Sale of the Willimantic Linen Company to the American Thread Company to Art Space
Between March 18th and 19th of 1898, the Hartford Courant reported the finalization of the sale of the Willimantic Linen Company. The England-based Coats Corporation, in a bid to absorb their greatest overseas competitors, formed an American subsidiary, The American Thread Company. This subsidiary purchased the Willimantic Linen Company, along with over a dozen prominent yarn and thread manufacturers throughout the eastern United States. After 44 years of growth, construction, innovation and investment in the community, the Willimantic Linen Company had grown from a start-up of seventy-five thousand dollars, to a manufacturing giant valued at two million dollars. Johnson, Ives and Dunham’s failing linen company had become one of the most prominent and well outfitted manufacturers in the United States.
The American Thread Company closed its Willimantic plant in 1985. Since, many of the buildings have been sold to private developers. Mill Number One, which still stands today, has been converted into affordable housing for local artists, and now boasts a large gallery space on the ground floor.