Beaver Mill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Beaver Mill
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(2010)
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 189 Beaver Street, North Adams, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1833 |
| NRHP reference No. | 73000292 |
| Added to NRHP | May 11, 1973 |
The Beaver Mill is a really old building in North Adams, Massachusetts. It was built way back in 1833. This makes it the oldest mill building still standing in North Adams!
This mill was also the first place bought by Sprague Electric. Sprague Electric was a very big company that gave many people jobs in the 20th century. Because it's so important, the Beaver Mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Today, the mill is a cool place where artists have studios and other groups use the space.
The Story of Beaver Mill
The Beaver Mill is found east of downtown North Adams. It sits right next to the North Branch Hoosic River. The river's water used to power the mill's machines.
The mill is made up of several big buildings connected together. They are mostly built from brick. The main building, called mill #1, has parts that date back to 1833. After a fire in 1850, the lower floors were rebuilt using strong stone. This part of the mill is the oldest and only stone mill building left in North Adams.
For many years, a man named A.C. Houghton owned the mill. He was a very important businessman and the first mayor of North Adams. In 1875, a company called Gallup & Houghton owned most of the mill. A smaller part was owned by Harvey Arnold. To protect the mill from the river, a very long and tall wall was built in 1888. It was about 1,000 feet (300 meters) long and 12 feet (3.7 meters) high!
How the Mill Grew and Changed
By 1900, the Beaver Mill was at its biggest. It had 25,000 spindles, which are parts of machines used to spin thread. It was part of a larger group of properties owned by the Arnold Print Works. Sometimes, businesses had problems. This happened in 1878 and 1908, and the mill became part of new agreements for Arnold Print Works.
In 1929, Arnold Print Works sold the mill to Sprague Electric. This was Sprague Electric's first big building in the area. Sprague moved some of its work from Quincy, Massachusetts, to the Beaver Mill in 1930. Over time, Sprague Electric took over most of the other buildings that belonged to Arnold Print Works. Sprague Electric later sold the Beaver Mill to Hoosuck Community Resources Corp. by 1977.
