Plymouth Cordage Company
The Plymouth Cordage Company was a rope making company located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The company, founded in 1824, had a large factory located on the Plymouth waterfront. By the late 19th century, the Plymouth Cordage Company had become the largest manufacturer of rope and twine in the world. The company specialized in ship rigging, and was chosen among other competitors in the early 1900s to manufacture the rope used on the USS Constitution.
The Plymouth Cordage Company served as the largest employer in Plymouth for over 100 years. It went out of business in 1964 after over 140 years of continuous operation. By the early 1960s, the company could no longer withstand competition from more advanced synthetic-fiber ropes, and subsequently declared bankruptcy. It was bought out by the Columbian Rope Company in 1965. Parts of the original machinery are now on display at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut.
The Plymouth Cordage Company played a small role in the Sacco and Vanzetti case. Bartolomeo Vanzetti worked at the company in the early part of the century. Upton Sinclair's historical novel "Boston" has several chapters devoted to the company when his elderly heroine goes to work for the factory.
Cordage Commerce Center
In modern times, the 45-acre (180,000 m2) Cordage factory property in North Plymouth has been turned into a large retail and office center. The building, now known as Cordage Commerce Center, houses the Plymouth MBTA station, a terminus for the Old Colony Line. The factory also contains several restaurants, offices, and stores. University of Massachusetts Boston currently offers some classes in a wing of the building. The largest retailer is Mill Stores. The offices and animation suites of Plymouth Rock Studios have also taken up residence there.There was previously a Wal-Mart located on the property, but it closed in 2005 and relocated to Colony Place, also in Plymouth.
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