The mill was featured in the August 24, 1953, edition of
Time magazine, in an article entitled, "The Pride of Uxbridge" as the site of the Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company, which was then one of the most successful
textile mills in
New England. "In January 1948 President Truman approved authorization of the proposed new blue Air Force uniform and a week after that Air Force Chief of Staff
Hoyt Vandenberg officially circulated word that funding had been approved by the congressional appropriations committee. The new uniform, incorporating a shade of blue fabric (patented as 'Uxbridge Blue' and based on 'Uxbridge 1683 Blue, cable shade 84', developed at the former Bachman-Uxbridge Worsted Company) would be available for distribution by September 1950". Shortly thereafter, on March 29, 1954,
Time magazine reported: "American Woolen Co. will ask its stockholders to approve a merger with Bachmann Uxbridge Worsted Corp. As a combined operation, troubled American Woolen (1953 sales, $73,494,160; net loss, $9,476,981) and Bachmann Uxbridge (1953 sales, $52,609,000; profit, $272,000) would be by far the biggest woolen manufacturer in the country. Textron, Inc., which wants American Woolen to merge with it, and claims to own almost 4% of American Woolen's stock, plans to fight the merger". The merger of American Woolen and Bachman Uxbridge was however blocked by
Textron, which emerged in the 1960s as a
Providence, Rhode Island, based conglomerate. This was Bachman Uxbridge's last bid to be the largest woolen company in America. By 1964 the assets of Bachman Uxbridge were sold to Bernat Yarn of
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
American Civil War uniforms,
World War I khaki overcoats, and
World War II U.S. Army uniforms have all been manufactured in this mill. The business losses following the fire were estimated in the millions of dollars and between 300 and 500 people lost their jobs.
Fire cause and aftermath The fire marshall's report concluded that there was unpermitted welding occurring in a mill business, the sprinkler was not operable, and that both contributed to the fire. Mill owners planned to rebuild. left the
National Governors' Conference in
Michigan to return to Uxbridge to be present for the immediate recovery. Governor Patrick invoked immediate state and federal aide to victims and businesses of the Uxbridge mill fire.
Hurricane Katrina funds were applied to the relief efforts. As of 2009, plans to rebuild were on hold. The eight-acre mill site, still mostly in ruins but with "several remaining buildings," was sold to a
Mendon businessman in 2020. As of December 2025, space is available for leasing of townhouses and/or possible commercial properties. ==See also==