Reed & Barton Factory - Taunton, MA
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NorStar
N 41° 55.132 W 071° 05.929
19T E 325956 N 4642898
Reed & Barton is a major designer and manufacturer of silverware, flatware, and holloware, and though the headquarters and design operations are still here, manufacturing operations here have been gradually eliminated.
Waymark Code: WMEAYW
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 04/29/2012
Views: 2
In Taunton, in the Britanniaville section of Taunton, is the Reed & Barton factory complex. Reed & Barton is still one of the largest makers of silverware and holloware in the country.
The factory is a large jumble of structures on both sides of the Mill River. The river at one time provided power to the factory. The main building, with the name, "Reed & Barton" over the door, is at the intersection of W. Britannia Street and Danforth Street. The best way to view the factory is along W. Britannia Street. There, the street goes along the buildings, and there is a slight rise if you go up Cottage Street. The vast majority of buildings are brick. Most have peaked roofs and there are several square turrets, one of which has several arched openings that probably either house or once housed a bell. Heights of these buildings range from one to five stories.
There is a retail shop at this location (the Old Colony Historical Society Museum stated that they had one - I didn't find a reference on the R&B web site), and they have an outlet in the Wrentham Outlet Mall.
Reed & Barton grew out of a failed business first run by Isaac Babbit. Two men who worked for Babbit's firm, Henry G. Reed and Charles E. Barton, took over and successfully ran the company. They produced Britanniaware (an alloy of metal closely related to pewter), silverware, and other items. During the Civil War, they produced a lot of weaponry for the Union forces. More recently, they were chosen to design the gold, silver and bronze medals for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Today, the design operations and headquarters are still here, but manufacturing is done elsewhere. It makes me wonder how much of the complex is currently used. Their products are still sold in major department stores such as Macy's - my flatware bears their name!
The Old Colony Historical Society on Church Green in Taunton has exhibits of typical products made at R&B as well as examples of the Olympic medals.
Wikipedia (Reed & Barton):
(
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