Beaver Mill is a historic mill located in North Adams, Massachusetts. With a construction history dating to 1833, it is the oldest surviving mill building in the city, and was the first local acquisition of Sprague Electric, a major local employer in the 20th century. The mill was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973. The complex now houses artist studios and other facilities.

Description and history

Beaver Mill is located east of downtown North Adams, on the north bank of the North Branch Hoosic River, originally the source of its power. It consists of a series of large attached masonry structures, built mainly out of brick. Its main building (mill #1) is built in part on foundations that date to 1833, and its lower floors were built in 1850 out of stone following a fire. This portion is the oldest mill building in North Adams, and its only surviving stone mill structure. The mill was owned for many years by A.C. Houghton, one of the city's leading businessman and its first mayor. In 1875, Gallup & Houghton owned the majority of the mill, with about one quarter owned by Harvey Arnold. A long, high, thick wall was built along the water in 1888 to protect the mill. The mill achieved its largest extent in 1900, with 25,000 spindles, as part of the

Arnold Print Works The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is a museum in a converted Arnold Print Works factory building complex located in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing ar ...

properties; business failures in 1878 and 1908 caused the mill to be part of the Arnold Print Works Reorganization Agreements. In 1929 Arnold sold the property to Sprague Electric, whose first major facility it was. Sprague moved some of its facilities from

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, to the Beaver Mill in 1930. Sprague went on to take over most of the Arnold complex. Sprague sold it to Hoosuck Community Resources Corp. by 1977.Sprage, John L. (2015) ''Sprague Electric: An Electronic Giant's Rise, Fall and Life After Death'' Createspace.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts, state=collapsed Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in North Adams, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References