Successful power looms were in operation in England by the early 1800s, but those made in America were inadequate. Boston import merchant, Francis Cabot Lowell realized that for the United States to develop a practical power loom, it would have to borrow British technology.
American Power Loom
During a visit to Great Britain in 1811, Francis Cabot Lowell spied on the new British textile industry. He was not able able to buy drawings or a model of a power loom, however, he memorized the workings of British power looms.
Upon his return, he recruited master mechanic Paul Moody to help him recreate and develop what he had seen. They succeeded in adapting the British designs, and the machine shop established at the Waltham mills in 1814 by Lowell and Moody continued to make improvements in the loom. With the introduction of a dependable power loom, weaving could keep up with spinning, and the American textile industry was underway.
Paul Moody
Carding, drawing, and roving machines were also built and installed in the mill by Paul Moody's expert hands. This was the first mill in the United States, and one of the first in the world, to combine under one roof all the operations necessary to convert raw fiber into cloth, and it proved a success.
Mill Power Drives
Once a wheel or turbine had harnessed the waters power, the mill engineer had to transfer the power throughout the mill to hundreds of machines. British and early American mills ran a vertical shaft off the main drive shaft, then transferred the power by gears to overhead shafts on each floor. Because it was difficult to get precisely machined gears, American mills were rough and noisy and had to be run at slow speeds. A few small mills used belting, but it wasn't until Paul Moody used belting in the Appleton Mills in 1828 that it was seriously considered as an alternative to shafting. Leather belts transferred power directly to the horizontal shafts on each floor. Belts allowed faster speeds and were quieter and less jarring than shafting. Belting was also much lighter, easier to maintain, and more forgiving of imprecise mill construction. By mid-century, belting had become a distinguishing characteristic of American mills.
Textile Tariffs
After the war of 1812 had ended, Great Britain began heavily exporting textile goods into the United States. Beginning in 1816, the U.S. Congress starting laying duty tariffs of six and a quarter cents a yard on imported cottons; the rate was raised in 1824 and again in 1828. Francis Cabot Lowell was very influential in the decision to impose tariffs.
The Mills of Francis Cabot Lowell
Francis Cabot Lowell died in 1817, at the early age of forty-two, but his work did not die with him. Capitalized at $400,000, the Waltham mill dwarfed its competition. So great were the profits at Waltham that the Boston Associates {the group of Boston investors that joined with Lowell) soon looked for new sites, first at East Chelmsford (renamed Lowell), and then Chicopee, Manchester, and Lawrence. The "Waltham-Lowell system" succeeded beyond their expectations, giving the Boston Associates control of a fifth of America's cotton production by 1850.
Boston Associates
The first American power loom was constructed in 1813 by a group of Boston merchants headed by Francis Cabot Lowell. Soon textile mills dotted the rivers of New England transforming the landscape, the economy, and the people. Their profits permitted this tight-knit group of families and investment partners: Appletons, Cabots, Lowells, Lawrences, Jacksons - to build an economic, social, and political empire.
The Boston Associates helped develop the Boston and Lowell Railroad and other railroad lines in New England. They owned controlling stock in a host of Boston financial institutions, allowing them to finance and insure ventures through their own companies. As their fortunes grew, the Boston Associates turned to philanthropy, establishing hospitals and schools, and to politics, playing a prominent role in the Whig Party in Massachusetts. Until the Civil War, the Boston Associates were New England's dominant capitalists.
Francis Cabot Lowell
Successful power looms were in operation in England by the early 1800s, but those made in America were inadequate. Boston import merchant, Francis Cabot Lowell realized that for the United States to develop a practical power loom, it would have to borrow British technology.
American Power Loom
During a visit to Great Britain in 1811, Francis Cabot Lowell spied on the new British textile industry. He was not able able to buy drawings or a model of a power loom, however, he memorized the workings of British power looms.Upon his return, he recruited master mechanic Paul Moody to help him recreate and develop what he had seen. They succeeded in adapting the British designs, and the machine shop established at the Waltham mills in 1814 by Lowell and Moody continued to make improvements in the loom. With the introduction of a dependable power loom, weaving could keep up with spinning, and the American textile industry was underway.
Paul Moody
Carding, drawing, and roving machines were also built and installed in the mill by Paul Moody's expert hands. This was the first mill in the United States, and one of the first in the world, to combine under one roof all the operations necessary to convert raw fiber into cloth, and it proved a success.Mill Power Drives
Once a wheel or turbine had harnessed the waters power, the mill engineer had to transfer the power throughout the mill to hundreds of machines. British and early American mills ran a vertical shaft off the main drive shaft, then transferred the power by gears to overhead shafts on each floor. Because it was difficult to get precisely machined gears, American mills were rough and noisy and had to be run at slow speeds. A few small mills used belting, but it wasn't until Paul Moody used belting in the Appleton Mills in 1828 that it was seriously considered as an alternative to shafting. Leather belts transferred power directly to the horizontal shafts on each floor. Belts allowed faster speeds and were quieter and less jarring than shafting. Belting was also much lighter, easier to maintain, and more forgiving of imprecise mill construction. By mid-century, belting had become a distinguishing characteristic of American mills.Textile Tariffs
After the war of 1812 had ended, Great Britain began heavily exporting textile goods into the United States. Beginning in 1816, the U.S. Congress starting laying duty tariffs of six and a quarter cents a yard on imported cottons; the rate was raised in 1824 and again in 1828. Francis Cabot Lowell was very influential in the decision to impose tariffs.The Mills of Francis Cabot Lowell
Francis Cabot Lowell died in 1817, at the early age of forty-two, but his work did not die with him. Capitalized at $400,000, the Waltham mill dwarfed its competition. So great were the profits at Waltham that the Boston Associates {the group of Boston investors that joined with Lowell) soon looked for new sites, first at East Chelmsford (renamed Lowell), and then Chicopee, Manchester, and Lawrence. The "Waltham-Lowell system" succeeded beyond their expectations, giving the Boston Associates control of a fifth of America's cotton production by 1850.Boston Associates
The first American power loom was constructed in 1813 by a group of Boston merchants headed by Francis Cabot Lowell. Soon textile mills dotted the rivers of New England transforming the landscape, the economy, and the people. Their profits permitted this tight-knit group of families and investment partners: Appletons, Cabots, Lowells, Lawrences, Jacksons - to build an economic, social, and political empire.The Boston Associates helped develop the Boston and Lowell Railroad and other railroad lines in New England. They owned controlling stock in a host of Boston financial institutions, allowing them to finance and insure ventures through their own companies. As their fortunes grew, the Boston Associates turned to philanthropy, establishing hospitals and schools, and to politics, playing a prominent role in the Whig Party in Massachusetts. Until the Civil War, the Boston Associates were New England's dominant capitalists.