James Fletcher Whitin (December 21, 1814 - March 2, 1902) was the youngest son of Paul Whitin, and brother of John Crane Whitin, who founded the

Whitin Machine Works The Whitin Machine Works (WMW) was founded by Paul Whitin and his sons in 1831 on the banks of the Mumford River in South Northbridge, Massachusetts. The village of South Northbridge became known as Whitinsville in 1835, in honor of its founder. ...

in 1831 at

Northbridge, Massachusetts Northbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,335 at the 2020 census. The Northbridge Town Hall is located at 7 Main Street in Whitinsville. The town is now a part of the Blackstone River Valley Na ...

. James Whitin would also enter the family textile business, at a later age. The

grew to become one of the largest textile machinery companies in the world. The village of South Northbridge became known as

Whitinsville Whitinsville is an unincorporated village within the town of Northbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Whitinsville is a census-designated place (CDP) and its population was 6,750 at the 2020 census. Whitinsville is pronoun ...

1835, in honor of his father. In 1864 when his mother Betsy decided to divide the family business among four of her sons, James acquired the Crown and Eagle Mill in

North Uxbridge, Massachusetts North Uxbridge is a village and a post office in the town (township) of Uxbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The postal zip code is 01538. It is classified as a community or populated place (Class Code U6) located at latit ...

, and land near the Whitin Railroad Depot where he built the Linwood Mill in 1866.

References

1814 births 1902 deaths Businesspeople from Massachusetts 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1810s-stub