Seaconnett Mills facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Clover Leaf Mills
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1 & 21 Father DeValles Blvd., Fall River, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 10.4 acres (4.2 ha) |
| Built | 1884 |
| MPS | Fall River MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 83000716 |
| Added to NRHP | February 16, 1983 |
Clover Leaf Mills is a very old building complex in Fall River, Massachusetts. It used to be called Seaconnet Mills. This place was a textile mill, which means it made fabric, usually from cotton. The mill started being built in 1884. It's a great example of how factories looked in the 1880s. Because it's so important to history, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Contents
What is Clover Leaf Mills?
The Clover Leaf Mills complex is a group of buildings. It sits in Fall River, Massachusetts, near where two big roads, Interstate 195 and Massachusetts Route 24, meet.
Main Buildings
The complex has two main buildings. They are made of stone and are very large.
- The first building is the spinning mill. This is where cotton was spun into thread. It has four floors and is long and rectangular.
- The second building is the weave shed. This is where the thread was woven into fabric. It has two floors.
These two main buildings are connected by a small, narrow part.
Other Structures
There are also other smaller buildings attached to the spinning mill. These include:
- A boiler house, which likely made steam for power.
- A picker house, where raw cotton was cleaned.
- A tall brick chimney, used for smoke from the boilers.
A Look at History
The first part of the mill, the spinning mill, was built in 1884. The second part, the weave shed, was added in the 1890s.
Early Days and Leadership
The first president of the company was Henry C. Lincoln. At its busiest, the mill had 72,000 spindles. Spindles are parts of machines that twist cotton fibers into thread.
The Amazing Northrop Loom
Something very important happened at Seaconnet Mills in October 1889. The very first test of the Draper Northrop automatic loom took place here. This was a new type of weaving machine. Over the next year, more tests and improvements were made.
The Northrop automatic loom was a huge invention. It changed the weaving industry forever. Before this loom, one person could only manage a few weaving machines. With the new automatic loom, one person could manage many machines at the same time! This made making fabric much faster and cheaper.
Later Years and New Name
In 1930, a company called Howard-Arthur took over the Seaconnett Mills. In 2001, the name of the mill changed to Clover Leaf Mills. This new name came from its location, which is like the center of a clover leaf where the highways cross. Today, the old mill buildings have been fixed up and are used as an office park.
