7 South Stone Mill Drive is a condominium complex built out of Dedham Granite. Before being converted into residential use in the 1980s, it was a Mother Brook mill that made a variety of products.
7 South Stone Mill Drive is a condominium complex built out of Dedham Granite. Before being converted into residential use in the 1980s, it was a Mother Brook mill that made a variety of products.
The building is located at the fourth privilege on Mother Brook and was used to make a variety of products in the 19th century, including copper cents, paper, cotton, wool, carpets, and handkerchiefs. In the 1780s another mill, connected by the same wheel, was constructed on the site to produce wire [1] for the new nation's nascent textile industry. [2] The first mill on this site burned in 1809, but was rebuilt with a new raceway and foundation. [1]
The second mill began producing nails in 1814, and five years later its owner, Ruggles Whiting of Boston, sold it to the owner of the first mill, George Bird, who began using the whole site to manufacture paper. [1] In 1823 it switched to cotton, using the machinery of the former Norfolk Cotton Company. In 1835 a new stone mill was erected. [3] It stands today, and was converted into a condominium complex in 1986–87. [4] Unlike the other mills, which were constructed in a strictly utilitarian style, this factory boasted a date stone reading "1835" and a dome-roofed cupola over the mill bell. [2] Together they stood as a testament to the primacy of the mills in the neighborhood. [2] [5]
The mill at the fourth privilege, under the ownership of Bussey and with his agent, George H. Kuhn, was among the first to install water-powered broad looms. [5] The looms enabled raw wool to enter the mills, be spun into thread, and then weaved into finished fabric, all under a single roof. [5]
| Year | Owner | Manager | Product | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 [6] | John Lemist and Ezra W. Taft | In 1835, the stone mill which now stands upon the site was erected using Dedham Granite [5] and was supplied with new machinery for the manufacture of cotton goods. [6] The original building stood three stories high and measured 100' long by 40' wide. [5] It had a gable roof with a clerestory monitor that brought light into the attic. [5] The stone bell tower was capped with columns supporting a domed cupola. [5] The Corporation prospered under Mr Taft's management. [6] By the middle of the century it was producing 650,000 yards of cotton a year. [5] Ezra W. Taft continued to be the agent and manager of the corporation for about 30 years. [6] An unused building nearby was used by Edward Holmes and Thomas Dunbar beginning in 1846 for their wheelwright business using steam power. [7] Taft's paper mill mill burned on July 17, 1846. [8] | |||
| ~1835 [3] [9] [10] | James Reed and Ezra W. Taft | ||||
| 1863 [11] [12] | Thomas Barrows | Wool | Barrows enlarged the mill [11] [10] and installed turbines and a steam engine. [13] | ||
| 1872 [11] | Merchants Woolen Company | ||||
| 1875 [11] | Royal O. Storrs and Frederick R. Storrs | Went out of business | |||
| 1882 [11] | Merchants Woolen Company | ||||
| 1894 [14] [12] | J. Eugene Cochrane | Carpets and handkerchiefs | Third and fourth privileges under common ownership | ||
| 1897 [15] | Cochrane Manufacturing Company | Norfolk Mills |  | ||
| After 1917 [13] [16] [17] | Closed |  | |||
| Before 1927 [18] [19] [20] | United Waste Company | Wool, reclaimed fabric, [20] and cloth recycling [13] | This was the final industrial use of the property. [12] | ||
| 1930s [10] | Shoddy wool | ||||
| 1986 [13] [21] [10] [4] | Bergmeyer Development Co. | Re-purposed for 86 condominiums [a] | Purchase price was $1.6 million. [13] A 25' waterfall runs through the complex. [22] Fires burned various sections of the complex in the 1980s. [23] |  | |
| Present day | Stone Mill Condominiums [24] [23] |    |
Norfolk County is located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 725,981. Its county seat is Dedham. It is the fourth most populous county in the United States whose county seat is neither a city nor a borough, and it is the second most populous county that has a county seat at a town. The county was named after the English county of the same name. Two towns, Cohasset and Brookline, are exclaves. Norfolk County is included in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area. Norfolk County is the 24th highest-income county in the United States with a median household income of $107,361. It is the wealthiest county in Massachusetts.
Mother Brook is a stream that flows from the Charles River in Dedham, Massachusetts, to the Neponset River in the Hyde Park section of Boston, Massachusetts. Mother Brook was also known variously as East Brook and Mill Creek in earlier times. Digging the brook made Boston and some surrounding communities an island, accessible only by crossing over water, making Mother Brook "Massachusetts' Panama Canal."
Benjamin Bussey (1757—1842) was a prosperous American merchant, farmer, horticulturalist and patriot in Boston, Massachusetts, who made significant contributions to the creation of the Arnold Arboretum. He was said to be "a man of excellent business capacity."
The history of Dedham, Massachusetts, from 1800 to 1899 saw growth and change come to the town. In fact, the town changed as much during the first few decades of the 19th century as it did in all of its previous history.
The N&D Group is a mutual insurance carrier based in Dedham, Massachusetts, comprising three regional property and casualty insurance companies which market personal and commercial insurance product lines through independent insurance agents. The group conducts business in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, and writes over $400 million in Direct insurance premium. Founded as The Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company in 1825, The N&D Group is one of the oldest mutual insurance companies in the United States.
Chauncey C. Churchill was treasurer of Norfolk County, Massachusetts for 34 years and an Overseer of the House of Corrections. He was born in West Fairlee, Vermont as the son of William L. and Eliza Lamphear Churchill. He moved to Sudbury, Massachusetts before relocating again to Dedham, where he took a job at the Merchant Woolen Company's mill on Mother Brook.
Dedham Savings is one of the oldest American banks still in operation and one of the oldest banks in the state of Massachusetts still doing business under its original charter.
Lieutenant Joshua Fisher was a politician from Dedham, Massachusetts and a member of the Massachusetts House of Deputies. He was a blacksmith, saw mill owner, and tavern keeper.
Eliphalet Pond (1704-1795) represented Dedham, Massachusetts in the Great and General Court.
Brookdale Cemetery is an historic cemetery in Dedham, Massachusetts, United States. More than 28,000 people are buried there. Mother Brook runs behind it.
John Dwight was one of the first settlers of Dedham, Massachusetts and progenitor of the Dwight family.
Nathan Aldis was an early settler of Dedham, Massachusetts who served on that town's Board of Selectmen in 1641, 1642, and 1644. He served in a variety of other positions in the town and served as a deacon at First Church and Parish in Dedham. He signed the Dedham Covenant.
Francis Chickering was an early settler of Dedham, Massachusetts who served in the Great and General Court of Massachusetts and on that town's Board of Selectmen for 15 years. He was also a teacher in the first public school in America, today well known as the Dedham Public Schools.
Lt. Daniel Pond was a prominent early settler of Dedham, Massachusetts.
Nathaniel Whiting was an early settler of Dedham, Massachusetts. He owned several mills on Mother Brook and is said to have dug the canal, the first man-made water way in America.
Ezra Morse (1643-1697) was an early resident of Dedham, Massachusetts and owned the second mill on Mother Brook.
St. Paul's Church is an Episcopal Church in Dedham, Massachusetts
Jabez Chickering was a lawyer and businessman from Dedham, Massachusetts.
This is a timeline of the history of the town of Dedham, Massachusetts.
Thomas Barrows was a business and civic leader from Dedham, Massachusetts.
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