diff --git a/src/changes/changes.xml b/src/changes/changes.xml
index f78855b27..949b38e15 100644
--- a/src/changes/changes.xml
+++ b/src/changes/changes.xml
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@
Fix LRUMap exception message.
+
+ Create a PropertiesFactory and SortedPropertiesFactory.
+
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/AbstractPropertiesFactory.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/AbstractPropertiesFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7c89f604e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/AbstractPropertiesFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+ * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.commons.collections4.properties;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.FileInputStream;
+import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.io.Reader;
+import java.net.URI;
+import java.net.URL;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.nio.file.Paths;
+import java.util.Properties;
+
+/**
+ * Subclasses create and load {@link Properties} and subclasses of {@link Properties} like {@link SortedProperties}.
+ *
+ * @param {@link Properties} or a subclass like {@link SortedProperties}.
+ * @see Properties
+ * @since 4.4
+ */
+public abstract class AbstractPropertiesFactory {
+
+ /**
+ * Constructs an instance.
+ */
+ protected AbstractPropertiesFactory() {
+ // no init.
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Subclasses override to provide customized properties instances.
+ *
+ * @return a new Properties instance.
+ */
+ protected abstract T createProperties();
+
+ /**
+ * Creates and loads properties from the given file.
+ *
+ * @param classLoader the class loader to use to get the named resource.
+ * @param name the location of the properties file.
+ * @return a new properties object.
+ * @throws IOException Thrown if an error occurred reading the input stream.
+ * @throws IllegalArgumentException Thrown if the input contains a malformed Unicode escape sequence.
+ */
+ public T load(final ClassLoader classLoader, final String name) throws IOException {
+ try (final InputStream inputStream = classLoader.getResourceAsStream(name)) {
+ return load(inputStream);
+ }
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Creates and loads properties from the given file.
+ *
+ * @param file the location of the properties file.
+ * @return a new properties object.
+ * @throws IOException Thrown if an error occurred reading the input stream.
+ * @throws IllegalArgumentException Thrown if the input contains a malformed Unicode escape sequence.
+ * @throws FileNotFoundException Thrown if the file does not exist, is a directory, or cannot be opened for
+ * reading.
+ * @throws SecurityException Thrown if a security manager's {@code checkRead} method denies read access to
+ * the file.
+ */
+ public T load(final File file) throws FileNotFoundException, IOException {
+ try (final FileInputStream inputStream = new FileInputStream(file)) {
+ return load(inputStream);
+ }
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Creates and loads properties from the given input stream.
+ *
+ * @param inputStream the location of the properties file.
+ * @return a new properties object.
+ * @throws IOException Thrown if an error occurred reading the input stream.
+ * @throws IllegalArgumentException Thrown if the input contains a malformed Unicode escape sequence.
+ */
+ public T load(final InputStream inputStream) throws IOException {
+ if (inputStream == null) {
+ return null;
+ }
+ final T properties = createProperties();
+ properties.load(inputStream);
+ return properties;
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Creates and loads properties from the given path.
+ *
+ * @param path the location of the properties file.
+ * @return a new properties object.
+ * @throws IOException Thrown if an error occurred reading the input stream.
+ * @throws IllegalArgumentException Thrown if the input contains a malformed Unicode escape sequence.
+ */
+ public T load(final Path path) throws IOException {
+ try (final InputStream inputStream = Files.newInputStream(path)) {
+ return load(inputStream);
+ }
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Creates and loads properties from the given reader.
+ *
+ * @param reader the location of the properties file.
+ * @return a new properties object.
+ * @throws IOException Thrown if an error occurred reading the input stream.
+ * @throws IllegalArgumentException Thrown if the input contains a malformed Unicode escape sequence.
+ */
+ public T load(final Reader reader) throws IOException {
+ final T properties = createProperties();
+ properties.load(reader);
+ return properties;
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Creates and loads properties from the given file name.
+ *
+ * @param name the location of the properties file.
+ * @return a new properties object.
+ * @throws IOException Thrown if an error occurred reading the input stream.
+ * @throws IllegalArgumentException Thrown if the input contains a malformed Unicode escape sequence.
+ */
+ public T load(final String name) throws IOException {
+ try (final FileInputStream inputStream = new FileInputStream(name)) {
+ return load(inputStream);
+ }
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Creates and loads properties from the given URI.
+ *
+ * @param uri the location of the properties file.
+ * @return a new properties object.
+ * @throws IOException Thrown if an error occurred reading the input stream.
+ * @throws IllegalArgumentException Thrown if the input contains a malformed Unicode escape sequence.
+ */
+ public T load(final URI uri) throws IOException {
+ return load(Paths.get(uri));
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Creates and loads properties from the given URL.
+ *
+ * @param url the location of the properties file.
+ * @return a new properties object.
+ * @throws IOException Thrown if an error occurred reading the input stream.
+ * @throws IllegalArgumentException Thrown if the input contains a malformed Unicode escape sequence.
+ */
+ public T load(final URL url) throws IOException {
+ try (final InputStream inputStream = url.openStream()) {
+ return load(inputStream);
+ }
+ }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/PropertiesFactory.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/PropertiesFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..04de759d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/PropertiesFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+ * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.commons.collections4.properties;
+
+import java.util.Properties;
+
+/**
+ * Creates and loads {@link Properties}.
+ *
+ * @see Properties
+ * @since 4.4
+ */
+public class PropertiesFactory extends AbstractPropertiesFactory {
+
+ /**
+ * The singleton instance.
+ */
+ public static final PropertiesFactory INSTANCE = new PropertiesFactory();
+
+ /**
+ * Constructs an instance.
+ */
+ private PropertiesFactory() {
+ // There is only one instance.
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Subclasses override to provide customized properties instances.
+ *
+ * @return a new Properties instance.
+ */
+ @Override
+ protected Properties createProperties() {
+ return new Properties();
+ }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/SortedPropertiesFactory.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/SortedPropertiesFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..010562600
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/SortedPropertiesFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+ * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.commons.collections4.properties;
+
+/**
+ * Creates and loads {@link SortedProperties}.
+ *
+ * @see SortedProperties
+ * @since 4.4
+ */
+public class SortedPropertiesFactory extends AbstractPropertiesFactory {
+
+ /**
+ * The singleton instance.
+ */
+ public static final SortedPropertiesFactory INSTANCE = new SortedPropertiesFactory();
+
+ /**
+ * Constructs an instance.
+ */
+ private SortedPropertiesFactory() {
+ // There is only one instance.
+ }
+
+ /**
+ * Subclasses override to provide customized properties instances.
+ *
+ * @return a new Properties instance.
+ */
+ @Override
+ protected SortedProperties createProperties() {
+ return new SortedProperties();
+ }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/AbstractPropertiesFactoryTest.java b/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/AbstractPropertiesFactoryTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3e68a65b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/AbstractPropertiesFactoryTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+ * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.commons.collections4.properties;
+
+import java.io.BufferedReader;
+import java.io.FileInputStream;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Paths;
+import java.util.Properties;
+
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public abstract class AbstractPropertiesFactoryTest {
+
+ private static final String PATH_STRING = "src/test/resources/properties/test.properties";
+
+ private final AbstractPropertiesFactory factory;
+
+ protected AbstractPropertiesFactoryTest(final AbstractPropertiesFactory factory) {
+ super();
+ this.factory = factory;
+ }
+
+ private void assertContents(final T properties) {
+ Assert.assertEquals("value1", properties.getProperty("key1"));
+ Assert.assertEquals("value2", properties.getProperty("key2"));
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ public void testInstance() {
+ Assert.assertNotNull(PropertiesFactory.INSTANCE);
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ public void testLoadClassLoaderMissingResource() throws Exception {
+ Assert.assertNull(factory.load(ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader(), "missing/test.properties"));
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ public void testLoadClassLoaderResource() throws Exception {
+ assertContents(factory.load(ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader(), "properties/test.properties"));
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ public void testLoadFile() throws Exception {
+ assertContents(factory.load(Paths.get(PATH_STRING).toFile()));
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ public void testLoadFileName() throws Exception {
+ assertContents(factory.load(PATH_STRING));
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ public void testLoadInputStream() throws Exception {
+ try (final FileInputStream inputStream = new FileInputStream(PATH_STRING)) {
+ assertContents(factory.load(inputStream));
+ }
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ public void testLoadPath() throws Exception {
+ assertContents(factory.load(Paths.get(PATH_STRING)));
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ public void testLoadReader() throws Exception {
+ try (final BufferedReader inputStream = Files.newBufferedReader(Paths.get(PATH_STRING))) {
+ assertContents(factory.load(inputStream));
+ }
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ public void testLoadUri() throws Exception {
+ assertContents(factory.load(Paths.get(PATH_STRING).toUri()));
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ public void testLoadUrl() throws Exception {
+ assertContents(factory.load(Paths.get(PATH_STRING).toUri().toURL()));
+ }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/PropertiesFactoryTest.java b/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/PropertiesFactoryTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..83133d06d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/PropertiesFactoryTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+ * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.commons.collections4.properties;
+
+import java.util.Properties;
+
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class PropertiesFactoryTest extends AbstractPropertiesFactoryTest {
+
+ public PropertiesFactoryTest() {
+ super(PropertiesFactory.INSTANCE);
+ }
+
+ @Override
+ @Test
+ public void testInstance() {
+ Assert.assertNotNull(PropertiesFactory.INSTANCE);
+ }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/SortedPropertiesFactoryTest.java b/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/SortedPropertiesFactoryTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..19e1429ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/apache/commons/collections4/properties/SortedPropertiesFactoryTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+ * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.commons.collections4.properties;
+
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class SortedPropertiesFactoryTest extends AbstractPropertiesFactoryTest {
+
+ public SortedPropertiesFactoryTest() {
+ super(SortedPropertiesFactory.INSTANCE);
+ }
+
+ @Override
+ @Test
+ public void testInstance() {
+ Assert.assertNotNull(SortedPropertiesFactory.INSTANCE);
+ }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/resources/properties/test.properties b/src/test/resources/properties/test.properties
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..94a377e0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/resources/properties/test.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+# contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+# The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+# (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+# the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+key1 = value1
+key2 = value2
+key3 = value3
+key4 = value4
+key5 = value5
+key6 = value6
+key7 = value7
+key8 = value8
+key9 = value9
+key10 = value10
+key11 = value11