Good Neighbors of Groton: Hollingsworth & Vose
More than 170 years in West Groton—and generations of being part of the community.
Some neighbors are new to town. Others have been part of the neighborhood for generations.
As we continue our GrotonFest Fall Good Neighbor Campaign, we're celebrating the businesses and organizations that help make our community what it is—and the many different ways they show up for the people around them.
Today, we're introducing one of our GrotonFest Fall sponsors and one of West Groton's longest-standing neighbors: Hollingsworth & Vose (H&V).
A GROTON STORY THAT GOES BACK TO 1852
Hollingsworth & Vose is a global manufacturer of nonwoven materials and engineered papers used in filtration, energy, and industrial applications.
The company was founded in Massachusetts in 1843, giving H&V deep roots in New England manufacturing.
But its connection to West Groton has an especially remarkable history.
In 1852, Lyman Hollingsworth purchased the original paper mill on the West Groton site. More than 170 years later, the site remains in operation, making it one of the longest continuously operated manufacturing sites in the region.
Today, H&V has locations across the United States and internationally, while West Groton continues to play an important role in the company's production of technical papers and nonwoven materials.
It's a global company with a very local history.
And after more than a century and a half, H&V's relationship with Groton extends well beyond manufacturing.
MORE THAN A PLACE TO DO BUSINESS
When you've been part of a community for generations, the relationship between a business and the place it calls home becomes something much deeper.
For the H&V team, being in West Groton means being part of West Groton.
As they describe it:
“Being part of West Groton means more than running a manufacturing site — it means being a neighbor. Our team takes real pride in the relationships we've built here over generations, and we're grateful for a community that has welcomed us as a partner in its everyday life.”
That idea—being a neighbor—can be seen in the many ways the H&V team continues to participate in and give back to the community around them.
SERVING LUNCH—AND BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Each year, members of the H&V team head to The Groton Center to serve lunch to local senior citizens.
It has become an annual tradition and one the team looks forward to.
It's a simple act, but perhaps that's exactly what makes traditions like this meaningful.
Community isn't only built through big initiatives. It's also built when people take time out of their day to sit together, serve one another, have a conversation, and strengthen relationships between neighbors.
SUPPORTING PLACES WHERE OUR COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER
H&V also supports the Groton Recreation Department by donating the use of its ball field for youth and community sports.
A ball field may look like a patch of grass and a few bases.
But for the families who use it, it's a place for practices, games, teammates, parents on the sidelines, friendships, and childhood memories.
Making spaces like these available is another way a longtime local business can share its resources with the community around it.
ROLLING UP THEIR SLEEVES
H&V's community involvement also reaches beyond Groton.
Through the United Way Day of Caring, team members partner with United Way and The Club in Lunenburg, working alongside other organizations and volunteers to help their neighboring communities.
The emphasis here is on participation—not simply supporting from a distance, but showing up and getting involved.
H&V employees also organize annual food drives and backpack drives to support local families in need.
These efforts provide practical help where it matters: putting food on tables and helping children begin the school year with the supplies they need.
CARING FOR THE PLACE WE CALL HOME
Being a good neighbor also means thinking about the place we share.
H&V supports the Nashua River Watershed Association and its work to protect and preserve the Nashua River watershed.
For those of us who live in this region, the Nashua River and the landscape surrounding it are part of the character of our community.
Supporting its preservation is an investment not only in our environment today, but in what we leave for the generations that come after us.
For a company whose own Groton history stretches back more than 170 years, there is something especially fitting about that long-term perspective.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD NEIGHBOR?
Perhaps it's consistency.
Showing up year after year.
Knowing the community around you.
Sharing what you have.
Taking care of the people who live there.
And understanding that being part of a place comes with an opportunity to contribute to it.
Hollingsworth & Vose has watched West Groton change across generations. Employees have come and gone, manufacturing has evolved, technologies have changed, and the company itself has grown from its New England roots into a global organization.
But through all that change, West Groton has remained part of the H&V story.
Today, that relationship continues through the people who work there—serving lunch to seniors, providing space for community sports, volunteering alongside neighboring organizations, helping local families, supporting the Nashua River watershed, and participating in the community they come to work in every day.
We are grateful to have Hollingsworth & Vose supporting GrotonFest Fall 2026 and, even more importantly, to recognize a relationship with our community that began long before any of us were here.
Thank you, H&V, for more than 170 years of being part of West Groton—and for continuing to be a Good Neighbor.
GrotonFest Fall's Good Neighbor Campaign celebrates the businesses and organizations that help make Groton a wonderful place to live, work, gather, and belong. Follow along as we introduce more of the Good Neighbors in our community.
