
Cordage Company Tower
The 'Plymouth Cordage Company' was a ropemaking company located in
Plymouth,
Massachusetts. 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 and twine in the world.
[1] The company specialized in ship rigging, and was chosen among other competitors in the early 1900's to manufacture the rope used on the
USS Constitution.
The Plymouth Cordage Company served as the largeest employer in Plymouth for over 100 years. It went out of business in
1964 after over 140 years of continuous operation. By the ealy 1960s, the company could no longer compete with competition from more advanced synthetic-fiber ropes, and subsequently declared bankrupty. It was bought out by the
Columbian Rope Company in 1965.
[2]
Cordage Commerce Center
In modern times, the 45-acre Cordage factory property in
North Plymouth has been turned into a large retail and office center. The building, now known as ''Cordage Commerce Center'', houses the Plymouth
MBTA station, a terminus for the
Old Colony Line. The factory also contains several restaurants, offices, and stores.
University of Massachusetts Boston currently offers some classes in a wing of the building. The largest retailer is
Mill Stores. There was previously a
Wal-Mart located located on the property, but it closed in 2005 and relocated to
Colony Place, also in Plymouth.
References
1. Plymouth Cordage Company: Storied Past
2. Records of the Plymouth Cordage Company
External links
★
Cordage Commerce Center Official Site
★
Plymouth Cordage Historical Society