Joseph Hampson arrived in the United States in 1893 from Lancashire, England, where he was a textile manufacturer. The Hampson family settled in New Bedford and Fall River before moving to the former, where Mr. Hampson was employed as the superintendent of the Pierce Manufacturing Corp., a cotton company. Walter Hampson, the son of Joseph Hampson, began his apprenticeship at this mill at age 14 in 1907.
Between 1918 and 1924, Walter Hampson worked for the Hamlet Textile Co. under the tutelage of Edward Wooley, a master silk manufacturer. Walter Hampson worked as a designer of silk and rayon.
After working as a superintendent of a Pawtucket, Rhode Island silk concern, Walter Hampson started his company in 1924, the Mil-Mar Silk Mills in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Within two years, 500 looms were in operation at the plant.
A mutual acquaintance of the Hampsons and Holyoke's mayor, Henry J. Toepfort, led him to purchase the former Goetz Silk Mill, also known as the Mt. Tom Silk Company, in 1926. Joseph Hampson would operate the Holyoke concern while his son Walter would remain at Mil-Mar.
In 1933, the old Goetz mill was abandoned, and the company settled at 58 Canal Street, which was owned by Holyoke Gas & Electric. The space was vacated by the Jennings Silk Mill. Before the move, some consideration was given to moving out of Holyoke. The mill was renamed the Clinton Silk Mill after one of Walter Hampson's five sons. Mil-Mar was sold in 1939, and Clinton Mills expanded.
The father-son team of Walter and Clinton Hampson combined their energies running the Clinton Silk Mill. This had become a three-generation family business. Another of Walter's sons, Walter "Roy," joined the company in 1940.
The mill produced silk for various uses, including shower curtains and refrigerator tray covers. The late Walter Hampson developed the process of weaving super-fine material in the mid-1920s.
The company established its significance just before World War II. The government froze silk production for domestic use, and Clinton Silk began working to support the war effort. Clinton mills purchased raw materials to produce silk from the government on a quota system. The company made five million cubic yards of synthetics and silk for flare-chutes and bomb-frag chutes.
After the war, the company resumed normal production of one million cubic yards of silk. There were 128 looms, and the operation employed 39 workers. The number of workers did not vary much during the company's peacetime existence. The silk produced was so fine that a 50-yard by 38" folded bolt weighed under 16 ounces.
In 1950, the factory space doubled from 15,000 to 30,000 square feet to accommodate modernization.
In 1956, the company purchased and installed 22 additional looms from a Georgia mill. This replaced 26 looms, which were over 50 years old.
In March 1957, the company purchased the mill at 58 Canal Street for $32,000. The Holyoke Gas & Electric had owned the former Hadley Mills factory for about 20 years.
Also in 1957, the Clinton Precision Reticle Company was formed to manufacture precision measuring devices for periscopes, gun sights, and guidance systems. This branch was located at 380 Dwight Street in the former Beebe-Holbrook building. Robert W. Hampson, another of Walter Sr.'s sons, ran this business.
In 1960, sales continued to grow, and plans were made to invest $150,000 in new plant equipment to make this a modern operation. Automatic bobbin winding devices were installed on all the looms to increase efficiency and reduce mix-ups.
Clinton Mills was Holyoke's sole remaining business weaving cloth in 1967.
By 1968, the firm was producing unfinished cloth for industrial purposes.
In 1970, the mill closed for four years due to the depression in the textile industry. It attempted a comeback, but it ceased operating in April 1975. Modern technology had outpaced the shuttle looms Clinton Mills was using. The building was sold to Hadley Printing Company of South Hadley, which, as of 2025, continues to operate at this location.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican) publication dates are shown.
Holyoke Public Library, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories.
Photo Courtesy: Google Maps, 2019
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