The Rise and Transformation of the Craven Cotton Mill

The Craven Cotton Mill, one of Brantford’s industrial icons, was founded by Clayton Slater in the early 1880s. Slater, who settled in Brantford in 1880, imagined a thriving textile factory in Holmedale. He not only created the local economy but also had a long-lasting effect on the Canadian textile industry. Construction of the Craven Cotton Mill began in May 1880, with production beginning less than a year later in April 1881. The mill itself was an architectural marvel, constructed of white brick with a mansard roof. The four-storey building measured 170 feet long and 70 feet wide and was equipped with modern machinery of the day: 10,000 spindles and 250 looms. The mill specialized in gray domestic or factory cotton. It treated around 2,000 bales of cotton a year and produced more than 3 million yards of fabric annually. Such a massive output of textiles soon put the mill at the centre of the region’s industrial sector. In 1882, the Craven Cotton Mill became a joint stock company with a paid-up capital of $225,000. Clayton Slater, a wealthy shareholder, remained the general manager, directing the firm towards continued prosperity.

In 1883, Slater went a step further and set up the Wincey Mill which produced special-purpose fabrics. Together, these mills improved Brantford’s economy by supplying hundreds of local labourers and making the city a leading industrial powerhouse. Slater ran both firms by himself and through his sons until his death in February 1891. In May 1891, following Clayton Slater’s death, the Craven Cotton Mill was sold to the Montreal-based Dominion Cotton Company for $45,000. The new owners immediately began investing heavily in modernization, upgrading the machinery and infrastructure to ensure the mill’s competitiveness in an expanding industry.

This investment by the Dominion Cotton Company brought the mill to a new level, pioneering new production methods and ensuring its place in an expanding national textile empire.

In 1909, the Penman Manufacturing Company purchased the mill buildings and in time, the business was slowing down, and the cotton mill eventually closed. The Wincey Mill, however, did not give up its legacy and moved to Paris, Ontario where it remained part of the textile industry. The narrative of the Craven Cotton Mill captures Brantford’s industrial drive and endurance. The mill, whether first founded by Clayton Slater’s vision or later acquired by the Dominion Cotton Company, was central to the region’s economic and social growth. Even when its structures aren’t buzzing like machines anymore, it still stands as a monument to Brantford’s industrial heritage.

References

https://history-api.brantfordlibrary.ca/Document/View/c35a2046-4306-441e-ab2f-3fade46ce2f3

Warner, Beers, & Co. (1883). The history of the County of Brant, Ontario (p. 146) [PDF]. Warner, Beers, & Co.