Franklin's Industrial Revolution

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Alan ProcknowNovember 2012

Franklin- Advantageous Location

• Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in nearby Blackstone Valley.

• Franklin located in the watershed between Charles and Blackstone Rivers

• Franklin central to Boston-Providence axis with large ports and markets

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Franklin - Early Entrant into Industrial Revolution

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•Franklin

•Pawtucket

Franklin's First Industry - Straw Goods

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Straw Goods Moves from Cottage Industry to Factory Production

• About 1800 - braiding straw bonnets become fashionable (Blake, 38)

• By 1812- Asa and Davis Thayer begin manufacturing bonnets ( Blake, 38)

• Other early straw manufactures include Albert Early (Blake, 84), Henry M. Green (Blake, 88), Milton Metcalf Fisher (Blake, 39)

• By 1869 - Franklin has 7 factories producing 500,000 hats a year( Blake, 39)

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1858 Map of Franklin

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•City Mills

•Unionville

City Mills

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City Mills-Site of First Textile Mills

• City Mills - part of Franklin until 1870• Early 1800s - Dr. Nathaniel Miller ( Blake, 22), Eli

Richardson (Virtualnorfolk .org), Alexander Dewitt (Blake 51), Henry Greene (Blake, 88) and James P. Ray (Genealogy of James P. Ray) establish small cotton mills

• Unionville also develops into a mill village

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Steam Engines, Railroads, and New Machinery Fuel Growth

• Steam engines allow for larger factories than those supported by small rivers

• Factories sited near railroads for easy transportation, Norfolk Co. Railroad connects Franklin to Boston and Woonsocket in 1849 (MHC, 4)

• New machines increase output, shoddy picker probably first used by Ray Brothers in 1849 (Blake 39)

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Shoddy Picker

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Enoch Waite-First Manufacturer of Felt in America

• Learns felt trade in England and in 1849 comes to the U.S. at age 15 (Cook, 175)

• Helps to establish felt mills throughout New England (Cook, 175)

• In 1874, opens felt mill in Franklin (Cook, 175)• Around 1884, Waite opens felt mill for F.B. Ray

(Cook, 175)

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Ray Brothers Prominence in Franklin’s Textile Industry

• Establishes many cotton and wool mills in Franklin• Manufactures various cottons and woolen textiles

ranging from fine cotton satinets to cotton batting to fine woolen cashmeres to shoddy

• Wool industry surpasses the cotton industry• Shoddy wool becomes the most successful line of

textile manufacturing

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Some Other Major Industrialists

• Harry T. Hayward, owner of many factories including woolen factory in Franklin (American Textile Report)

• Dr. Oliver Dean, an owner of Amoskeag Mills, one of the largest mills in New England (Blake, 51)

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Hayward Woolen Mill

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Latter Half of 1800’s

• By 1865, only one cotton factory left (MHC, 4)• By 1870, straw goods peak with seven factories

(MHC, 4)• By 1878, felt industry is largest in town (Blake, 73)

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Snow, Bassett Straw Goods Company

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Consolidation

• Waite’s Felting Company of Franklin consolidates with other felting companies creating the American Felting Company (Cook, 176)

• In 1899, the American Woolen Company is formed. It controls a large share of the US woolen industry including Ray Woolen Mills of Franklin (A Sketch of the Mills, 7)

• Joseph G. Ray becomes Vice President of powerful American Woolen Company (A Sketch of the Mills, 7)

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Ray Mill

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With Consolidation Wealth Becomes Concentrated

• In addition to textile mills, major industrialists also owned railroads and banks– Franklin National Bank (James F. Ray) (Dean Reflections,

18)– Benjamin Franklin’s Society Bank (Joseph Ray) (Dean

Reflections, 18)– Railroad Company Owner (Harry T. Hayward) (Johnston,

104)– Norfolk County Railroad (Ray) (Genealogy of Ray Family)

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Industry Spurs Population Growth

1790 1810 1830 1850 1870 1890 1910

Population 1,101 1,398 1,662 1,818 2,512 4,831 15,641

PercentGrowth --- 27% 19% 9% 38% 92% 324%

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Source: US Census

Immigrant Workers

• Prior to 1870, only 10% of population is foreign born, Irish are the largest group (MHC, 4)

• St. Mary’s Catholic Church forms to serve Irish population

• After 1875, more rapid growth of foreign born population (MHC, 5)

• By the turn of the century, more Italians move to Franklin (MHC, 5)

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St. Mary’s Church

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Factory Owned Housing

• In 1900, 17 tenant houses in City Mills (Virtualnorfolk.org)

• Joseph G. Ray’s Wool Mill, “Attached to the plant are 12 tenement houses for use of the operatives” (A Sketch of the Mills, 114)

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Philanthropy

• Franklin benefits from industrialists’ wealth• Dean Academy (1865) - Dr. Oliver Dean • Ray Memorial Library (1904) - Ray Family• J. G. Fire Station (1924) - Ray Family

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Ray Memorial Library

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Ray Fire Station

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Dean Academy

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Conclusions

• During the 1800’s, Franklin transformed from a primarily rural town to an industrial one

• Today, Franklin is home to two industrial parks which include many Research and Development, Manufacturing and Distribution Companies

• Franklin’s industrial legacy lives on….

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Works Cited

• American, Woolen Company. Sketch of the Mills of the American Woolen Company. [S.l.]: General, 2010. Print.

• Blake, Mortimer. A History of the Town of Franklin, Mass.; from Its Settlement to the Completion of Its First Century, 2d March, 1878; with Genealogical Notices of Its Earliest Families, Sketches of Its Professional Men. Franklin, MA: Pub. by the Committee of the Town, 1878. Print.

• Cook, Louis A. History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, 1622-1918. New York: The S. J. Clark Publishing Company, 1918. Print.

• Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed.; Adams, William Frederick, B. 1848, joint ed. Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts; Volume: 2. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 1910. Print.

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Works Cited

• Earls, Alan R. Franklin. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2009. Print. • Galvin, William F. "MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Franklin."

Http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/Eastern/frn.pdf>.

• Johnston, James C., Jr. Images of America Franklin. Charleston: Arcadia Pub., 1996. Print.

• “Virtualnorfolk.org - The Town of Norfolk." Virtualnorfolk.gov – Norfolk Mills and Village Histories. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2012. <http://www.virtualnorfolk.org/public_documents/norfolkma_historical/ Villages>.

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