Hopewell Mills District

Last updated

Hopewell Mills District
Albro Taunton.jpg
Albro Avenue
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Taunton, Massachusetts
Coordinates 41°54′57″N71°5′42″W / 41.91583°N 71.09500°W / 41.91583; -71.09500
Built1818
Architectural styleGreek Revival
MPS Taunton MRA
NRHP reference No. 84002133 [1]
Added to NRHPJuly 5, 1984

The Hopewell Mills District is a historic district on Bay Street and Albro Avenue in Taunton, Massachusetts. The site is associated with the Hopewell Mills, one of the earliest textile mills in the city, established in 1818 (mill now demolished).

Contents

The historic district contains a number of early 19th century brick mill worker tenement homes and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

History

The village was established in 1818 by a group of industrialists led by Charles Richmond, in association with Samuel Crocker and Silas Shepard. The site previously contained a nail-cutting mill owned by Samuel Leonard, built in the 1780s. Crocker and Richmond first built a cotton mill, one hundred feet in length. The basement included a machine shop and nail factory. A second cotton mill was added in 1821. In 1823, the mills were merged into the stock of the Taunton Manufacturing Company, which operated the mills until 1843. [2]

After the bankruptcy of Taunton Manufacturing Company, the mills were acquired by Cyrus Lothrop who controlled the site until his accidental death in 1854. The property then passed to Charles Albro, who had been superintendent of the mills. Much of the village that exists today dates from the period of Albro's ownership (1854-1888). In 1888, Albro sold the mill to the investment firm of L. Beebe & Co. of Boston, who operated it until 1904, when the mill was destroyed by fire. [3] The ruins remained in place for many years.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taunton State Hospital</span> Hospital in Massachusetts, United States

Taunton State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located on Hodges Avenue in Taunton, Massachusetts. Established in 1854, it was originally known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton. It was the second state asylum in Massachusetts. Most of the original part of the facility was built in a unique and rare neo-classical style designed by architects Boyden & Ball. It is also a Kirkbride Plan hospital and is located on a large 154-acre (62 ha) farm along the Mill River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Manufacturing Company</span> United States historic place

The Boston Manufacturing Company was a business that operated one of the first factories in America. It was organized in 1813 by Francis Cabot Lowell, a wealthy Boston merchant, in partnership with a group of investors later known as The Boston Associates, for the manufacture of cotton textiles. It built the first integrated spinning and weaving factory in the world at Waltham, Massachusetts, using water power. They used plans for a power loom that he smuggled out of England as well as trade secrets from the earlier horse-powered Beverly Cotton Manufactory, of Beverly, Massachusetts, of 1788. This was the largest factory in the U.S., with a workforce of about 300. It was a very efficient, highly profitable mill that, with the aid of the Tariff of 1816, competed effectively with British textiles at a time when many smaller operations were being forced out of business. While the Rhode Island System that followed was famously employed by Samuel Slater, the Boston Associates improved upon it with the "Waltham System". The idea was successfully copied at Lowell, Massachusetts, and elsewhere in New England. Many rural towns now had their own textile mills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel L. Crocker</span> American businessman and politician (1804–1883)

Samuel Leonard Crocker was a prominent businessman and U.S. Representative from Taunton, Massachusetts. Crocker graduated from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1822. Throughout his life, he engaged in various manufacturing and civic interests in his hometown of Taunton and throughout Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Uxbridge, Massachusetts</span> Village in Massachusetts, United States

North Uxbridge is a village and a post office in the town (township) of Uxbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The postal zip code is 01538. It is classified as a community or populated place located at latitude 42.088 and longitude -71.641 and the elevation is 266 feet (81 m). North Uxbridge appears on the Uxbridge U.S. Geological Survey Map. Worcester County is in the Eastern time zone and observes DST. North Uxbridge is located about 36 miles WSW of Boston, and 15 miles SE of Worcester. The town meeting in 1885 set aside North Uxbridge as a "special district", since its population had exceeded 1000 people. North Uxbridge appeared to be a separate Census tract in the 1960 census with a population of 1882. In 2013, an Uxbridge DIY show, The Garage, with Steve Butler, went worldwide from Steve's garage in North Uxbridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgewater Iron Works</span> United States historic place

The Bridgewater Iron Works is a historic industrial site located on High Street in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States, along the banks of the Town River. Previously known as Lazell, Perkins and Company, by the mid-19th century, the Bridgewater Iron Manufacturing Company was one of the largest iron works in the United States, specializing in heavy castings and forgings. The property was later acquired by the Stanley Works, with the surrounding village still known to this day as Stanley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Border City Mill No. 2</span> United States historic place

The Border City Mill No. 2 is a historic cotton textile mill at One Weaver Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1873, it is the largest surviving element of the once-sprawling Border City Mill complex. It was designed by Josiah Brown, a prominent local designer of mills, and is one of the city's few brick mills. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It was converted into residences in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taunton Green Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Taunton Green Historic District encompasses the core area of the historic 19th-century commercial downtown business district of Taunton, Massachusetts. It is centered on the town green, laid out in the 1740s, and now stands at the intersection of U.S. Route 44 and State routes 140 and 138. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanford Spinning Co.</span> United States historic place

Sanford Spinning Company is an historic mill complex located on Globe Mills Avenue in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, along with the adjacent Globe Yarn Mills #3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Chace's Thread Mill</span> United States historic place

Oliver Chace's Thread Mill is an historic mill building at 505 Bay Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. It is the remains of a much larger complex. The small building was used as an office and later for storage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Colony Iron Works-Nemasket Mills Complex</span> United States historic place

The Old Colony Iron Works-Nemasket Mills Complex is a historic industrial site located on Old Colony Avenue in the East Taunton section of Taunton, Massachusetts, United States, adjacent to the Taunton River at the Raynham town line. The site was first occupied by the Old Colony Iron Company, which had originally been established in the 1820s as Horatio Leonard & Company. The western part of the complex was sold to Nemasket Mills in 1889. The eastern part was acquired by the Standard Oil Cloth Company. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cohannet Mill No. 3</span> Historic place in Massachusetts, United States

The Cohannet Mill No. 3 is an historic textile mill located at 120 Ingell Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. The mill was built in 1890 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It is the only remaining mill of the Cohannet Mills company, founded in 1847 for the manufacture of fine cotton yarns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hebronville Mill Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

Hebronville Mill Historic District is a historic district in Attleboro, Massachusetts. The mill complex includes manufacturing buildings, worker housing, and a railroad bridge over the mill's tail race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reed and Barton Complex</span> United States historic place

The Reed and Barton Complex is an historic industrial complex at West Brittania and Danforth Streets in Taunton, Massachusetts. It is the site of one of Taunton's first and largest industries, now known as Reed & Barton, a privately held silversmithing business that operated from 1824 to 2015. The company's success was instrumental in Taunton becoming known as the "Silver City". The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whittenton Mills Complex</span> United States historic place

The Whittenton Mills Complex is a historic textile mill site located on Whittenton Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, on the banks of the Mill River. The site has been used for industrial purposes since 1670, when James Leonard built an iron forge on the west bank of the river. The first textile mill was built in 1805 and expanded throughout the 19th century. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and now contains various small businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tremont Nail Factory District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

Tremont Nail Factory District is a historic district in Wareham, Massachusetts. It makes up the area occupied by the former Tremont Nail Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Baylies</span>

Thomas Baylies was a Quaker ironmaster first in England, then in Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Field Tack Company</span> United States historic place

The Albert Field Tack Company is a historic industrial site located at 19 Spring Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, next to the Mill River. Built in 1868 for a company founded in the 1820s to manufacture fasteners, the main office building is an unusually high-style building given its industrial setting. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It has since been converted into apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Winthrop Jr. Iron Furnace Site</span> United States historic place

The John Winthrop Jr. Iron Furnace Site is a historic archaeological site at 61 Crescent Street, Quincy, Massachusetts. The site is called Braintree Furnace in some texts; the West Quincy location at the time of operation was in a part of Braintree, Massachusetts, that later became Quincy. Its importance lies in the fact that it was the first iron blast furnace established in what would become the United States. Furnace Brook, a stream which begins on the eastern slopes of the Blue Hills and meanders for about four miles from southwest to northeast through the middle of Quincy toward Quincy Bay, was named for the works site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elbridge Boyden</span> American architect

Elbridge Boyden (1810–1898) was a prominent 19th-century American architect from Worcester, Massachusetts, who designed numerous civil and public buildings throughout New England and other parts of the United States. Perhaps his best known works are the Taunton State Hospital (1851) and Mechanics Hall (1855) in Worcester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nahum Stetson</span> American politician

Nahum Stetson was a leading businessman from southeastern Massachusetts during the 19th century. He is best known for his role in establishing the Bridgewater Iron Company as one of the largest iron works in the United States during the mid-1800s. Stetson was also involved in several other iron companies throughout the southeastern New England region, as well as other notable businesses, including banks and railroads. His grandson, Nahum Stetson (1856-1933) was part of the Steinway & Sons piano company, as part of its sales team and board of directors.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. History of Bristol County, Massachusetts
  3. http://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=TAU.L [ bare URL ]