The Farr Alpaca Company was a Canadian and subsequently American textile manufacturer specializing in

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfu ...

and

mohair Mohair (pronounced ) is a fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. (This should not be confused with Angora wool, which is made from the fur of the Angora rabbit.) Both durable and resilient, mohair is notable for its high luster ...

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 ...

woolen products. Established initially in 1864 as the Randall Farr Company in

Hespeler, Ontario Hespeler is a neighbourhood and former town within Cambridge, Ontario, located along the Speed River in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. In 1973, Hespeler, Preston, Galt, and the hamlet of Blair were amalgamated to form the ...

, the company was subsequently moved to

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

to avoid tariffs brought on by the Wool and Woolens Act of 1867, and was established as the Farr Alpaca Company in 1874. The Farr family managed to build the company into a dominant brand in the woolen goods market in large part by relying on secrecy; rather than patenting machinery, the company would make use of machine shops with familial ties in the city, paying laborers well and keeping knowledge of components limited across units, such that no one worker could completely duplicate their processes. By the beginning of the 20th century the company had the largest alpaca woolen mill in the world and was a dominant producer in its industry. Unable to adapt to a changing market, the company eventually ceased production in 1939, and was formally dissolved by 1942.[Query- "Farr Alpaca"], Massachusetts Corp. Card Search
Corporation Cards of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth The company is remembered today for its role in the creation of the first professional soccer league in the United States the American Soccer League, as its Farr Alpaca F.C. served as a direct predecessor to the Holyoke Falcos, one of the league's founding teams.

References

External links

Farr Alpaca Company Photographs
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Winter Palace Theater
project aimed at restoring the Farr Alpaca Co. auditorium
Photos of Farr Alpaca Mills
Google Arts and Culture via General Electric {{manufacturing-company-stub 1864 establishments in Ontario 1874 establishments in Massachusetts 1939 disestablishments in the United States Textile mills in the United States Companies based in Holyoke, Massachusetts Defunct companies based in Massachusetts Manufacturing companies established in 1874 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1939 American companies disestablished in 1939 Canadian companies established in 1864 American companies established in 1874

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