A general downturn in the wool market in the late 1940s along with the market moving toward synthetic fabrics ushered in a period of economic difficulty for French Worsted. Despite the company's introduction of synthetic yarn manufacture in 1954, they continued to struggle.
A public celebration of French Worsted’s 50th anniversary in October 1956 hailed a new modernization plan. However, a little more than two years later, French Worsted merged with Dauray Textiles, another Rhode Island-based firm. Labor difficulties and weak market conditions persisted in the merger years, culminating in two October 1966 dynamite blasts that idled the plant for a month, causing severe damage to the structure and machinery. The bomber was never found.
The company filed for bankruptcy in December 1969 and although a business called French Worsted continued to use a small portion of the complex for “novelty twisting,” the company that had played such a dominant role in the economic life of Woonsocket in the 20th century closed its doors in the early 1970s.
<i>Images courtesy of the Woonsocket Historical Society (A & B) and the Rhode Island Historical Society (C)</i>
