Pequot Mills

Pequot Mills was owned and operated by Naumkeag Steam Cotton Co. from 1847 until its closing in 1953. Former sea captain, Nathaniel Griffin began organizing a Salem cotton mill in the late 1930's. The site chosen for the mill was Stage Point, just opposite the South River Channel from what is today Pickering Wharf. The location was accessible to ships that would transport the cotton from the south, and because it was sea level, it offered the right level of humidity needed for separating cotton fibers. The Salem plant was one of the first steam-operated cotton mills in the country. The facility was built at a cost of just over $621,000 and initially employed 600 workers. During World War II it grew to 2,725 workers. The firm later acquired the Danvers Bleachery (located in Peabody) in 1909. During the great Salem fire of June 25, 1914, all but two small buildings of the mills burned to the group. Gratefully, the company agreed to rebuild. The new plant was powered by electricity. In 1933, there was a violent eight week strike when hundreds of workers went on strike against the company and their own union, a local branch of the United Textile Workers of America. Among the immigrant groups to work at the mills were: Canadians, Poles, Italian and Russian. Pequot Mills closed late in 1953, and moved operations to Whitney, South Carolina after merging with Indian Head Mill. The buildings in the area are now called Shetland Office Park.

See Also

• "Rise and fall of a cotton mill" Salem Evening News, Mar.8, 2000, p.A2