A lecture and slide presentation by Virginia Adams
April 23, 1997 at the Barrington Public Library
Sponsored by:The Barrington Preservation Society
Ms. Adams is affiliated with the Rhode Island Public Archeology
Laboratory; she is a co-author of Historic and Architectural
Resources of Barrington, 1993, published by the Rhode Island
Historical Preservation Commission. The material for the lecture
was gathered as part of her professional duties for the State.
In 1905, a local man (Mr. Frost
) started the Frost Finishing Co. in Barrington; it manufactured
artificial leather. The original 1905 structure remains within
the present O'Bannon building. Mr. O'Bannon, from New York, was
originally the treasurer. In 1911, O'Bannon bought out Frost.
At that time 150 workers were employed in Barrington and there
was also a plant in New Jersey. O'Bannon was then the largest
manufacturer of imitation leather in the world; the primary customer
was the automobile industry. In 1912, the mill building was enlarged,
an upper story was added, and the two plants were consolidated
in Barrington. The Annawamsutt Mill, across the steet from the
plant, was acquired by O'Bannon about this time. By 1917, employment
had
reached 1200. In 1918, the company switched to arms manufacture
(gun cottens). A plant in East Providence (Nonnabo) was also
acquired; it shipped material to the Imperial Russian Army via
Vladivostok in 1918.
By 1920, The O'Bannon Corporation had grown five-fold. It
had two plants in Barrington, one in East Providence, and one
in Taunton, MA. Mr. O'Bannon was declared incompetent in 1921
and died two years later. The Corporation went bankrupt in 1926.
The Barrington facility was bought by the Cranston Worsted Mills
in 1926, and a year later acquired by Collins and Aikman, with
whom it stayed until 1959 (employing 325 in that year). The buildings
were subsequently owned by American Tourister and Piling Chain(1974).
The Annawamsutt Mill burned to the ground in 1995; all that remains
of it is the water tower.
The remaining mill building was converted to elderly housing
in the early '90's.
The notes from this lecture
were taken and submitted by Ken Mason
In 1905, a local man (Mr. Frost
) started the Frost Finishing Co. in Barrington; it manufactured
artificial leather. The original 1905 structure remains within
the present O'Bannon building. Mr. O'Bannon, from New York, was
originally the treasurer. In 1911, O'Bannon bought out Frost.
At that time 150 workers were employed in Barrington and there
was also a plant in New Jersey. O'Bannon was then the largest
manufacturer of imitation leather in the world; the primary customer
was the automobile industry. In 1912, the mill building was enlarged,
an upper story was added, and the two plants were consolidated
in Barrington. The Annawamsutt Mill, across the steet from the
plant, was acquired by O'Bannon about this time. By 1917, employment
had