These Shoes Were Made for Walking- Middleborough’s Shoe Industry

For over a century, from the 1850s into the 1960s, the shoe industry reigned supreme in Middleboro. Countless factories and independent shoemakers have passed through this town, with names like Leonard, Barrows, Dean, Perkins, and Alden. Yet only Alden Shoe Co. still manufactures in Middleboro. Less than a handful of the shoe factories that dotted the center of town are left standing. To understand the New England shoe industry is to understand our town's look and history.

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