The McCallum Hosiery Company had moved from the Cabot Street Mills to West Street in Northampton in 1899. As demand for its products increased, a new, larger plant was built on West Street in Northampton in 1905.
Over 200 were employed at the mill in January 1908, with the number growing to 350 by June of that year. The business continued to succeed, and the company continued to expand. Mills were opened in Providence, Rhode Island; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In 1917, Alexander McCallum was the highest individual taxpayer in Northampton. That year, he purchased 288 acres of land in Plainfield, Massachusetts, on which he intended to build the most modern dairy farm in the state.
By 1918, the McCallum Hosiery Company employed 1,000 people and was reportedly available for sale. It was estimated that plants were worth $2.5 million with annual sales between $1 and $1.25 million.
McCallum Silk returned to Holyoke in 1919 after a 20-year absence, leasing space on the second floor of the Holyoke Valve & Hydrant Company building at 144 Race Street. The company transferred its throwing department located in Florence to the Holyoke facility.
Alexander McCallum died in 1919 at the age of 74, and his son, George McCallum, operated the business.
In 1920, two key McCallum employees, Edgar Harris, Office Manager and Frederick Bacon, Superintendent of the plant, resigned to manage the new Holyoke Silk Hosiery Company at Sargeant and Oak Streets.
McCallum Hosiery Company purchased the former Goetz Silk Mill building and equipment in late 1925. The plant was located at 642 South Summer Street and bounded by Jackson and South Canal Streets. The plan was to consolidate operations closer to its Northampton headquarters. The Providence, Rhode Island, factory was closed, and workers were offered employment opportunities at the new Holyoke facility.
In December 1925, McCallum Hosiery moved its sewing department from 144 Race Street to the newly acquired mill. Five years later, the company moved its raw silk operations to Holyoke, creating further job growth.
Further changes were on the horizon. Negotiations for a planned merger with the Propper Silk Hosery Mills Inc. reportedly ended in January 1930, or did they? More will be shared in the concluding chapter.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): including Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
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