Leeds is a village in the western portion of the city of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, bordering Williamsburg—along the Mill River—and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. The ZIP Code for Leeds is 01053. The village was named after the

city of Leeds The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell, W ...

, in England. In the 19th century, Leeds was known for its

textile manufacturing Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

, including broadcloth,

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

, and

vegetable ivory Vegetable ivory or tagua nut is a product made from the very hard white endosperm of the seeds of certain palm trees. Vegetable ivory is named for its resemblance to animal ivory. Species in the genus ''Phytelephas'' (literally "elephant plan ...

buttons, as well as extensive

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

of farm implements and household goods. The major producer of silk in Leeds was the Corticelli Silk Mills, which were owned by the Nonotuck Silk Company. They had several buildings along sections of the Mill River. The major factory was located at the corner of Main Street and Mulberry Street, another factory building was located across the bridge and to the right of Chartpak. Another building was located near the opposite end of Main Street, where the cocoons were steamed to loosen the fibers and made the raw silk usable for production in Corticelli's various products. The company also created items that could be used in the classroom as teaching aids, including a poster showing the various steps in the production of silk. In 1874, a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

on the Mill River broke, flooding Leeds and Williamsburg and killing 139 people. Today, Leeds is home to the Northampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Chartpak, manufacturer of art and graphics supplies, which includes

Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth a.s. is a Czech manufacturing company of stationery products, based in České Budějovice. Having been established in 1790, it is one of the oldest stationery companies in the world. With four factories in its country of o ...

. Leeds is also home to Leeds Elementary School.

References

* ''In the Shadow of the Dam, The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874'', Elizabeth M. Sharpe, Free Press, 2004. * ''Silk: Its Origin, Culture, and Manufacture; Illustrated from Photographs Taken at the Corticelli Silk Mills'', Nonotuck Silk Company, 1902 * ''How Corticelli Silk Is Made'', Nonotuck Silk Company, 1881 * ''Mills on the Mill River'', Charles J. Dean, 1935

External links

Leeds Civic Association
Northampton, Massachusetts Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts Villages in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Villages in Massachusetts {{HampshireCountyMA-geo-stub