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Williamsport once was hub of garment industry

One sector of the economy that flourished in Williamsport’s past was any that was associated with the garment industry. In fact, it could almost be said that a man, at least, could be outfitted from head to toe, including suspenders to hold up his pants, from items manufactured in the city.

As early as the late 1700’s Jeremiah Tallman opened a shop at the southwest corner of Third and Pine streets to house his boot and shoemaking business. The first hatmaker in the city, Robert McElrath, opened his business on the north side of Pine Street in 1795, according to “The History of Lycoming County” by John F. Meginness.

With the completion of the West Branch Canal in 1836, raw materials for manufacturing could be shipped in and finished products could be sent to markets around the country. A supply of workers also was accessible by the waterway, which opened up diverse industries to the city which had relied heavily on lumber for its economy.

About 20 years after the canal was completed, railroad lines would connect Williamsport to major eastern cities, such as Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore, which further expanded the markets that could be reached.

From that period on, the area saw a burgeoning of industries, particularly those associated with clothing the country’s population, a boon which would last well into the 20th century.

Long before artisans occupied the Pajama Factory on Park Avenue, the building housed the Lycoming Rubber Company, which opened there in 1882, manufacturing shoes and galoshes. In 1885, according to a timeline of the textile industry compiled by Lycoming College, there was a strike there when the female employees had their wages reduced. According to a story from the Williamsport Sun-Gazette at that time, the women said they wouldn’t go back to work until the old prices were established.

A subsidiary of the United States Rubber Company, which developed the process of vulcanization, using heat to meld cloth and rubber together, the local rubber factory manufactured tennis shoes, KEDS sneakers and gym and yachting shoes. At its peak, it was estimated that 40 pairs of shoes were produced per minute at the factory. It closed its doors in the city in 1932.

The Pajama Factory building has undergone many transformations and housed many industries in its lifetime. The Franklin Hosiery Mill operated out of that site beginning in 1939. According to the Lycoming Women’s History Colllection, classes were conducted by the Williamsport School District in conjunction with the employment committee so that young women could learn to make hosiery. Franklin Hosiery was still in operation in the 1950’s.

Another business which opened in the 1930’s on the fifth floor of that same building was Weldon’s Pajama Factory. By the 1950’s, according to Lycoming College, it was reputed to be the largest pajama factory in the world, initially making the bedtime garments and shirts for men and boys. It gained national notoriety when it served as the model for the Doris Day movie, “The Pajama Game.”

An industry directly associated with apparel was the manufacture of suspenders. Although they’re not a common article of clothing today, suspenders were an essential part of a man’s wardrobe in the 1800’s and after the turn of the century, Williamsport was a major supplier of them.

The Wire Buckle Suspender Company, which operated in the city from 1886 to 1912, was considered the largest suspender manufacturer in the world at that time, according Meginness.

Charles R. Harris, one of the owners, patented the wire buckle used in making the suspenders. The company employed approximately 150 boys and girls and could turn out approximately 40,000 pairs of suspenders daily, according to Meginness’ account. Other suspender companies later sprung up in the city. The Self-Locking buckle Suspender Company in 1890 and Samuel Baum and Victor B. Ulman started a factory to manufacture the fashion accessory in 1889 on West Third Street.

A common practice for manufacturers in the city was the hiring of children. Although state laws at the time required children to be at least 13 years-old, younger children would often work in factories, coal mines and mills because they could be paid lower wages. Those under sixteen had to attend school for three months a year, but the law was not always enforced, so child labor continued.

Major employers of the children of local laborers were the silk mills that moved to Williamsport from larger metropolitan areas in search of cheaper labor. It was estimated that by the 1900’s, there were over 50 silk mills within a 100-mile radius of Williamsport, according to Lycoming College.

At the height of the silk mill boom, there were about ten mills in the area in operation. Demarest, National Silk Dyeing, Holmes Silk Co., Sharon Silk, Hoehn Mill, Williamsport Textile, Aronsohn & H. Warshaw and Sons, Fabric Fabrics, Keystone Silk Mill, Stearns Silk Mill and Leonard Wood Silk Mill all operated during the late 1800’s and some through the middle of the last century.

Programs at the YWCA were developed to accommodate the women, such as a day nursery for the workers’ children and a cafeteria so the women wouldn’t have to go to restaurants, which at the time were mainly patronized by men, according to the local college’s timeline.

A late comer to Williamsport’s garment industry, opening in 1954, is Wundies’. Specializing in women’s undergarments, Wundies is still in operation today at the west end of town.

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