North Uxbridge is a village and a post office in the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

(township) of

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

in Worcester County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. The postal zip code is 01538. It is classified as a community or populated place (Class Code U6) located at latitude 42.088 and longitude -71.641 and the elevation is . North Uxbridge appears on the Uxbridge U.S. Geological Survey Map. Worcester County is in the Eastern time zone (GMT -5) and observes DST. North Uxbridge is located approximately 36 miles west-southwest of Boston, and 15 miles southeast of Worcester. The town meeting in 1885 set aside North Uxbridge as a "special district", since its population had exceeded 1000 people. North Uxbridge appeared as a separate Census tract in the 1960 census, with a population of 1882. In 2013, an Uxbridge DIY show, ''The Garage, with Steve Butler'', went worldwide from Steve's garage in North Uxbridge.Uxbridge DIY Show goes worldwide from Steve Butlers Garage, November 23, 3013, WCVB Boston
/ref>

Description of the village

North Uxbridge, the main northern village of the town, is also known as the "north end". The village receives municipal services from Uxbridge, for fire, police, emergency medical services, school district, public works, and other services. Worcester's Judicial District includes Uxbridge District Court. There is a North Uxbridge fire station Number 2, of the Uxbridge Fire Department. The commercial district includes a CVS pharmacy, small shops, businesses and restaurants. The Cornerstone Church (the former North Uxbridge

Baptist Church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

) is a well known icon in the downtown area of the village. The village is no longer recognized as a separate census-designated place but is considered part of Uxbridge by the US Census bureau. Major employers include the local school district, and a commercial plastics manufacturing company in the former Rivulet mill. Residential construction has grown substantially in the last 20 years. The former North Uxbridge elementary school was also the Virginia Blanchard Pre-K Center, and is a historic building.

Historic features

The village is home to the historic Rogerson Village built by Robert Rogerson in the 1820s. This village contains the Crown and Eagle Mills, considered an architectural masterpiece of an early

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

mill village with worker housing and a water-powered cotton mill. This system of water-powered mills, driven by

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, aqua ...

s, with

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

s, and surrounded by mill villages, became known as "

The Rhode Island System The Rhode Island System refers to a system of mills, complete with small villages and farms, ponds, dams, and spillways first developed by Samuel Slater (who had earlier built the first fully functional water-powered textile mill in America at Pa ...

". North Uxbridge had other historic mills such as the Rivulet Mill and Richard Sayles Mills, originally built by Chandler Taft in 1814, and the Clapp Mill (1810). Blanchard School and a number of other historic sites here such as Samuel Taft House, and the A. Whipple House, are listed on the Federal Register of historic places. It was also home to the Blanchard Granite quarry from which was mined large quantities of granite known throughout the Eastern United States. Blanchard's quarry supplied

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

's reconstruction after its 1872 fire and sold

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

its curbstones. The

North Uxbridge School The North Uxbridge School, also known as the Virginia A. Blanchard School, is an historic school building at 87 East Hartford Avenue in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Built in 1873 and enlarged in 1900, it served as a public school until 2002. It was ...

, or Virginia A. Blanchard School, is on the register of Historic Places (see also below), as is the Rogerson's Village. The village is part of the

Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor is a National Heritage Corridor dedicated to the history of the early American Industrial Revolution, including mill towns stretching across 25 cities and towns (400,000 acres ...

of Massachusetts and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

which is part of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. The

Blackstone River Valley The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major factor in the American Industrial Revolution. It makes up part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and Blackst ...

is the oldest industrialized region in the United States. North Uxbridge borders

Linwood Linwood may refer to: Places Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia * Linwood, South Australia *Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales Canada * Linwood, Ontario * Linwood, ...

and Northbridge. Mendon is to the East.

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

is to the west. French Canadian Linwood's cotton mill and Robert Rogerson' masterpiece Crown and Eagle Cotton Mill were near Italian North Uxbridge's Rivulet Mill.

Recent history

In the late 20th century, the former James Whitin Estate, also known as "GrayRock", served as an exclusive substance abuse treatment facility. Famous individuals receiving treatment included Joan Kennedy (the first wife of the late US Massachusetts Senator

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

), and actress

Amanda Blake Amanda Blake (born Beverly Louise Neill; February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the Western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Along with ...

, (who played Miss Kitty, on ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

''). This estate burned in a major fire a few years later and is today the location of Fire Station Number 2, of the Uxbridge Fire Department.

Industrial era photos

File:Crown&EagleMillUxbridge 101.jpg, Crown & Eagle Mill, built in 1824 by Robert Rogerson, and is considered a masterpiece of early American Industrial architecture File:Larkin Building, Uxbridge, MA.png, The Company Store, now known as the Larkin Building at Rogersons Village Historic District File:Rogersons Village Housing, Uxbridge, MA.jpg, Rhode Island System of mill worker housing at Rogersons Village Historic District File:RogersonsVillage 098.jpg, Rogersons Village Mill worker housing circa 1824 File:VirginiaBlanchardCenterUxbridgeMA 103.jpg, Historic North Uxbridge School File:North Uxbridge Baptist Church, North Uxbridge MA.jpg, The Cornerstone Church (the former North Uxbridge Baptist Church) File:North_Main_Street,_North_Uxbridge_MA.jpg, North Uxbridge Business District File:UFD Sta 2, North Uxbridge MA.jpg, Former Station 2 of Uxbridge Fire Department at North Uxbridge. A replacement station was built near the former James Whitin Estate, at Rogerson's Village, a section of North Uxbridge File:Rivulet Mill Complex, 1814, North Uxbridge, MA.JPG, Rivulet Mill, 1814, North Uxbridge File:Historic Marker, Rivulet Mill Complex, North Uxbridge, MA.jpg, 1814 historic marker of Rivulet Mill Village, North Uxbridge File:Samuel Taft House, Natonal Historic Site, Uxbridge, MA.jpg, Samuel Taft House where newly elected President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

slept in 1789 giving Uxbridge a motto "President Washington really did sleep here". President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

visited local sites of his ancestors, including the

Samuel Taft Samuel Taft (September 23, 1735 – August 2, 1816) was a Revolutionary War soldier who later hosted his former commander in Chief, President George Washington, at his home, on his inaugural tour of New England. Early life Samuel was the son ...

house in 1910, and where his grandfather

Peter Rawson Taft Peter Rawson Taft (April 14, 1785 – January 1, 1867) was an American lawyer, judge, and legislator. His son Alphonso Taft served as the United States Secretary of War, U.S. Secretary of War (1876), and United States Attorney General, U.S. Attor ...

was born. File:Stone Arch Bridge on Hartford Ave, 2013, Uxbridge MA.jpg, The Taft brothers built the first bridge across the

Blackstone River The Blackstone River in the United States is a river that flows through Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It is long with a drainage area of 475 mi2 (1229 km2). It drains into the tidal river, Pawtucket River at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Pawtuck ...

in 1709. This stone arch bridge is a familiar scene in the North Uxbridge area off of East Hartford Ave, when walking along the Canal northward at the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park. File:A Whipple House, Uxbridge, MA, 1810.jpg , Historic A. Whipple House, Sutton Street. Built in 1810, Federal Architecture period

References

External links