Old Photographs Town Hall Paisley Scotland

Old photograph of the Town Hall, Paisley, Scotland. Paisley Town Hall, the George A. Clark Town Hall, was funded by Clarks, the owners of the Anchor thread mill. George Aitken Clark, born 1823, died 1873, was a Scottish manufacturer and benefactor. He was the son of John Clark, a thread manufacturer in Paisley, where he was born on 9 August 1823. He was educated at Paisley grammar school, and in 1840 was sent to the firm of Kerr & Company of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. On reaching manhood he returned to Paisley, and entered into partnership with Messrs. Robert and John Ronald, shawlmakers, under the name of Ronald & Clark. In 1851 Clark gave up his partnership to go into with his brother-in-law, Robert Kerr, as a thread manufacturer. To extend the business he went in 1856 to the United States, and to avoid the tariffs the firm in 1864 established a factory at Newark, New Jersey, USA. It was a success, and Clark's O.N.T. spool cotton soon became a recognized American brand. In 1866 the firm amalgamated with the original firm of Clark under the name of Clark & Co., with an anchor as their trademark. Clark died at Newark on 13 February 1873.




Old photograph of the Town Hall, Paisley, Scotland.

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