The Hathaway Manufacturing Company was a producer of cotton textiles founded in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

in 1888 by

Horatio Hathaway Horatio Hathaway (May 19, 1831 – March 25, 1898) was a New England industrialist, politician, and philanthropist and namesake of Berkshire Hathaway. Early life Hathaway was born on May 19, 1831 to Nathaniel Hathaway and Anna (Shoemaker) Hathaway ...

, a China trader and whaler in the Pacific.

History

By 1917, the Hathaway Mills would grow to contain 108,000 ring and mule spindles and 3,400 looms for the production of fine cotton goods, for which the humid seaside location of

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

was well suited. In 1955, Hathaway merged with

Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates () was an American textile company, founded in 1889 as Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company in Adams, Massachusetts in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. History The first mill built by the company was Berksh ...

Adams, Massachusetts Adams is a town in northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,166 at the 2020 census. History Nathan Jones purchased the township of ...

, and became known as Berkshire Hathaway. By the 1960s, Berkshire Hathaway had declined to seven plants and 6,000 employees, but still annually produced one quarter of a billion yards of material that sold for more than $60 million. The assets, and a sizable amount of cash on the balance sheet, caught the eye of

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...

, an up-and-coming but little-known investor from

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. Through his Buffett Partnership Limited investment firm Buffett started buying stock in Berkshire at $7.60 a share. He eventually paid an average of $14.86 a share, or a total of $14 million, and took control of the company on May 10, 1965. In 1985, the last textile operations were shut down. A portion of the mills, including the former office building were torn down January 14, 2014.

References

{{Reflist Companies based in New Bedford, Massachusetts Textile mills in the United States Industrial buildings and structures in Massachusetts Berkshire Hathaway Defunct manufacturing companies based in Massachusetts

History

See also

References