The company was founded in 1892 by William Clark, a leading manufacturer of cotton thread whose principal facilities were in Trenton, New Jersey. This plant, which was powered by steam, was probably built to broaden the company's manufacturing reach after a bitter and prolonged strike at the Trenton facility. The company was a major employer in the Pawcatuck-Westerly, Rhode Island region, and the plant, through ownership changes, operated into the 1950s. It was extensively damaged in the New England Hurricane of 1938, but significant elements were repaired or rebuilt.
