Many of the early manufacturers and businesses in Ripon grew to national prominence. One of
the earliest was Ripon Knitting Works, founded by Jehdeiah Bowen in 1880. The factory located on Watson and Seward Streets manufactured heavy hosiery and work mitts. In the late 1940s, the Knitting Works became the nation’s largest producer of slipper socks. The Ripon Knitting Works
closed in the late 1960s.
Barlow & Seelig Manufacturing, started in 1908, was later renamed Speed Queen and is currently
known as Alliance Laundry Systems. Still located in Ripon, Alliance Laundry Systems is a provider of commercial laundry systems which are manufactured under various brands and shipped to
over one hundred countries throughout the world.
In the 1920s, Advertisers Manufacturing Company sewed promotional products like carpenters
aprons and painter hats with advertising messages printed on them.
