Wamsutta Mills

Wamsutta Mills is a former textile manufacturing company and current brand for bedding and other household products. Founded by Thomas Bennett, Jr. on the banks of the Acushnet River in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1846 and opened in 1848, Wamsutta Mills was named after Wamsutta, the son of a Native American chief who negotiated an early alliance with the English settlers of the Plymouth Colony. It was the first of many textile mills in New Bedford, and gradually led to cotton textile manufacturing overtaking whaling as the town's principal industry by the 1870s. Wamsutta Mills became well known for producing fine quality shirtings, sheetings and other fine cotton products. The Wamsutta name continues to be used as a brand today, marketed by American retailer Bed Bath & Beyond in North America and Brazilian textile conglomerate Springs Global in South America. History Planning and raising funds The Wamsutta Mills were conceived by Thomas Bennett Jr. of nearby Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Bennett originally planned to locate the mill in Georgia, where he had previously worked for fellow Fairhaven native Dwight Perry, in a mill. However, one prominent investor, Congressman Joseph Grinnell stipulated that the mill be located in his home city, New Bedford.