Frederick J. Bancroft started making wooden tennis rackets in 1882, at Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The firm used white ash from Vermont. Bancroft ran two Vermont sawmills. One was at Plainfield, the Bancroft familial home; the other was at Lower Cabot. The high quality rackets were popular, until lighter, stronger rackets, made of carbon fiber "graphite," and other materials, dominated the sport. An advertisement lauded virtues of wood the company used:
