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Clothes Wringers and Rubber Shoes
Bailey Wringer CompanyThe mechanical clothes wringer was a simple device. Rubber rollers were held together with springs to squeeze the water out of clothes. The rollers were connected by gears to a hand crank that fed the clothing through the machine. It was fast, easy to use and extremely popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Seldon A. Bailey invented the mechanical clothes wringer in 1859 in New London, CT. He moved to Wrentham, MA in 1860 where he began producing wringers on a small scale. Simeon S. Cook persuaded Bailey to move his business to Woonsocket where his device could be mass produced and properly advertised. In 1865, production began in a small mill at Island Place near Market Square. The company was called the Bailey Wringer Company and its officers were Simeon S. Cook, Lyman A. Cook and Seldon A. Bailey.
The American Wringer Company's years of prosperity ended in the 1920's when the electric washing machine was invented. By adjusting its product line to include large industrial wringers and reducing overall production, the American Wringer Company was able to stay in business until the 1950's. Woonsocket Rubber CompanyWhen the Bailey Wringer Company could not obtain satisfactory rubber rollers for its wringing machines, its principals formed the Woonsocket Rubber Company. Soon, the Woonsocket Rubber Company would exceed its sister company in size and profitability and become one of the largest rubber companies in the country.
While the company initially made rollers for the Bailey Manufacturing Company, it later specialized in rubber shoes and boots. Joseph Banigan built machines and developed a process that allowed the Woonsocket Rubber Company to produce the finest rubber shoes and boots in the world. By 1876, the Woonsocket Rubber Company was producing 130 cases of footwear a day.
In 1892, the Woonsocket Rubber Company was sold to the US Rubber Company, but continued to operate under it own name. The company prospered until the 1930's when the Alice mill was closed. It was reopened during the Second World War and remained open until the 1960's. The Alice Mill is currently occupied by Tech Industries. Woonsocket Machine & Press CompanyWhile several machine shops were established in Woonsocket to support the textile industry, the Woonsocket Machine & Press Company was the largest and most influential.
In 1884, the Woonsocket Machine Company merged with the Woonsocket Press Company and took the name of the Woonsocket Machine & Press Company. By 1889, the company had 200 employees and was the largest manufacturer of fly frames in the country. This page utilizes information from:
Woonsocket History | Mill Villages | Getting Around | Famous People | Water Power | Main Street
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