Page "North Attleborough, Massachusetts" Paragraph 3

By 1776, there were 2200 people living in North Attleborough.

In about 1780, a French settler set up a forge for working brass and the industrial era arrived in North Attleborough.

Englishmen brought with them British machinery from Birmingham in 1794 and designed American improvements in button making which they patented.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries, small grist and sawmills were built along the Ten Mile River, and subsequently established nail factories were eventually eclipsed by cotton spinning mills.

The development of cotton spinning was spurred by the embargo on imports resulting from the War of 1812.

Textiles and jewelry manufacturing were the staple industries of the town by 1832 but buttons were king.

By 1834, it was said that North Attleborough produced more buttons than anywhere else in the United States.