Cranesville Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Cranesville Historic District
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Crane Museum
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | North and south of Main St., west of Park Ave., Dalton, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 154 acres (62 ha) |
| Built | 1816 |
| Architect | Bradley, Prentice; et al. |
| Architectural style | Early Republic, Mid 19th Century Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 05001208 |
| Added to NRHP | November 9, 2005 |
The Cranesville Historic District is a special area in Dalton, Massachusetts. It's known for its old buildings and homes connected to the famous papermaking company, Crane and Company. This important district, located around Main Street, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. A historic district is a group of buildings, structures, or sites that are important because of their history or architecture.
Contents
A Look at Cranesville's History
Papermaking started in Dalton in the early 1800s. By the 1820s, a man named Zenas Crane was leading the way. His company, Crane and Company, became very successful. It had many papermaking factories in the Berkshires region. But its main office and the Crane family home were right here in Dalton.
Important Crane Family Homes
The Crane family built several large and beautiful homes. These homes are on the north side of Main Street. One famous home is Sugar Hill. This was the home of Winthrop Murray Crane. He helped the company grow a lot in the late 1800s. He also became the Governor of Massachusetts.
The Papermaking Factories
The old factory buildings of Crane and Company are south of Main Street. They are usually hidden from view, close to the Housatonic River. One very important building is the 1816 home of Zenas Crane. He started the business in Dalton in the early 1800s. Today, this building houses Crane Company offices.
The most famous factory building is the National Historic Landmark Crane and Company Old Stone Mill Rag Room. This is the oldest building still standing on the Crane property. It shows how papermaking was done a long time ago.
Homes for Company Workers
As the company grew, more homes were built for its workers. East along Main Street, you can see many houses from the late 1800s. Most of these were built for the company's managers.
Southwest along South Street, there are groups of homes built by the company for its workers. These are mostly identical duplexes. A duplex is a house divided into two separate living spaces. These were built in the 1910s and 1920s.
Another group of worker homes is northeast of the Crane family estates. This area also has smaller homes called Capes. The Cranes built these for World War II veterans in the early 1950s.
