Aalten’s textile industry was deeply rooted in the centuries-old tradition of domestic weaving and flax processing. In 1826 Anton Driessen came from Bocholt to Aalten to establish a textile enterprise. In the decades that followed, the existing cottage industry developed into a substantial industrial sector.
For centuries, flax was grown in the Achterhoek and neighbouring Westphalia and woven into linen on farms. This cottage industry gave rise to a lively cross-border trade in woven fabrics.
Many farm and street names in Aalten still recall this period, including de Weversborg, de Pellewever, de Bleeke, Vlasspreideweg and — because of the clean water — Zilverbekendijk.
The arrival of the Driessens
The increase in Dutch import duties on foreign fabrics made exports from Bocholt less attractive. Anton Driessen and his brother Joseph, partners in Gebrüder Driessen, therefore applied in 1826 for permission to establish a textile business in Aalten. Anton moved to Aalten that year; Joseph remained in Bocholt. Not long afterwards, their cousin Heinrich Driessen, of the firm Peter Driessen & Sohn, was also granted permission to establish himself in Aalten.
In 1826, 56 looms and around twenty families from Prussia also came to Aalten. Most settled here permanently.
Growth in employment
The number of home-weavers grew steadily. There were 292 in 1828, rising to 352 a year later. In 1833 it was reported: ‘The fustian factories continued vigorously, the factories in Aalten usually employing about 630 weavers according to the returns, both in this municipality and in the surrounding municipalities of Winterswijk, Dinxperlo, Varsseveld, Lichtenvoorde, etc.’
The first factories
In 1829 Aalten had two cotton-spinning mills ‘which provide work for about 40 people’, including that of the Driessen brothers. By 1830 there were three, employing around sixty people.
On 15 August 1829, Jan Gerard Kraak ten Houten, a ‘licensed shopkeeper and merchant in Aalten’, informed the Governor of Gelderland that he wished to establish ‘a fustian factory, spinning mill, dye works and bleachery’ in his home town and requested permission to do so. The municipal council had no objection, ‘considering that the petitioner’s intention is only to have fustian manufactured by weavers in their homes, without establishing a spinning mill, bleachery or dye works. This provides sufficient work for the craftsman’, while no other interests would be harmed. Ultimately the King had to decide. All advisers gave a favourable recommendation. It is not known how long this enterprise existed or where it was located.
From cottage industry to factory production
The transition to factory production was gradual. Even after 1830, a substantial part of the weaving continued in the homes of domestic weavers, while spinning and other parts of the production process became increasingly concentrated. Around 1856, the Driessen spinning mills and weaving mill were equipped with steam power.
This marked the beginning of a new phase. The Driessen family remained a dominant force in Aalten’s textile industry for a long time, after which other firms also became part of the local industrial landscape. The textile sector remained important to employment in Aalten well into the twentieth century.