William Barrows Becomes Willimantic Linen Co. President

William Barrows Becomes Willimantic Linen Co. President

Barrows becomes president of the Willimantic Linen Company. His eccentric, progressive policies lead to overspending and later dissent within the company. One such incident is his announcement that all Willimantic Linen workers who are not literate by the 4th of July, 1883 can no longer hold employment in his company—“He hoped that this threat would accelerate the Americanization of his mainly foreign-born workforce."

Thomas R. Beardsley, Willimantic Industry and Community: The Rise and Decline of a Connecticut Textile City (Willimantic, CT: Windham Textile & History Community, 1993), 33.

1882

hall_tyler, dore_lindsey