Duck Mill

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Duck Mill
Duck Mill Fitchburg.jpg
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Location 60 Duck Mill Rd., Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°34′6″N71°46′49″W / 42.56833°N 71.78028°W / 42.56833; -71.78028 Coordinates: 42°34′6″N71°46′49″W / 42.56833°N 71.78028°W / 42.56833; -71.78028
Area 2.5 acres (1.0 ha)
Built 1844
NRHP reference # 85000982 [1]
Added to NRHP May 9, 1985

The Duck Mill is an historic mill complex at 60 Duck Mill Road in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. With a construction history dating to the 1840s, it is one of the city's oldest surviving textile mills, now readapted to residential use. The complex, long used to produce cotton duck, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. [1]

Fitchburg, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts, United States

Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.

Cotton duck, also simply duck, sometimes duck cloth or duck canvas, is a heavy, plain woven cotton fabric. Duck canvas is more tightly woven than plain canvas. There is also linen duck, which is less often used.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Contents

Description and history

The former Duck Mill complex is located southwest of downtown Fitchburg, at the junction of Duck Mill Road and Bemis Street. The complex consists of a series of mostly interconnected brick buildings, ranging in height from one to 3-1/2 stories. The main building is oriented at an angle to Duck Mill Road, and has a central projecting tower with a bell-shaped cupola that was added in 1887. [2]

This particular site, set not far from the Nashua River, has a documented history of industrial use as far back as 1832, when George Blackburn began producing cotton fabric. His first mill was destroyed by fire in 1843, and he rebuilt, opening the oldest portion of the complex the following year. The mill's success was enhanced by the arrival of the railroad nearby in 1845, and it was repeatedly enlarged. Of the city's many textile mills, it was the only one to produce heavy cotton duck fabric, which was used by the Union Army during the American Civil War. In later years of the 19th century it produced sailcloth. It was originally powered by water from the river that was delivered by a now-filled raceway, which was in the 20th century supplemented by electricity. Manufacture of textiles ceased in 1947, and the mill saw a variety of industrial tenants before its conversion to apartments. [2]

Nashua River river in the United States of America

The Nashua River, 37.5 miles (60.4 km) long, is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It is formed in eastern Worcester County, Massachusetts, by junction of its north and south branches near Lancaster, and flows generally north-northeast past Groton to join the Merrimack at Nashua, New Hampshire. The Nashua River Watershed occupies a major portion of north-central Massachusetts and a much smaller portion of southern New Hampshire.

Union Army Land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War

During the American Civil War, the Union Army referred to the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. Also known as the Federal Army, it proved essential to the preservation of the United States of America as a working, viable republic.

American Civil War Civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865

The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North and the South. The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history. Primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people, war broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Worcester County, Massachusetts Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) designated in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The locations of NRHP properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in a map.

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