4. Blackinton Woolen Mill, North Adams, Massachusetts
Location: Massachusetts’s North Adams
1822 is the year.
Built for $20,357 in total.
The best-preserved mill hamlet in the county is found in North Adams, Massachusetts, within the Blackinton Historic District. The district, which was included in the NRHP in 1985, has both outstanding examples of Victorian-era architecture and still-standing brick mill structures.
Blackinton Woolen Mill, New England’s North Adams © John Phelan/Microsoft
Founded in the 1820s, the Blackinton Mill served as the hub of this once prosperous village. Initially established in 1822 at a cost of almost $20,000 (adjusted for inflation), the wool mill expanded rapidly. Around the mill, a neighborhood started to take shape, and structures including a post office, church, library, jail, and school started to appear. Despite its prosperity throughout the Civil War, the mill ultimately closed for financial reasons.
zi ang