Profiles

Read more about some Worcester corset activity in the full profiles of the following businesses:

– Park Corset Works (1882-1894)
Located at 84 Front Street, this was one of the city’s earliest corset manufacturers. Park Corset was run by a Civil War veteran and
former “notions” shop owner Solon Bryant.

– Linehan Conover Company (1913-1929) / also in business as Linehan Corset Company (1908-1912, 1927-1931)
It began at a downtown location (12 Austin Street) and later moved to a larger facility around the corner from Mary Bowne’s factory in the Junction Shop Manufacturing District. Company strategy was low pricing and high volume.

– New England Corset Company (1919-1928)
New England Corset spent its 10+ years in the old Crompton & Knowles loom factory in what Worcesterites now call the Canal District. During the first World War New England Corset shifted production to create military equipment (parachutes, backpacks, etc.) for the war effort.

– Sherman Textile Company (1915-1935)
Owner Harold Sherman had a long career in the textile field, starting at Crompton & Knowles (see New England Corset profile for more on that) and progressing through a linen mill, a silk & cotton manufacturer, and finally settling into his own enterprise of specialty corset fabric production.