Briggs & Little Woolen Mills Ltd.
TypePrivate
IndustryYarn
Founded1916
Founders
  • Matthew Briggs
  • Howard Little
Headquarters
York Mills, New Brunswick
,
Canada
ProductsWool and wool blend yarns
Websitewww.briggsandlittle.com

45°43′47″N 67°00′24″W / 45.729786°N 67.006604°W / 45.729786; -67.006604

Briggs & Little Woolen Mills Ltd. is a manufacturer of wool knitting yarns in York Mills, near Harvey Station, New Brunswick, Canada. A woollen mill has existed on the site since 1857, operating under the current name since 1916.

History

The original mill was built in 1857 by George Lister, who also operated a gristmill and a sawmill in an area near Harvey Station, New Brunswick that came to be known as York Mills.[1] The mills were powered by dams on the Magaguadavic River.[2] During the succeeding decades the woollen mill changed ownership several times, and the original structure burned in 1908.[3] The mill was rebuilt and was operated by members of the Little family as Little's Woollen Mill until 1916 when it was renamed Briggs & Little after its new owners Matthew Briggs and Howard Little.[2] Subsequently, Howard Little's son, grandson, and great-grandson have all been involved in running the mill.[4] In 1948 Matthew Briggs's interest in the mill was bought by another member of the Little family, Ward Little, whose grandson John Thompson succeeded him as part owner in 1978.[2] As the company operating a mill which has been in existence since 1857, Briggs & Little styles itself "Canada's Oldest Woolen Mill".[5]

The mill has been lost to fire and rebuilt four times: in 1908, 1944, 1956, and 1994. A fire on 1 November 1994 destroyed the mill building and equipment, but the separate office and inventory storage buildings were saved.[3] It reopened over two years later in the same location.[6] The rebuilt mill no longer uses water to power any of its machinery, although water from the Magaguadavic River is still used for washing wool.[4]

Products

Briggs & Little produces wool knitting yarn in several weights, as well as a blend of 80% wool and 20% nylon in two weights. It also sells carded raw fleece used for stuffing or hand spinning.[7] The mill is described as a "fully integrated vertical mill" in which raw fleece is transformed into the finished yarn product by a series of operations including "scouring, dyeing, blending, carding, spinning, reeling, packaging and labeling". The raw wool is purchased from Canadian producers.[5]

Until 1944 Briggs & Little yarn was available only in black, white, and four shades of grey. Black yarn was produced with a dye made from logwood chips. In 1944 the company introduced three additional colours: paddy green, royal blue and scarlet red.[2] As of 2014 Briggs & Little was producing yarn in 45 shades.[8]

The enterprise includes a yarn shop on the premises at which yarn and patterns are available for purchase.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Harvey business firms go back for eighty years: Year 1857 saw establishment of woollen mills of Briggs and Little". The Daily Gleaner. Fredericton, New Brunswick. 13 July 1937. p. 11. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Branch, Stephen (April 1981). "The Yarn makers". The Atlantic Advocate. 71 (8): 18–22.
  3. 1 2 Meagher, David (7 November 1994). "Employees worry about future of mill". The Daily Gleaner. Fredericton, New Brunswick. p. 3.
  4. 1 2 MacMinn, Brenda (1 December 2007). "The wool business is all in the family". The Daily Gleaner. Fredericton, New Brunswick. p. D1.
  5. 1 2 "Pure wool yarn by Briggs & Little, Canada's oldest woolen mill". Briggs & Little Woolen Mills Ltd. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Culbert, Harold (7 November 1996). "Speech From the Throne: Oral Question Period". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Products". Briggs & Little Woolen Mills Ltd. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Government of Canada, Industry Canada (31 October 2014). "Briggs & Little Woolen Mills Ltd. Company Information". Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Tour". Briggs & Little Woolen Mills Ltd. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
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