History

Draper Brother’s Company was established in 1856 as a textile manufacturer. To this day it is still family owned and operated by the 5th and 6th generations of the original Draper family that emigrated from England in the 1840’s. Draper Knitting Company itself is in its 6th generation of being a family owned and now, a woman-run company.

In England during the 1500’s and 1600’s, the Draper textile trade flourished; it was even one of the first corporate body’s in England to be granted a coat of arms due to their influence in the Yorkshire and Derbyshire territories. It was Thomas Draper who first immigrated to America in the late 1840’s to seek out new and exciting endeavors. James Draper was coaxed by his younger brother to immigrate to America in 1851 because of the wealth of opportunity. Thomas had originally taken residence in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Once James had arrived to the country, they both decided to move the business to Canton, Massachusetts, perhaps due to the wealth of water power in the area. By 1856 the business had been established but Thomas took a turn for the worst and died leaving his son Charles to inherit the entire business. James ended up with without and decided that he was savvy enough to start his own business.

During Charles’ business endeavors over the years, he eventually entered into a partnership with Matthew Townsend claiming to have patented a “latch needle.” The pair eventually reorganized the business as Canton Woolen Mills and together bought a substantial amount of land at the corners of Washington and Dedham Street. The land to this day is the current location of Draper Knitting and Draper Properties, along with the factory buildings of the original businesses.

In a turn for the worst, Matthew Townsend was sued for patent violation in 1869. Due to Charles’ association with Mr. Townsend, the pair ended up losing the ensuing court battle. The lawsuit left Charles with claiming bankruptcy and the businesses he had started had to be sold.
James’ businesses on the other hand were still growing and he was able to purchase the land and buildings of the Canton Woolen Mills. Before James’ death in 1873, he was able to secure a promising future of the Draper businesses and for its future familial generations.

During James’ life he had owned and operated three factories; the Everett Mill, the Canton Woolen Mills and the Morse Mill, under the name Draper and Summer. In 1889, his children reorganized the businesses and land to be under the umbrella of the Draper Brothers Company.

Draper is still the oldest manufacturing company still operating in Canton and for many years the mill provided employment to Canton residents. Being a family owned and operated company, Draper has always had a strong sense of family which turned into family oriented organization in all levels of operation. To this day, this still holds true as generations of families still work in the mill and offices of the Draper Knitting Company.
James Draper brought with him to America a firsthand knowledge of knitting lace gloves and an extensive background in how knitting machines operated and were built. By the 1860’s, he had added ladies headdresses to supplement the glove business. Once his children had taken over the business, knitted garments for men and women and rubber footwear liners were added to their list of fabric capabilities.

Over the next few decades, Draper was able to add to their abilities, jersey cloth, cotton plush and eventually papermaker’s felt. The family changed and evolved with the ever growing needs of the country and thus earned them dozens of patents to earn them the respect and quality assurance behind the Draper name.