Built 1884 (1884) NRHP Reference # 83000716 Area 4 ha | MPS Fall River MRA Opened 1884 Added to NRHP 16 February 1983 | |
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Location 21 Father DeValles Blvd., Fall River, Massachusetts Similar Stafford Mills, Flint Mills, Fall River Heritage State Park, Watuppa Ponds, Battleship Cove | ||
Seaconnett (or Seaconnet) Mills is an historic cotton textile mill complex located at 21 Father DeValles Boulevard in Fall River, Massachusetts. Begun in 1884, the mill is a good example of 1880s industrial architecture. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Contents
Description
The Seaconnett Mills complex is located in an isolated but highly visible setting southeast of the western interchange between Interstate 195 and Massachusetts Route 24 in eastern Fall River. It includes two large stone buildings (the main spinning mill and the weave shed), joined by a narrow hyphen, with a cluster of ancillary buildings attached to the west side of the spinning mill. The spinning mill is a long rectangular four-story building with an exterior of rustically dressed granite blocks, and is oriented north-south. The weave shed is two-stories in height, and is oriented east-west. The cluster of outbuildings include a boiler house, picker house, and a brick chimney.
History
Mill No. 1 (the spinning mill) was built in 1884, while Mill No. 2 (the weave shed) was built in the 1890s. Henry C. Lincoln was the first president of the company, which had a peak capacity of 72,000 spindles. In October 1889, the very first operational trial of the Draper Northrop automatic loom was made at the Seaconnet Mills. Further trials and improvements to the Northrop loom were made over the next year or so. In the following decades, the Northrop automatic loom would revolutionize the weaving industry, allowing a single operator to manage multiple looms at the same time.
In 1930 the Seaconnet Mills were taken over by the Howard-Arthur Company. The mill site has been recently restored into an office park and is now the site of Bristol Probate and Family Court.