In the year 1860, Thomas H White, together with William L Grout (1888-1908) were manufacturing chairs at Orange, Massachusetts, and at that time knew nothing about sewing machines. Little sewing-machine factories had sprung up throughout New England, many of them to be closed by the combination controlling basic patents, while others defended lawsuits brought against them.
White saw a good field in the sewing-machine line, and that year he and Grout – with a cash capital of $350 and with the help of three employees and a lathe, a planer and a drill press – started to manufacture machines. They opened their plant in a little shop between Templeton and Phillipston, Massachusetts, and produced a hand-operated sewing machine known as “The New England.” Read more >
