The McCallum Hosiery Company, which in the early 20th century was one of the world’s largest hosiery producers, was founded in Holyoke. What follows is the account of Andrew McCallum and his long-standing hosiery business.
Andrew McCallum was born in Lancaster, Glengarry, Ontario, Canada, on February 8, 1844. According to Massachusetts naturalization documents, he arrived in Northampton, Massachusetts, on March 22, 1865. He found work as a clerk in the L. H. Field dry goods store on Main Street in Northampton. Mr. Field was the brother of Marshall Field of Chicago, a prominent department store merchant.
In 1871, Mr. McCallum opened his own dry goods store, also on Main Street. McCallum’s was to Northampton as England Brothers was to Pittsfield, Wilson’s to Greenfield, and Steiger’s to Holyoke and Springfield. All grew to be major anchor department stores in their respective communities.
In 1888, Alexander McCallum and William Constable of Holyoke formed a partnership to operate the McCallum-Constable Hosiery Company. The business would produce silk hosiery and other related silk clothing items. The business obtained space at Cabot Mills in Holyoke, which was operated by the Holyoke Water Power Company. Several businesses began in this incubator mill complex and later moved to larger facilities.
The partnership dissolved in 1897 when both Messrs. McCallum and Constable decided to form their own hosiery companies. Alexander McCallum formed the McCallum Hosiery Company, and Mr. Constable formed the Wm. Constable Hosiery Company. In 1899, Alexander McCallum relocated his business to a new mill on West Street in Northampton. However, this would not be the last contact McCallum Hosiery had with Holyoke, as will be revealed in the following chapters.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; Sun-Journal, Lewiston, Maine; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): including Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
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