Frank P. Sheldon (February 16, 1846 – August 17, 1915) was an American mill engineer based in Providence, Rhode Island, and active from 1870 until his death in 1915. In his capacity as a mill engineer Sheldon designed cotton mills and factories for a variety of industries.
Life and career Frank Perry Sheldon was born February 16, 1846, in Providence, Rhode Island, to Jeremiah A. Sheldon, a patternmaker, and Mary Sheldon, née Burbank. He was educated in the Providence public schools and at Scholfield's Commercial College. He first worked in the office of Providence civil engineer Niles B. Schubarth. He then worked as a mechanical draftsman for his father's employer, the American Screw Company, and in the machine shops of James S. Brown in Pawtucket. On Brown's recommendation Sheldon then went to work for Foster H. Stafford, treasurer of the Union Mills of Fall River, Massachusetts, for whom he drew the plans of the company's no. 2 mill. He then worked for Edward Kilburn, engineer of the Lonsdale Company at Lonsdale, Rhode Island, and with him designed the no. 4 mill of the Wamsutta Mills in New Bedford."Frank Perry Sheldon" in Lamb's Textile Industries of the United States, vol. 1, ed. John Howard Brown and E. N. Morris (Boston: James H. Lamb Company, 1911)
By 1870 Sheldon felt comfortable enough to go into business independently as a mill engineer. The idea of a "mill engineer" developed alongside the American textile industry and was at this time only just being professionalized. Such an engineer was responsible for the design of all of a mill's machinery and systems as well as the building that housed those systems. Some of these engineers, including Sheldon, carried out the original research required to provide these services.Betsy Hunter Bradley, The Works: The Industrial Architecture of the United States (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999) He was sole proprietor of his business until 1903, when he formed a partnership with his elder son, Arthur Noyes Sheldon (1878–1973), practicing as F. P. Sheldon & Company. In 1907 they were joined by his younger son, Frank Lawrence Sheldon (1883–1925), and the firm name changed to F. P. Sheldon & Sons. After Sheldon died in 1915, his sons continued the firm under the name F. P. Sheldon & Son. Frank L. Sheldon died in 1925, but Arthur N. Sheldon continued to lead the firm under the same name until his retirement in 1964."Deaths," Brown Alumni Monthly 73, no. 9 (July 1973): 49.
Personal life In 1900 Sheldon was appointed director of textiles for the United States Commission to the Exposition Universelle in Paris. He was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the National Cotton Manufacturers' Association.
Sheldon married in 1877 to Nellie Noyes. They had three children, two sons and one daughter. She died in 1883 and he married again in 1892, to Mary Elizabeth Lincoln, they had no children together. He died August 17, 1915, at the age of 69, in Providence."Obituary," American Wool and Cotton Reporter 29, no. 35 (September 2 1915): 1316.
Legacy Sheldon's employees included Charles T. Main and Dwight Seabury, who left to establish their own practices in 1893 and 1896, respectively.Judith Boyce DeMark, "Main, Charles Thomas" in American National Biography 14 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999)"Dwight Seabury" in Lamb's Textile Industries of the United States, vol. 1, ed. John Howard Brown and E. N. Morris (Boston: James H. Lamb Company, 1911)
In 1921 the firm published a retrospective, entitled A Half Century of Achievement, to commemorate the firm's fiftieth year of business.A Half Century of Achievement (Providence: F. P. Sheldon & Son, 1921) This book also contained summaries of the firm's research. Research activities were covered more thouroughly in the 1926 publication Miscellaneous Scientific Papers of F. P. Sheldon & Son, comprising papers presented by members of the firm."An Interesting Book," Cotton 91, no. 6 (April 1927): 609. In 1923 Sheldon & Son was recognized as one of the major mill engineering firms of the United States.J. P. H. Perry, "Architects and Industrial Building," Concrete 23, no. 5 (November 1923): 189-191.
Many of Sheldon's works survive and several have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places; others contribute to listed historic districts.
Projects All dates are date of completion.
1872: North Grosvenordale Mill, North Grosvenordale village, Thompson, ConnecticutBruce Clouette and Maura Cronin, North Grosvenordale Mill Historic District National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (1993) Contributes to the NRHP-listed North Grosvenordale Mill Historic District 1873: King Philip Mills, Fall River, MassachusettsHistory of Bristol County, Massachusetts (Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Company, 1883) NRHP-listed 1883: Paramount Knitting Company Mill, Beaver Dam, WisconsinGary Tipler, Paramount Knitting Company Mill NRHP Registration Form (2011) NRHP-listed 1886: Ann & Hope Mill, Lonsdale village, Cumberland, Rhode IslandWilliam H. Jordy, Buildings of Rhode Island, ed. Ronald J. Onorato and Wm. McKenzie Woodward (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) Sheldon also completed the attached Lonsdale Mill in 1901; both contribute to the NRHP-listed Lonsdale Historic District 1889: Berkshire Mill No. 1, Adams, MassachusettsCandace Jenkins with Brian Pfeiffer, Berkshire Mill #1 National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form (1982) NRHP-listed 1890: Cornell Mills, Fall River, Massachusetts NRHP-listed 1890: Gorham Manufacturing Company works, Providence, Rhode IslandWm. McKenzie Woodward and Edward F. Sanderson, Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources, ed. David Chase (Providence: Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1986) Demolished in 1998 1894: Queen City Cotton Mill, Burlington, VermontGlenn M. Andres and Curtis B. Johnson, Buildings of Vermont (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013) Contributes to the NRHP-listed Lakeside Development historic district 1896: Jesse Metcalf Building, Providence, Rhode Island"Another new building. To be erected on Pine Street between Page and Richmond," Providence Journal, October 26, 1895. As of 2026, occupied by the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families; contributes resource to the NRHP-listed Downtown Providence Historic District 1896: Warren Manufacturing Company mills, Warren, Rhode Island"The new Warren mill. Cotton was started through the machinery this week," Providence Journal, August 27, 1896. As of 2026, an apartment complex known as the Tourister Mills, after later occupant American Tourister 1903: Avondale Mills, Pell City, AlabamaJeff Mansell and Trina Binkley, Avondale Mill Historic District National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (2000) Burned in 2006 during demolition; formerly contributed to the Avondale Mill Historic District 1904: Greystone Mills, Greystone village, North Providence, Rhode Island Contributes to the NRHP-listed Greystone Mill Historic District 1906: J. & P. Coats power plant, Central Falls, Rhode IslandElectrical World 48, no. 25 (December 22, 1906): 1220. As of 2026, incorporated into the Rand Place Apartments; contributes to the NRHP-listed Conant Thread-Coats & Clark Mill Complex District 1907: Esmond Mill, Esmond village, Smithfield, Rhode IslandSarah E. Zurier and Charlotte C.W. Tavlor, Ira B. Sweet House National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (2009) 1907: Fitchburg Yarn Mill, Fitchburg, MassachusettsAlisa Augenstein and Maureen Cavanaugh with Betsy Friedberg, Fitchburg Yarn Mill National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (2016) NRHP-listed 1907: Greenhalgh Mill, Pawtucket, Rhode IslandStephen J. Roper, Pawtucket, Rhode Island (Providence: Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1978) The last large mill built in Pawtucket; burned in 2003 1911: Whitehall Building, Greystone village, North Providence, Rhode Island Contributes to the NRHP-listed Greystone Historic District 1913: Davol Rubber Company Eddy Street building, Providence, Rhode Island NRHP-listed 1915: Gardner Building, Providence, Rhode IslandIron Trade Review 55, no. 22 (November 26 1914): 1010. Significantly enlarged in 1925; contributes to the NRHP-listed Downtown Providence Historic District
Bibliography A Half Century of Achievement (Providence: F. P. Sheldon & Son, 1921) Miscellaneous Scientific Papers of F. P. Sheldon & Son (Providence: F. P. Sheldon & Son, 1926)
References