The Whittall Mills is an historic industrial complex in southern

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. The complex, which was built between 1870 and 1930, is a reminder of the large carpet manufacturing business that was once a major presence in the city. It is a complex of 15 brick buildings located on a bend of the Middle River (a tributary of the

Blackstone River The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi (80 km) and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi (1,400 km2). Its long history of industrial use has left ...

), south of Crompton Street and just west of Interstate 290. The mill complex has its origins in about 1870, when the first of the surviving buildings, a three-story brick building with a mansard roof, was erected by the Crompton Rug Company. It was followed a few years later by a dye house. Crompton Rug went out of business in 1879, and these premises were leased to William Hogg, who eventually formed the Worcester Carpet Company, which expanded the complex with a second major mill and the purchase of additional water rights in 1893. Matthew Whittall, who first gained notice as a supervisor at Crompton Rug, had opened his own factory in other parts of Worcester in 1874. By 1883 his business had grown, and he acquired land next to the Crompton works, where he built a series of buildings over the next 23 years. At the time of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Whittall was the largest employer in south Worcester, with 1,500 workers operating 350 mills in 500,000 square feet of factory space. The products he produced were purchased by the federal government for use in its buildings, and were selected by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

for use in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

. Whittall sold the mills in 1950. They were 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 1980.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Worcester, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Worcester, Massachusetts

See also

References