The city of New Bedford, Massachusetts once had about 70 textile mills, operated by 28 establishments with over 3.7 million spindles at its peak around 1920, and was among the leading cotton textile centers in the United States during the early 20th century. There are currently about 18 mills left in the city.[1]
| Ref# | Name |
| Image | Built | Location | Spindles[2] | Looms[3] | Notes/current use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booth Manufacturing Company | 2 | 1910 | East Rodney French Ave | 50,000 | 1,300 | ||
| 2 | Butler Mills | 2 | 1902 | Ruth Street | 95,000 | 2,100 | Abandoned to the City in 1935 for back taxes; Mill No 1 razed | |
| 3 | Dartmouth Manufacturing Company | 3 | 1895 | Cove Street | 200,000 | 5,700 | one mill demolished | |
| 4 | Grinnell Manufacturing Company | 1 | 1882 | Kilburn Street | 126,000 | 3,135 | Part of property sold to Revere Copper and Brass Co. | |
| 5 | 4 | 1888 | 46-92 Harbor St[4] | 108,000 | 3,400 | Later part of Berkshire-Hathaway | ||
| 6 | Holmes Manufacturing Company | 1 | 1909 | East Rodney French Ave | 69,500 | Sold to Kendall Corporation in 1934;[5] | ||
| 7 | Howland Mill | 2 | 1888 | Orchard Street | 82,000 | 3,250 | Mill No. 2 built in 1892, reincorporated as Gosnold Mills Company in 1902 | |
| 8 | Kilburn Mills | 2 | 1904 | Rodney French Boulevard | 126,000 | Enlarged in 1915; as of 2015, rented out to various private businesses such as an antique store, a used record store, a vintage clothing shop, and artists' studios/galleries. | ||
| 9 | Lambeth Rope Company | 1 | Tarkiln Hill Road | |||||
| 10 | 4 | 1903 | Riverside Avenue | 203,020 | Mill No. 2 added 1908. Mills No. 1 and 2 sold to Delaware Rayon Company in 1928; Mill No. 3 added 1916, sold to Nashawena in 1925; Mill No. 4 added in 1922, located on King Street, was the largest spinning mill in the world. It never operated at full capacity and was sold to Firestone Rubber Co. in 1927 | |||
| 11 | Nashawena Mills | 2 | 1909 | Belleville Avenue | 145,000 | 3,324 | Additions built in 1916 and 1922; plant's weave shed the largest in the world[6] | |
| 12 | National Spun Silk Company | 1 | Brook Street | |||||
| 13 | Neild Manufacturing Corp. | 2 | 1910 | Nash Road | 62,600[7] | 1,600[8] | Weave shed added in 1925 | |
| 14 | Nonquitt Spinning Company | 3 | 1906 | Belleville Avenue | 150,000 | |||
| 15 | Pierce Brothers LTD. | 2 | 1909 | Sawyer Street | 50,000 | 1,200 | ||
| 16 | Taber Mill, Inc. | 2 | 1906 | 70,720 | ||||
| 17 | 7 | 1846 | Acushnet Ave | 229,000 | 4,310 | Expanded in 1855, 1865, and 1870; Mills No. 1, 2 and 3 have been razed; Mills 4 and 5 converted into apartments; Mills 6 and 7 and weave shed contain various tenants | ||
| 18 | 3 | 1895 | Coffin Ave | 175,088 | 4,932 | Weave shed demolished in 1934; converted into apartments | ||
| Ref# | Name |
| Image | Built | Destroyed | Location | Spindles[9] | Looms[10] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acushnet Mill Corp. | 2 | 1883 | 1931 | Dalano St | 105,000 | 3,500 | Second mill built in 1887; demolished in 1931 | ||
| 2 | Anderson Textile MFG Co. | 1 | 1909 | 2,400 | Company dissolved in 1911 | |||||
| 3 | Beacon Manufacturing Co. | 1 | 1896 | Purchase St | ||||||
| 4 | Bennett Manufacturing Corp. | 2 | 1891 | Coggeshall St | 12,000 | 1,000 | Two mills; became part of New England Cotton Yarn Company in 1899; later part of Fairhaven Mills in 1917 | |||
| 5 | Bristol Manufacturing Co. | 2 | 1893 | 1933 | 198 Coggeshall St | 67,000 | Demolished in 1933 | |||
| 6 | City Manufacturing Corp. | 2 | 1888 | Grinnell St | 58,000 | |||||
| 7 | Columbia Spinning Co. | 2 | 1892 | 2009 | Coggeshall St | 80,000 | Two mills; became part of New England Cotton Yarn Company in 1899; later part of Fairhaven Mills in 1917; Demolished in 2009 to make way for a shopping plaza.[11] | |||
| 8 | New Bedford Cordage Co. | 1 | Ash / Emerson | |||||||
| 9 | New Bedford Cotton Mills Corp. | 2 | 1909 | Coffin / Church Street | 80,000 | |||||
| 10 | New England Cotton Yarn Co. | 1 | Coggeshall St | Additional mill built after 1899 as part of former Bennett-Columbia complex acquisition. Sold to Fairhaven Mills in 1917 | ||||||
| 11 | New Bedford Manufacturing Co. | 2 | 1882 | North / Water | 40,000 | Reorganized as New Bedford Spinning Co. in 1897; became part of New England Cotton Yarn Co. in 1899; Sold to Passaic Cotton Mills in 1917; later American Cotton Fabric Corporation; | ||||
| 12 | New Bedford Steam Co. | 1 | 1846 | Hillman Street | 7,500 | First textile mill in New Bedford. Not successful. Closed in 1852. | ||||
| 13 | Page Manufacturing Co. | 2 | 1906 | Orchard / Cove | 64,000 | 1,740 | ||||
| 14 | Pierce Manufacturing Corp. | 2 | 1892 | Belleville Ave | 64,470 | 3,600 | ||||
| 15 | Potomska Mills | 2 | 1873 | 1935 | Potomska St | 123,500 | 3,018 | Second mill added in 1877; demolished in 1935 | ||
| 16 | Quissett Mill | 1 | 1912 | Prospect St | 80,000 | |||||
| 17 | Rotch Mills | 2 | 1892 | Orchard Street | 100,000 | Became part of New England Cotton Yarns in 1899; Sold to Passaic Cotton Mills in 1916 which constructed addition known as Penrod Mill with 30,000 spindles; plant sold to Goodyear and Fisk Rubber Companies in 1924. | ||||
| 18 | Sharp Manufacturing Co. | 2 | 1910 | 1937 | Dartmouth St | 200,000 | 1,000 | Mill No. 2 completed in 1917; Purchased by Rockdale Mills, Inc. in 1937 and razed. Warehouse remains. | ||
| 19 | Soule Mill | 2 | 1901 | Sawyer St | 92,640 | 2,300 |