Serie 1 - Company Documents

The Hamilton Cotton Company was a primary cotton producer, starting its operations with raw cotton from the United States, Mexico and Brazil. It was founded in 1880 but its history reaches back to the early 1870s in Dundas where brothers James M. Young, the eldest son of a prominent Hamilton merchant family, and Hamilton Young learned the business at the Dundas Cotton mills. Production expanded in the 20th century. The Young family strengthened its holdings in Hamilton and added plants in Marysville, New Brunswick, Montreal, Quebec, Trenton and Woodbridge, Ontario. Some of the products of the company included cotton yarns, dyed or undyed, blend yarns, woven cloth, wrapping twines, cotton and synthetic braided cords, twisted ropes, and laces. The numerous buildings of the Hamilton Cotton Company stood behind the Malcolm & Souter plant on Mary Street. The main plant of the company was located on Mary Street North in Hamilton, Ontario and was sub-divided into three separate mill units: The Yarn and Cloth division, the Dyeing division, and the Narrow Fabrics Division. By 1970, the name of the business changed to Hamilton Group Limited.