History of Textiles in New Bedford Massachusetts Walking Tour

Generally thought of as the Whaling City, the textile industry is equally important to the development of New Bedford. Starting with the first Wamsutta Mill, which started operation in 1848, the industry peaked around 1920, when New Bedford had numerous mills boasting some 150 mill buildings that employed over 35,000 workers.

Join Bruce Barnes as he guides us through this fascinating history, from its beginning to the collapse of the industry in the late 1920s. Learn about its funding, operations, harsh realities, working housing, as well as the incredible contributions of the immigrants who came to New Bedford to work in the mills.

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00:00 – Introduction
00:25 – Overview of the Textile Industry in New Bedford
01:47 – Joseph Grinnell, Thomas Bennett, the Wamsutta Mill, the Potomska Mill (first two mills), and how the industry started in New Bedford.
11:53 – The Cornelius Grinnell house and how the investment of whaling money moved into the textile industry. The founding of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffet’s ties to New Bedford.
22:23 – Explanation of mill worker housing and the transition from mill-supplied to triple-decker rentals.
24:43 – Mill financing begins to come from outside of New Bedford.
27:37 – Who were the mill workers? The story of Irish, Portugues, and French-Canadian immigration.
32:56 – The horror of child labor.
34:14 – Women participation in textile mill operation, representing 40% of mill labor.
35:09 – Textile schools and the 56-hour work week.
36:50 – How the mills were managed and how the New Bedford Manufacturers Association controlled the industry.
41:31 – The decline and failure of the industry after World War One.
46:37 – The Belleville Warehouse, the biggest building ever built in New Bedford, was built to store 100,000 bales of cotton.

Thanks to the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Spinner Publications, the New Bedford Free Public Library, Digital Commonwealth, and Google Maps for selected images.

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