National Textile Day

Honoring National Textile Day and the role the textile industry has played in our lives for generations.

The Davis & Furber Machine Company expanded after the Civil War. Over 900 employees were on the payroll in 1882. The following year Davis & Furber Machine Company converted from a partnership to a privately held corporation. By the time George Gilbert Davis (aka 'the second Mr. Davis) died in 1920, Davis & Furber sold to customers worldwide a complete line of machines and supplies to fully equip a woolen textile mill.

When Davis & Furber closed down its operation in 1981 it was the last of the four great textile enterprises in North Andover to die, and the last supplier of carding equipment in the United States. A year after the company had passed into history, the neighborhood was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1983 the Davis & Furber campus was sold by the Davis family and converted into an office complex for large high-technology companies.

After several boom and bust cycles in the office real estate market, the mill buildings were renovated again in 2007-2010 into a mixed-use complex that achieved federal historic preservation accreditation and reflected the values of a new generation of environmentally-conscious planning and shared living and working space. The campus remains one of North Andover’s major employers, containing 36 companies and 21 apartments in the space once occupied by Davis & Furber.

Sourced from: https://www.northandoverhistoricalsociety.org/textile-history

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