Wamsutta Mills is a former textile manufacturing company and current brand for bedding and other household products. Founded by Thomas Bennett, Jr. on the banks of the Acushnet River in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1846 and opened in 1848, Wamsutta Mills was named after Wamsutta, the son of a Native American chief who negotiated an early alliance with the English settlers of the Plymouth Colony. It was the first of many textile mills in New Bedford, and gradually led to cotton textile manufacturing overtaking whaling as the town's principal industry by the 1870s.
For much of its history, the city of Fall River, Massachusetts has been defined by the rise and fall of its cotton textile industry. From its beginnings as a rural outpost of the Plymouth Colony, the city grew to become the largest textile producing center in the United States during the 19th century, with over one hundred mills in operation by 1920. Even with the demise of local textile productions during the 20th century, there remains a lasting legacy of its impact on the city.
Chace Mills is a historic textile mill complex on Lewiston and Salem Streets in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1872, it is one of the city's most visible historic mills, with a particularly fine Italianate stair tower. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Durfee Mills is an historic textile mill complex located at 359-479 Pleasant Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA. Developed between 1866 and 1904, it was during its period of development the city's largest and architecturally finest mill complex. Along with the adjacent Union Mills, it is occupied by numerous retail businesses and a restaurant, and is known as the Durfee-Union Mills. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Charlton Mill is a historic textile mill at 109 Howe Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1911, it is the last of the city's stone mill buildings to be built, and the first to feature the dual sources of steam and electrical power. The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Crescent Mill, later Merchant Mill No. 3, is a historic cotton textile mill located at 54 Front Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1872 during an industrial construction boom, it is one of the city's finest examples of Italianate mill architecture. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is now used for other light industrial purposes.
Flint Mills is a historic textile mill complex located on Alden Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, near the banks of the Quequechan River. The company was founded in 1872 and named in honor of John D. Flint, who served as its first president. The original 1872 mill burned in 1882, and was rebuilt in 1883. The complex was later expanded with a second mill and large addition in 1909. The site also contains a detached granite mill office building. The section of Fall River surrounding the mill became known as "Flint Village". The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
King Philip Mills is an historic cotton mill complex located at 372 Kilburn Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Developed between 1871 and 1892, it was historically one of the city's largest mills, and its building inventory is still largely complete. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Clover Leaf Mills is a historic cotton textile mill complex located at 1 & 21 Father DeValles Boulevard in Fall River, Massachusetts. Begun in 1884, the mill is a good example of 1880s industrial architecture. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
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.
Globe Yarn Mills are two historic textile mills located at 460 Globe Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.
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.
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.
Granite Mills are two historic cotton textile mills located on Bedford Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, consisting of Granite Mill No. 2 and Granite Mill No. 3. The site was determined eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, but was omitted due to owner's objection.
Laurel Lake Mills is an historic textile mill site located at 951 Broadway in Fall River, Massachusetts.
The Fall River Manufactory was the first cotton mill to be constructed across the Quequechan River in Fall River, Massachusetts, United States. It was also the first successful textile mill in the area.
The Winooski Falls Mill District is located along the Winooski River in the cities of Winooski and Burlington, Vermont, in the United States of America. It encompasses a major industrial area that developed around two sets of falls on the river in the 19th century.
Davol Mills is a historic textile mill complex located at the corner of Plymouth Avenue and Rodman Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was built in 1867 and expanded in 1871. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as part of the Corky Row Historic District The red brick mills are unique in the city, built in the Second Empire style.
Tecumseh Mill No. 1 is a historic cotton mill located at 164 Hartwell Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was built in 1866, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as part of the Corky Row Historic District. Tecumseh Mills No. 2 and No. 3 were located nearby on Plymouth Avenue, but have since been demolished.
The Manomet Mills are a historic textile mill complex on the north side of New Bedford, Massachusetts. They are located between Riverside Avenue and the Acushnet River, north of Manoment Street and the Whitman Mills. The complex consists of three Classical Revival brick buildings, built between 1903 and 1907. The main building, Mill No. 1, is a 54-bay, three-story structure that was built in 1903. It is attached to Mill No. 2 (1907), of similar size, by a single-story brick structure. The third building is the Mill No. 2 Department Room (1907), a two-story brick building that was originally connected to the other two via overhead bridges, now removed. The mill complex was the main operating site of the Manoment Mill Company, which produced cotton yarn until about 1928. The buildings were sold in that year to the Delaware Rayon Company, which went bankrupt in 1954. Mill No. 2 was then used by the Acushnet Process Company for the manufacture of golf balls, while Mill No. 1 continued to be used for rayon production, a chemically intensive and environmentally hazardous process.
