater in Webster. The clock tower at left is part of the original 1812 mill and is still standing on what is now Route 16 (Gore Road). Since 1936 this mill complex has been owned by Cranston Print Works. This photograph is taken from an approximate point looking west from what is now the site of Interstate 395.
- – Slater, Samuel, 1768-1835.
- – Webster (Mass.)
- – Textile industry--Massachusetts--Webster
- – 188?
- – Part of the local history collection of the Chester C. Corbin Public Library, Webster, Massachusetts<http://www.corbinlibrary.org>
- – image/jpg
- – Image from Webster illustrated: twenty-eight views; New York : Lithotype Printing Co., [188?]
Clarendon Mills and pond
description- – View along East Main Street, across the Clarendon Mill pond, towards the Clarendon Mill complex. The mill pond was built byMajor Ezra Beaman in 1794 by diverting the waters of the Nashua River through a half-mile canal to provide water power to his mills. The millpond was doubled in size in 1847. The earliest mill on the site was a grist mill operated by Ezra Beaman. In 1819 the mill was converted to acotton mill and operated as the Beaman Manufacturing Company with machinery installed by special arrangement with Samuel Slater of Pawtucket,Rhode Island. Clarendon Mills was one of six mills in West Boylston to manufacture cotton. In 1895 the mill was equipped with 10,950 spindles andemployed 195 operatives. There is an unknown man next to a bicycle standing in front of the mill pond fence.
- – Textile industry - Massachusetts - WestBoylston
- – Cotton manufacture - Massachusetts - West Boylston
- – West Boylston (Mass.) - History
- – Is part of the Sargent collection of photographs and hand-drawn maps detailing the buildings surrounding the center of WestBoylston during the period of 1895-1905. Presented to the Beaman Memorial Library, West Boylston, Mass. http://www.beamanlibrary.org/ on August 27, 1963 by Miss Martha A. Sargent.
- – image/jpg
- – 1895-1905
Road to French Hill and Clarendon Mills
description- – View along East Main Street, across the Clarendon Mill pond, towards the Clarendon Mill complex. The state road to Boylstoncontinues along the ridge. Note the clearing and drainage of the mill pond as the construction of the Wachusett Reservoir progressed. The ridge tothe left of the image was the location of mill tenement buildings for workers of the Clarendon Mills. Circa 1895-1905.
- – Wachusett Reservoir (Mass.) - History
- – Textile industry - Massachusetts - WestBoylston
- – Cotton manufacture - Massachusetts - West Boylston
- – West Boylston (Mass.) - History
- – Is part of the Sargent collection of photographs and hand-drawn maps detailing the buildings surrounding the center of WestBoylston during the period of 1895-1905. Presented to the Beaman Memorial Library, West Boylston, Mass. http://www.beamanlibrary.org/ on August 27, 1963 by Miss Martha A. Sargent.
- – image/jpg
- – 1895-1905
Litchfield Shuttle Works, Southbridge, Mass.
description- – Litchfield Shuttle Company located in the Shuttleville district (off South Street) in Southbridge, Massachusetts. View taken from the upper road way, looking down on the plant. The brick building has three levels including a tower. Workers shown in the foreground working on an exterior vent or water tower, on a flat roof. The Litchfield Shuttle Company was formed in 1843 by Pliny, Festus C. and Leroy Litchfield. In 1844, they were joined by their brother-in-law, S. S. Whitney in a partnership. Initially known as the L.O.P. Litchfield and Company, later incorporating in 1878 as the Litchfield Shuttle Company, with a capital investment of $21,000. The company manufactured shuttles and shuttle-irons for woolen, cotton, silk, jute and linen. According to The Southbridge Press, July 2, 1904 the Litchfield Shuttle Company is the largest company in the industry. The following subsequent article by Ralph Minard, appeared on the day of the auction of the plant and the equipment"One of Southbridge?s oldest industrial firms came to the end of a 00 year old career Thursday amid the ring of the auctioneer?s hammer and the eager bidding of some 200 buyers, The Litchfield Shuttle Co., on the Westville rd., was the scene. Operated by three generations of the Litchfield family since 1843, the company was at one time the largest in the world, supplying shuttle to thousands of textile mills throughout the country.In recent years it had struck harder going, and had passed out of control of the Litchfields. A month ago, the last of the 30 remaining employees were paid off and a liquidation sale was arranged. Bidders milled through the interior of the factory from 10 o clock Thursday morning, when the sale began, until 9 o clock that night. Representatives of engineering and tool firms, shuttle companies and textile mills came from many parts of the country. One bidder was on hand from the Dominion Shuttle Co., in Canada. Others came from as far away as South Carolina.Up for sale were the property, water rights, good will, persimmon and dogwood blocks, woodworking machinery, machine tools, punch presses, belt drop hammers, motors, generators, 170,000 pounds of round, flat bar and sheet steel and office furniture. Auctioneers from Samuel T. Freeman&Co., of Boston found the bidding voracious. Battle To BuyEight bidders battled vocally for possession of the lathe worth in normal time about $350. They ran the price up to $1200, reaching a stalemate, and cut cards to decide who was to get it. The same spirit attended the sale of a majority of the equipment. Milton Werby, of the Werby Motor Co., of Boston, buyer and dealer in second hand electric motors, bid in the building for $25,000. It is believed possible that he will rent or sell the property to some local manufacturer who can use it.Simonds Machine Co., of Southbridge bought belting, shafting and some machinery. Southbridge Tool Co., a war plant operated by three youthful graduates of Cole Trade school, purchased the good will, and the tools, dies and fixtures necessary for making shuttles.American Optical Co. purchased the bulk of the office equipment. Various junk dealers, including local men, bought scrap metal and other salvageable material.Added Incentive Adding impetus to the bidding was the act that small manufacturers, unable to obtain equipment and materials because of priorities, flocked to the sale to pick up machinery they could not otherwise obtain. Shapes worth $100 in a normal market were bid off for prices ranging up to $425. Piles of steel acquired by the company as war raw material for shuttles, were snapped up by buyers, under government supervision.A man familiar with the history of the shuttle company said today that the business reached its peak around 1925, when such firms as Cannon Mills were buying as much as $450,000 worth of shuttles a year. A total of 125 employees, many of them veteran craftsmen who had never known any other trade, were kept busy on orders. DeclineIt was this man?s opinion that the company?s subsequent decline resulted from too much emphasis on custom designing, on failure to standardize the product, and on the lack of application of new production methods. An output of 50 shuttles a week, he said, was considered good production for one shuttle maker.The company was said to have served a wide clientele, all of them asking for different shuttle designs, with the result that a huge stock had to be carried and designing equipment had to be kept available for as long as five years. As much as 100 operations was into the making of a single shuttle it was explained. Veteran employees who made their last shuttles at time worn benches in the shop in the last six months, have found place in other industry. It is estimated that half of the men who remained have been placed in American Optical Co., and in Russell Harrington Cutlery Co., where they can be employed in skills related to shuttle making. Some 30,000 semi finished shuttles are still stored at the plant.Future Indefinite Approximately 10 years ago, management of the company came into the hands of Albert Leon, of Edwards St., who has been operating it up to recent months. For the past five months two mortgages have taken active roles in the company?s activities. One is Joseph Beal of Boston, a machinery operator, the other is Fred Firstenberg, who operates the First Machinery Corp., of New York City.The future of the structure is indefinite today, but one man familiar with the business pointed out that there is still a market for shuttles, and that it is possible that the factory will be making shuttles again after the war ends. The use of duplicating machinery, simplification of manufacturing technique, restriction of model and concentration of design for a few important customers rather than for a wide range of consumers, plus the hiring of women for some of the processes, might make it possible to revive the shuttle industry in Southbridge, he said.In the meantime, the materials and equipment which once made Litchfield the world?s largest shuttle factory are on the move today, to plants in many sections of the country where they can play their part in war production."
- – Southbridge (Mass.)--history
- – Historic buildings--New England
- – Litchfield Shuttle Company--history
- – Textile workers--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – Textile industry--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – Litchfield Shuttle Works--Southbridge (Mass.)
- – Mills and mill work--New England--pictorial works
- – Historic buildings--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – Factories--New England--pictorial works
- – pre-1923
- – Is part of a photographic collection at Jacob Edwards Library, Southbridge, Massachusetts. http://www.jacobedwardslibrary.org. Donated by Stella (White)Anderson and Susan (Anderson)Chaplin, November 10, 2001
- – image/jpg
- – 42 degrees 04' N 72 degrees 02' W
Central Mills Company Southbridge
description- – Central Manufacturing Co. was the original name used when the company started, in 1837-8, to manufacture sheetings, carpet warps, wrapping twine, towel warps and satinet warps. Many local businessmen have been associated with this company and it evolved from Dresser Manufacturing Co. on Paige Hill. By 1863, the company operated as Central Mills which was owned initially, by Hon. Ebenezer Davis Ammidownby and his son-in-law, Manning Leonard . Later, Chester A. Dresser joined Manning Leonard, in the manufacture of cotton at this location where Central and Foster streets intersect at the corner of North Street. Their product names were"Anchor"and"Marshall". C.A. Dresser (Chester A.) was treasurer and manager for nearly 40 years and was succeeded by Calvin D. Paige (1848-1930). Calvin DeWitt Paige was U.S. Representative 3rd District from 1913 to 1925. In the 1920s, the company ceased operation. The Southbridge Press, Saturday, July 2, 1904 stated"There are 175 employees who can turn out about 1,200,000 pounds of finished product yearly...the mills are run chiefly by
- – Historic buildings--New England
- – Textile industry--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – Cotton manufacture--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – Southbridge (Mass.)--Pictorial work
- – Southbridge (Mass.)--History
- – Textile industry--New England--History
- – Historic buildings--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – pre-1920
- – Is part of the photographic collection at Jacob Edwards Library, Southbridge, Massachusetts. http://www.jacobedwardslibrary.org
- – image/jpg
- – 42 degrees 04' N 72 degrees 02' W
Southbridge Print Works Sandersdale Southbridge front view
description- – Southbridge Print Works was the first major industry in the southern part of Southbridge, along the Quinebaug River. Established between 1868 and 1874 in the Sandersdale section of Southbridge. There are eight brick buildings on the property. Of note, the large chimney stacks, the dormer windows in the roof of one of the buildings and the cupola. A man is shown driving a horse and carriage at the entrance to the company. Incorporated December 1884. Capital $25,000. The company officers are James H. Sanders, President; Thomas Sanders, Treasurer and J.O. Sanders, Secretary. The company converts cotton cloths, bleaching, printing, dyeing and finishing the goods, according to orders. The company closed in the 1940s.
- – Southbridge (Mass.)--history
- – Historic buildings--New England
- – Textile industry--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – Cotton manufacture--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – Southbridge (Mass.)--pictorial work
- – Textile industry--New England--history
- – Historic buildings--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – pre-1920
- – Is part of a photographic collection at Jacob Edwards Library, Southbridge, Massachusetts. http://www.jacobedwardslibrary.org.
- – image/jpg
- – 42 degrees 04' N 72 degrees 02' W
William Skinner Silk Mill
description- – Image of the William Skinner Silk Mill. Formally located at Appleton Street and the First Level Canal this building sat at the current site of Heritage State Park in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The William Skinner Silk Mill was well known for its silk and satin production. This image shows a clear view of the U-shaped Skinner complex. While the architecture is for the most part plain, examples of denticulated corbels can clearly be seen on the cornice of the tower containing one of the main staircases of the factory. Before plans to refurbish this building were completed, the Skinner factory burned to the ground in 1980.
- – Textile industry - - Massachusetts - - Holyoke
- – Skinner, William (1824-1902)
- – William Skinner and Sons
- – Textile industry - - Silk industry
- – 1887
- – Image is part of the Holyoke Public Library Photograph Collection, Holyoke, Mass. http://www.holyokelibrary.org
- – image/jpg
Farr Alpaca Co. floats
description- – Image of two Farr Alpaca floats featured in the 1923 Holyoke Fourth of July parade. The floats include two paintings of the Farr Alpaca textile mill by Roderick McCartney that commemorate the 50th anniversary of Farr Alpaca. In front of the floats is the Falco Brass Band, Farr Alpaca?s marching band.
- – Fourth of July celebrations
- – Textile industry - - Wool industry (Holyoke)
- – Industries - - Massachusetts - - Holyoke
- – 1923
- – McCartney, Roderick
- – Image is part of the Holyoke Public Library Photograph Collection, Holyoke, Mass. http://www.holyokelibrary.org
- – image/jpg
A view of the rear of Draper Company in Hopedale, Massachusetts looking eastward.
description- – The photo shows a view of the rear of the Draper Company looking eastward. Freight trains are visible in the center of the interior yard. The rear of the Main office building is on the left center of the photo.
- – ca. 1890 - 1900.
- – Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – image/jpg
Draper Company rear view during construction of new addition
description- – The photo is a view of the rear of Draper Company from the east. Trains are visible in the interior yard. Construction of a new addition shows on the right center of the photo.
- – ca. 1890 - 1900
- – Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – image/jpg
Draper Company Main Office Building
description- – The photo is of the Draper Company Main Office building from the westerly side looking towards Hopedale Street. The construction of a new addition to the plant is on the left side of the photo.
- – ca. 1890-1900
- – Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – image/jpg
Postcard of Draper Company Office, Hopedale, Massachusetts
description- – The postcard is a photo of the Draper Company Office in Hopedale, Massachusetts. The trolley tracks show in the street in front of the building. The rear of the postcard is postmarked 1909 at the South Postal Station. It is not addressed to anyone or is there any message on the postcard.
- – 1909
- – Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – image/jpg
Hopedale Street, Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Massachusetts
description- – The postcard is a photo of Draper Corporation looking eastward from Hopedale Street to the west of Freedom Street. Trolley tracks in the street are running from the trolley trestle over the Hopedale Pond where the"Little Red Shop"sits today eastward on Hopedale Street. The picture also show the Chapel Street school on the left of Hopedale Street and just east of Freedom Street.
- – ca. 1900
- – Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – image/jpg
Draper Corporation in Hopedale Massachusetts -"Changing Shifts"
description- – The photo shows the workers at Draper Corporation changing shifts during the work day. In the foreground is the"Lilley and Mader"Ice Cream Wagon. Trolley tracks are visible in the street. this is the front entrance of the plant on Hopedale Street.
- – ca. 1900
- – Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – image/jpg
Postcard of Draper Company General Office building in Hopedale, Massachusetts
description- – The postcard is a photo of the General Office building of Draper Company on Hopedale Street in Hopedale, Massachusetts. The building is a newer structure than previous Main Office buildings is brick faced. There is an automobile parked on Hopedale Street and trolley tracks are visible in the roadway. The view is northward on Hopedale Street.
- – ca. 1910
- – Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – image/jpg
Draper Corporation Complex in Hopedale, Massachusetts
description- – An aerial view of the Draper Corporation Complex in Hopedale, Massachusetts. The view shows the extent of the company in Hopedale with all the expanded buildings. The view also shows the worker housing in Bancroft Park, Lake Street and Dutcher Street. The Mill River is no longer visible running behind the plant. The Grafton&Upton Railroad spur is visible in the lower portion of the photo.
- – ca. 1930
- – Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – image/jpg
Hopedale on the day of first practice blackout, March 8, 1942
description- – The photo is one of two showing the Draper Corporation complex with all its lights on at night prior to the first practice blackout for the town of Hopedale. The photo was taken from the top of the ski tow need Draper Field; the wires for the ski tow are visible at the top of the photo.
- – 1942
- – Bancroft Memorial Library Local History Collection, Hopedale, Massachusetts. http://www.hopedale-ma.gov/Public_Documents/HopedaleMA_Library/index
- – image/jpg
0-20 of 33 | next
![[x]](/static/imgs/cross.gif)