Plymouth Cordage Company
Encyclopedia
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. The company, founded in 1824, had a large factory located on the Plymouth waterfront. By the late 19th century, the Plymouth Cordage Company had become the largest manufacturer of rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
and twine
Twine
Twine is a light string or strong thread composed of two or more smaller strands or yarns twisted together. More generally, the term can be applied to any thin cord....
in the world. The company specialized in ship rigging
Rigging
Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...
, and was chosen among other competitors in the early 1900s to manufacture the rope used on the USS Constitution
USS Constitution
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
.
The Plymouth Cordage Company served as the largest employer in Plymouth for over 100 years. It went out of business in 1964 after over 140 years of continuous operation. By the early 1960s, the company could no longer withstand competition from more advanced synthetic-fiber ropes, and subsequently declared bankruptcy. It was bought out by the Columbian Rope Company in 1965. Parts of the original machinery are now on display at Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Connecticut, is notable both for its collection of sailing ships and boats, and for the re-creation of crafts and fabric of an entire 19th century seafaring village...
in Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic is a village and census-designated place in New London County, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 4,001 at the 2000 census. A historic locality, Mystic has no independent government because it is not a legally recognized municipality in the state of Connecticut...
.
Plymouth Cordage also operated a factory in Welland, Ontario
Welland, Ontario
Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada.The city has been traditionally known as the place where rails and water meet, referring to the railways from Buffalo to Toronto and Southwestern Ontario, and the waterways of Welland Canal and Welland River,...
. A detailed history of Welland operations can be found at the Welland Public Library Local History site.
Cordage Commerce Center
North Plymouth, Massachusetts
North Plymouth is a census-designated place in the town of Plymouth in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,593 at the 2000 census. it is best known as the location of Cordage Park, a small village where the Plymouth Cordage Company was once headquartered...
has been turned into a large retail and office center. The building, now known as Cordage Commerce Center, houses the Plymouth MBTA
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
station, a terminus for the Old Colony Line. The factory also contains several restaurants, offices, and stores. University of Massachusetts Boston
University of Massachusetts Boston
The University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on on Harbor Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States...
currently offers some classes in a wing of the building. The largest retailer is Mill Stores. The offices and animation suites of Plymouth Rock Studios
Plymouth Rock Studios
Plymouth Rock Studios was a proposed film and television production studio in Massachusetts. The studio had held a now-expired option to buy Waverly Oaks Golf Club in Plymouth as the site for the $650 million, development originally slated to be complete in 2010. The proposal included fourteen...
have also taken up residence there.There was previously a Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
located located on the property, but it closed in 2005 and relocated to Colony Place
Colony Place
Colony Place is a large retail development located off U.S. Route 44 near Massachusetts Route 3 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Consisting of over , is currently the largest open-air lifestyle center in New England...
, also in Plymouth.