Farr Alpaca Company

Farr Alpaca Company

Mills and offices of the Farr Alpaca Company, as seen in 1912
Formerly	Randall Farr Company
Company type	Private
Industry	Textiles
Founded	1864 (1864) in Hespeler, Ontario
Defunct	1939
Headquarters	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Area served	Global
Key people	Herbert M. Farr (Founder)

The Farr Alpaca Company was a textile manufacturer operating across Canada and the United States, focusing on products made from alpaca and mohair worsted wool. Initially established in 1864 under the name Randall Farr Company in Hespeler, Ontario, it moved its operations to Holyoke, Massachusetts to circumvent tariffs imposed by the Wool and Woolens Act of 1867, subsequently rebranding as Farr Alpaca in 1874. The Farr family developed a leading woolen goods enterprise by maintaining confidentiality rather than relying on patents; they collaborated with trusted local machine shops and restricted employee knowledge to safeguard their proprietary techniques. By the early 1900s, the company managed the largest alpaca woolen mill worldwide and ranked among the foremost producers in the sector.

The firm was unable to adjust to evolving market conditions, leading to the halt of production in 1939 and official dissolution by 1942. Additionally, Farr Alpaca played a significant role in the early development of professional soccer in the United States; its team, Farr Alpaca F.C., was a forerunner to the Holyoke Falcos, one of the founding teams of the American Soccer League.

Further reading

• The Farr Alpaca Company; a case study in business history, Frances Cornwall Hutner, Smith College, Northampton, Mass., 1951

External links

• Farr Alpaca Company Photographs, Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
• Winter Palace Theater, restoration project of the Farr Alpaca Co. auditorium
• Photos of Farr Alpaca Mills, Google Arts and Culture via General Electric