Wamsutta Mills
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Wamsutta Mills
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| Location | Acushnet Ave., Logan, Wamsutta and N. Front St., New Bedford, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 19.3 acres (7.8 ha) |
| Built | 1847 |
| Architectural style | Other, Utilitarian industrial |
| NRHP Reference # | 08000794 |
| Added to NRHP | August 19, 2008 |
Wamsutta Mills was a textile manufacturing company located in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a port which was known as a center of the whaling industry. The company was named after Wamsutta, the son of a Native American chief who negotiated an early alliance with the English settlers of the Plymouth Colony in the 17th century. Wamsutta Company's textile mill was founded by Thomas Bennett, Jr. on the banks of the Acushnet River in 1846 and opened in 1848. It was the first of many textile mills that gradually came to overtake whaling as the principal employer in New Bedford. Other mills in the area soon sprang up. By the 1870s, cotton textile manufacture was more important to the local economy than whaling. Wamsutta Mills became well known for producing fine quality shirtings, sheetings and other fine cotton products. The Wamsutta brand continues to this day.
The Wamsutta Mills were conceived by Thomas Bennett, Jr. of nearby Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Bennett originally planned to locate the mill in Georgia, where he had previously worked for fellow Fairhaven native Dwight Perry, in a mill. However, one prominent investor, Congressman Joseph Grinnell stipulated that the mill be located in his home city, New Bedford.
On April 8, 1846, the new corporation was granted a charter from the Massachusetts General Court. By mid-1847, Bennett raised $160,000 for the mill, mostly in small investments of ten shares or less from skeptical New Bedford businessmen who were unfamiliar with the textile industry. The first meeting of the stockholders was held in 1847 and Joseph Grinnell was elected president and Thomas Bennett, Jr., who had served as the superintendent of the Wamsutta Mills from 1846 until 1874, the secretary.
Construction of the first mill began in 1847. Designed by Seth Ingalls of New Bedford, it was a stone structure, 212 feet (65 m) long by 70 feet (21 m) wide, with five stories. David Whitman of Rhode Island served as an advisor during the construction and setup of the mill, which was initially fitted with 10,000 spindles, with room for 5,000 more. Cloth production began in February 1849, and housing was built for its workers. Soon business began to boom, with capital increasing to $300,000 in 1853. A second four story mill, 240 feet (73 m) long by 70 feet (21 m) wide, was built in 1855. A third mill, a duplicate of the second, was built in 1860–1861 outfitted in 1862 and opened in 1865; the delay was due to the Civil War and labor and product shortages. By 1868 the capitalization of the company jumped to $2,000,000 and a fourth bigger mill was built. Mill No. 4 was constructed in brick, 495 feet (151 m) long by 70 feet (21 m) wide with four stories.
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