Straw Hat Factory

Straw hat manufacturing began in Medfield in 1801 and became a significant part of the town's history for 155 years. The Excelsior Hat Factory, run by Col. Mitchell and located where Montrose School stands today, employed workers in a business that by 1894 produced more than 2.5 million hats a year, employed more than 1,200 men and women, and ranked as the second largest hat factory in the US.

Medfield, Massachusetts · United States