Talbot Mills Graphics

In 1839 Charles P. Talbot and his brother Thomas formed a partnership, C. P. Talbot & Co., to manufacture dyewood at a factory site in North Billerica. In 1844 they bought a nearby saw mill from Nathaniel Stevens and expanded their business to include chemical manufacturing. This second mill burned in 1853 and the site was sold to Francis Faulkner. In 1851 the Talbots had purchased a site from the Middlesex Canal Co. and on this site they built a woolen mill. The mill was equipped and run by the Belvidere Woolen Co. of Lowell from 1857 until 1862 when the Talbots assumed the complete ownership and management. The woolen mill began with eight sets of cards and produced flannels. Between 1870 and 1883 additional equipment was added and the mill was also enlarged. Between two and three hundred people were employed by the three departments of the Talbot enterprise. C. P. Talbot ran the dye and chemical side of the business, and Thomas directed the woolen mill. C. P. Talbot died in 1884 and Thomas died in 1885. The firm was incorporated in 1884 and Frederic Clark became Treasurer and General Manager. The dye works were still active at this time. In 1883 ladies' and men's plain and fancy wear had been added to flannel production. By the end of the century the woolen mill had 21 sets of cards, 178 looms and more than 10,000 spindles. In 1922 a new mill was built with 20 sets of cards, 228 looms and more than 13,000 spindles. In 1957 Talbot Mills became a division of Massachusetts Mohair Plush Co.

American Textile History Museum Collection, gift of P. Hayden Clark.

Related Collections:
6906 P: Talbot Mills Photographs
6906: Talbot Mills Records
6906 PUBS: Talbot Mills Publications