Columbian Manufacturing Company Records

The Columbian Manufacturing Company was founded in 1826. Originally incorporated as the Remsen Company, the name was changed to Columbian Manufacturing Company in 1827. A factory was built in Mason Village, later called Greenville, about two miles below New Ipswich on the Souhegan River. It was equipped with 2, 048 spindles and 64 looms and expected to employ 71 women and 9 men. The charter provided for the manufacture of both wool and cotton goods, but only cotton was ever produced, beginning with shirtings. The Columbian Manufacturing Company eventually had six mills with 22, 400 spindles, 600 looms, 500 employees, and produced cheviots, tickings, and denims. By 1925, when Otis Company bought the Columbian it still operated 600 looms, but it only had 19, 232 spindles and 400 employees.

These records also include, in one volume, the records of the New Ipswich Water Loom Factory (1820-1842) and the Souhegan Factory (1822-1836). The proprietors and officers of these two factories were also involved with the Columbian, and both companies and their facilities eventually became part of the Columbian. The New Ipswich Water Loom Factory was established in 1820 on the site of an early 1804 cotton mill. This new mill had 2, 000 spindles, 64 looms, and employed 75 hands for making sheetings. The owners of the Water Loom Factory were also the proprietors of the Souhegan Factory, and the financial difficulties of the latter enterprise seemed to involve both companies. In 1836, the Water Loom Factory was sold to Parker Wilder Company of Boston who formed Mountain Mills to manufacture jeans, drills, and flannels. In 1955, Columbian bought Mountain Mills, which became Mill #3, producing denims. Later it produced only yarns for other Columbian Mills. In 1895, the mill was found unsafe; by 1900 it was abandoned and largely in ruins by 1920.

The Souhegan Factory was established in 1824, downstream from the Water Loom Factory on a site known as High Bridge. It began with 250 spindles. Its financial difficulties led to Parks Wright Company of Boston acquiring a one-third interest in 1836. By 1845 Parks Wright were full owners and the factory was known as the High Bridge Mill. In 1845, the Columbian Manufacturing Company bought the High Bridge Mill which became its #2 mill. The building burned in 1872 and was replaced. It was still standing as of 2024.

Columbian Mill #4 was located in Mason Village (Greenville) across the street from the original Columbian property called Mill #1. Mill #5 was established by Samuel Batchelder on a site in New Ipswich, and was later owned by Eleazar Brown until he died in 1867 when Columbian purchased it. The building was abandoned around 1877 and eventually torn down. Mill #6 was built around 1872 in Greenville.

-taken from The Merrimack Valley Textile Museum: A Guide to The Manuscript Collections