American Woolen
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The American Woolen Company is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of men’s and women’s
worsted Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, for ...
and woolen fabrics. Based in
Stafford Springs, Connecticut Stafford Springs is a census-designated place located in Stafford, Connecticut. The population was 4,988 at the 2010 Census. The village was a borough until November 1991, when it was disincorporated. Located near the source of the Willimantic R ...
, the company operates from the 160-year-old Warren Mills, which it acquired from Loro Piana SpA in June 2014.


History


1899-1950

The American Woolen Company was established in 1899 under the leadership of William M. Wood and his father-in-law
Frederick Ayer Frederick Ayer (December 8, 1822 – March 14, 1918) was an American businessman and the younger brother of patent medicine tycoon Dr. James Cook Ayer. Early life Ayer was born on December 8, 1822 in Ledyard, Connecticut and was the son of ...
through the consolidation of eight financially troubled
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...
en mills. At the company's height in the 1920s, it owned and operated 60 woolen mills across New England. It is most known for its role in the
Lawrence Textile Strike The Lawrence Textile Strike, also known as the Bread and Roses Strike, was a strike of immigrant workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1912 led by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Prompted by a two-hour pay cut corresponding to a ne ...
of 1912. The American Woolen Company was the product of the era of
trusts A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...
. Overproduction, competition and poor management had brought the
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
textile industry to its knees by the 1890s. In particular, family trusts, the main shareholders of many of the mills, insisted on receiving high
dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-in ...
s instead of making necessary capital improvements. Frederick Ayer, successful Lowell merchant, purchased the Washington Mills in
Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...
, and hired his son-in-law, William M. Wood to run it. Wood had already successfully turned around a bankrupt mill in
Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
. With Ayer's financial backing, Wood brought together various under-performing mills in the aim of reducing competition and increasing prices. He convinced investors to permit profits to be reinvested into new plants and machinery. In 1901, the company purchased the failing
Burlington Mills The Winooski Falls Mill District is located along the Winooski River in the cities of Winooski and Burlington, Vermont, in the United States of America. It encompasses a major industrial area that developed around two sets of falls on the ...
in Winooski, Vermont, and restored their profitability. These mills closed in 1954. In 1905, the American Woolen Company built the largest mill in the world, the Wood Mill in Lawrence, followed by the neighboring Ayer Mill in 1909. The Ayer mill's 22 foot diameter 4-sided clocktower is only a foot smaller than
Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...
and purportedly only second to it in size in the world (among chiming 4-sided clocktowers). Following the
1912 Lawrence Textile Strike The Lawrence Textile Strike, also known as the Bread and Roses Strike, was a strike of immigrant workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1912 led by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Prompted by a two-hour pay cut corresponding to a ne ...
, the AWC was forced to increase wages. The company reached its apogee in the 1920s, when it controlled 20% of the country's woolen production. Most of these mill operations had started as 100% water-powered, but added coal-fueled steampower in the late 1800s as demand exceeded what could be provided by water alone. However, even though technology was continually updated, these unionized New England mills were unable to compete with non-unionized Southern mills able to produce staple woolen products, such as blankets, more cheaply. Additionally, fashions changed with the introduction of polyester and rayon, and demand for worsted wool plummeted by the mid-1920s. The two world wars were a boon to the AWC, keeping the company prosperous into 1945. American Woolen Company ranked 51st among United States corporations in the value of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
military production contracts.


Workers housing

In 1902 the company built Presidential Village, a neighborhood of about 200 rental houses for workers at its mill in Maynard, Massachusetts. All of the homes were auctioned to highest bidders in August 1934. The company was also auctioning housing at other New England mills. In the early 1920s American Woolen Company (re)built Shawsheen Village built on the site of the former Frye Village of
Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...
, to house the company's middle to upper management, near the company headquarters.


1950-present

Following the end of the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, government contracts ended. Virtually bankrupt, the American Woolen Co. was purchased by
Textron Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...
and incorporated into its Amerotron division in 1955. In 1966 an
Uxbridge, Massachusetts Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts first colonized in 1662 and incorporated in 1727. It was originally part of the town of Mendon, MA, Mendon, and named for the Marquess of Anglesey, Earl of Uxbridge. The town is located south ...
-based, wool blanket contractor purchased the American Woolen Company trademark in order to better support its business activity of the manufacturing and distribution of woolen blankets for the American domestic market. In 1987, American Woolen sold its Uxbridge blanket manufacturing facility, relocated to Miami, Florida, and focused its activity on the importing and wholesaling of woolen blankets targeting relief organizations, municipalities, aid agencies and the general hospitality sector. In 2013 an investment group led by Jacob Harrison Long completed the purchase, carve out and realignment of American Woolen Company’s business activity with the intent to focus the company on the design and manufacture of fine American-made
worsted Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, for ...
and
woolen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...
apparel fabrics. In June 2014, American Woolen purchased the Warren Mills complex from Italian luxury apparel group Loro Piana SpA, which had owned and operated the mill for 26 years. Recognized as being "on par with the best mills in Europe,” Stafford Springs, Connecticut based Warren Mills is American Woolen Company's headquarters where the company produces worsted wool for men's suits and cashmere and camel hair for coats. The acquisition was made with the assistance of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, which provided American Woolen Company with a loan and a grant to help cover the building acquisition costs. The acquisition was made with the intent to "reintroduce luxury worsted and woolen textile manufacturing to the United States.”


Original Mills, some founded as early as 1846

American Woolen Company was created by the assimilation of the following mills, March 29, 1899: * Washington Mills, Lawrence, MA * Fitchburg Mills,
Fitchburg, MA Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fit ...
* Beoli Mills, Fitchburg, MA * Valley Mills, Providence, RI * National and Providence Worsted Mills, Providence, RI * Fulton Mills, Providence, RI *
Saranac Mills Saranac may refer to a place name in the United States: * Saranac, Michigan, a village ;New York * Saranac, New York, a town in Clinton County * Saranac Lake, New York, a large village in Franklin and Essex counties * Upper Saranac Lake * Middl ...
, Providence, RI * Riverside Worsted Mills, Providence, RI


Later mills

* Assabet Woolen Mill, Maynard, MA * Anchor-Inman Mills, Harrisville, RI * Anchor-Sheffield Mills, Pascoag, RI * Anderson Mills, Skowhegan, ME * Arms Mills, Skowhegan, ME * Baltic Mills, Enfield, Enfield, NH *
Bay State Mills A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...
, Lowell, MA * Breaver Brook Mills, Dracut, MA * Beoli Mills, Fitchburg, MA * Bradford Mills, Louisville, KY * Brown Mills, Dover, ME *
Burlington Mills The Winooski Falls Mill District is located along the Winooski River in the cities of Winooski and Burlington, Vermont, in the United States of America. It encompasses a major industrial area that developed around two sets of falls on the ...
, Winooski, VT * Champlain Mills, Winooski, VT * Chase Mills, Webster, MA *
Dracut Mills Dracut is a town in Middlesex County. At the 2020 census, the town's population was 32,617, making it the second most populous town in Massachusetts with an open town meeting system of governance. The town covers a total area of 21.36 square mi ...
, Dracut, MA * Forest Mills, Bridgton, ME * Foxcroft Mills, Foxcroft, ME * Fulton Mills, Fulton, NY *
Globe Mills A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe ...
, Utica, NY *
Hartland Mills Hartland may refer to: United States * Hartland, California * Hartland, Connecticut * Hartland (Lexington, Kentucky), listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Fayette County, Kentucky * Hartland, Maine ** Hartland (CDP), Maine, a ce ...
, Hartland, ME *
Hecla Mills Hecla is the traditional English spelling of the Icelandic volcano, Hekla, and may also refer to: Places * Fury and Hecla Strait, Nunavut, Canada * Hecla, Kentucky, USA * Hecla, Missouri, USA * Hecla, Montana, USA * Brooklyn_Bowl#History_and_d ...
, Uxbridge, MA * Indian Spring Mills, Madison, ME *
Kennebec Mills Kennebec is a name of the Kennebec people, a North American native people. Kennebec may also refer to: Places Canada * Kennebec, an area of Quebec represented in the Senate of Canada *Kennebec Lake, north of Ardendale in Central Frontenac Townshi ...
, Fairfield, ME * Lebanon Mills, Lebanon, NH * Manton Mills, Manton, RI *
Mascoma Mills Mascoma may refer to: ;Locations in the United States *The Mascoma River in New Hampshire *Mascoma Lake in New Hampshire ;Derived from the river or lake * Mascoma Corporation, a biofuel company *Mascoma Valley Regional High School Mascoma Valle ...
, Lebanon, NH * Moosup (Lower) Mills, Moosup, CT * Moosup-Glen Falls Mills, Moosup, CT * Naragansett Worsted Mills, Warren, RI *
Newport Mills Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland * Newport, County Mayo, a town on th ...
, Newport, ME * Oakland Mills, Maine, Oakland, ME * Ounegan Mills, Old Town, ME *
Pioneer Mills Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...
, Pittsfield, ME *
Prospect Mills Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...
, Lawrence, MA * Puritan Mills, Plymouth, MA * Ram's Head Yarn Mills, Lowell, MA * Ray Mills, Franklin, MA * Riverina Mills, Medford, MA * Rochdale Mills, Rochdale, MA * Royalston Mills, South Royalston, MA *
Saranac Mills Saranac may refer to a place name in the United States: * Saranac, Michigan, a village ;New York * Saranac, New York, a town in Clinton County * Saranac Lake, New York, a large village in Franklin and Essex counties * Upper Saranac Lake * Middl ...
, Blackstone, MA * Sawyer Mills, Dover, NH *
Sebasticook Mills The Sebasticook River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 30, 2011 river in the central part of Maine, in the United States. From its source () in Dexter, the upper ...
, Pittsfield, ME * Vassalboro Mills, Vassalboro, ME * Waverly Mills, Pittsfield, ME * Whitestone Mills, Elmville, CT * Warren Mill, Stafford Springs, CT American Woolen Company mills, by American Woolen Company (Publisher Boston, Mass., American Woolen Company)(1921)


References

*Roddy, Edward. Mills Mansions and Mergers: The Life of William M. Wood. North Andover, Massachusetts: Merrimack Valley Textile Museum, 1982.


External links


Photo of workers
Lawrence, Mass.
Shawsheen Village Historic DistrictConnecticut Department of Economic and Community Development
* {{DEFAULTSORT:American Woolen Company American companies established in 1899 Companies based in Lawrence, Massachusetts Historic American Engineering Record in Vermont History of Massachusetts Industrial Revolution History of the textile industry in the United States Winooski, Vermont History of Vermont Textile companies of the United States Woollen industry Textron 1899 establishments in Massachusetts Defunct manufacturing companies based in Massachusetts