Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Wakefield rattan workers, circa 1906

Description

"This postcard depicts workers leaving the 11-plus acre factory of the Wakefield Rattan Company, also known as the Heywood Brothers and Wakefield Company, and later , the Heywood-Wakefield Company. After the 1881 fire, the factory was quickly rebuilt, this time using brick instead of wood. In 1894, there were five main four-story brick buildings, as well as boiler, bleach, dye, office and pump houses a paint shop and a supply room three frame storehouses iron and frame storehouses lumber sheds two yarn houses a frame cold air dry house coal shed a barn and a shed, bringing the total number of factory buildings on the grounds to more than 30. By 1906, the company had grown to over 1,000 workers and was responsible for the influx of workers who eventually settled in Wakefield. The business began to slow down before and after the depression, leading to the dismantling and moving of the company to Gardner in the early 1930s. The buildings were rented to smaller industries, eventually returning the area to an active industrial center. The 11-acre property was sold to Rapid Furniture Company owner Abram B. Fox in May, 1945. A major fire destroyed seven large buildings and damaged several more in 1972 in what was then the Robie Industrial Park." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 1999

Photo courtesy of Frank Ripa and Frank Longo.

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

ca. 1906

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

[Wakefield, Mass.] : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Heywood-Wakefield Company (Wakefield, Mass.)

Furniture industry and trade

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture : b&w

Extent

19 x 35 cm.