United States 1814

Synopsis

The textile industry in the United States entered a new era in 1814 when Francis Cabot Lowell created the first successful American power loom in Waltham, Massachusetts. Lowell copied successful designs of power looms that had been in use in England and invented an improved version of the power loom and other related devices for use in the United States. These inventions revolutionized the organization of all the technical processes by which cloth was made. For the first time mass production of finished textile products became possible.

Lowell and his brother-in-law, Patrick Tracy Jackson, incorporated their business in 1814 with one brick structure, six stories tall. They added a second mill in 1818 and a third one in 1820. First using water to power his machines, Lowell located his factory on the Charles River at Waltham. It was the first successful power-driven textile mill in...