Crompton Company Records

The company was founded in 1807 as the Providence Manufacturing Co. in West Warwick, RI, and by 1808 was operating a cotton mill. Its name changed in 1823 to Crompton Co., and it expanded to include a bleachery and by 1832 calico printing. The village around the mill was named Crompton Mills, later known as Crompton. The company incorporated in 1850. By 1866 George Martin Richmond gained controlling interest, and the Richmond family soon dominated the company. Frank Richmond became president in 1866 and Howard Richmond became treasurer. The company began to make corduroys and velveteens; printed cloth was phased out by 1906. F.E. Richmond, Howard's son, was treasurer and then president from 1907 to 1943. In 1915 the company took over the sales agency of Henry Kupfer & Co. and changed its name to Crompton-Richmond Co. in 1916. It entered the factoring business in 1933 and in 1936 moved its sales of finished goods and factoring subsidiary to New York City The company expanded to the South, building Crompton-Highland Mills in 1925 in Griffin, GA, to make grey corduroy. In 1928 Crompton-Shenandoah Co. in Waynesboro, VA, was operating as a corduroy dyeing and finishing plant. Other southern plants included Crompton-Arkansas Mills in Morrillton, AK, the Crompton-Osceola Co. (F.E. Richmond plant) in Osceola, AK, and the Howard Richmond Plant in Leesburg, VA. The company ceased operations in 1988.