Malden’s Revere Knitting Mills

By Phillip Wright

Information and Local History Librarian

Malden Public Library

As the temperature gradually drops and we transition into fall, I begin planning and working on knitted gifts for the upcoming holiday season. I will likely take on too many ambitious projects and end up having to purchase knitted goods to compensate for my unrealistic goals… If only Revere Knitting Mills’ factory store were still open! Just a five-minute walk from the library, the company had a storefront at 108 Ferry Street. They sold knitwear and yarn for hand knitting that was produced around the corner at their factory on Eastern Avenue.

Revere Knitting Mills was one of Malden’s many successful industries. It was active in Malden from 1919, when the company was founded, to 1958. The company was still operational after 1958, but it relocated to Wakefield.

Revere Knitting Mills was founded in 1919 on Bryant Street by Maldonians David Hillson, Bertram Green and Hyman Solomon. By May of 1921, the company had purchased and built a factory on the corner of Ferry Street and Eastern Avenue. You can see “Revere Knitting Mills” carved in stone at 124-126 Eastern Avenue to this day. The company had need to expand its factory, and in 1929 a $40,000 project to build an additional 18,000 square feet was completed. All of this additional space was anticipated to yield a 50 percent increase in their production. The company’s location at 108 Ferry Street was converted to a storefront in 1934. In addition to selling men’s and women’s knitwear, they also had a section for hand knitting supplies. Sales must have been successful because the storefront on Ferry Street underwent renovations to double in size within the year.

In September of 1937, the company joined the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. This dramatically benefitted Revere Knitting Mills’ workers. A few examples of this are a 10 percent increase in wage, a 40-hour work week and an increase in pay for overtime work. The agreement with this union was only scheduled for one year.

Shortly after the agreement expired, in November of 1938, a meeting took place between management and employees about wages. The results of this meeting must not have pleased the company’s workers because 218 employees went on a week-long strike three days later. Legal efforts were taken to reduce the size of the strike. There was an official ruling that factory workers could not strike on behalf of storefront workers. Upper management of the company sought to quickly resolve the issue. There was a meeting between company officials that caused workers to call off the strike.

A fire broke out in August of 1938. Ironically, not much damage occurred because of the fire, but there was significant damage to goods that occurred because of the sprinklers and water. The fire was caused by the overheated motor of a sewing machine.

Revere Knitting Mills remained in Malden until 1958 when the factory moved to an even larger location in Wakefield. The storefront on Ferry Street, however, stayed in Malden.

Bertram E. Green was with the company for many years. He was one of the founding members of the company in 1919, became treasurer and eventually became the president that oversaw the company’s move to Wakefield in 1958. Green was considered a civic leader of Malden in his time; he was involved with many Malden projects during his 75 years in this city. To name a few, he was president of Malden Hospital, president of the Malden School Committee and a founder and lifelong member of Temple Tifereth Israel.

Want to learn more about Revere Knitting Mills (or anything else about Malden)? Come and visit Malden Public Library’s Local History Hours on Mondays from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. and Wednesdays from 2 p.m.-4 p.m.! You can also email me at pwright@maldenpubliclibrary.org with questions.