The Whitin Machine Works (WMW) was founded by Paul Whitin and his sons in 1831 on the banks of the Mumford River in Northbridge, Massachusetts. The village in this section of Northbridge became known as Whitinsville in 1835, in honor of its founder.

Col. Paul Whitin, (1767–1831) was an American blacksmith and pioneering industrialist who in 1826 Northbridge, Massachusetts established P Whitin and Sons, a new cotton mill with his sons. This company would grow and acquire other mills in the area. In 1831 his son John C Whitin obtained a patent for a mechanized Cotton Picker. Textile machinery would become a larger percentage of their business over time. would later become the largest maker of specialty textile machinery in the world.