Assabet Woolen Mill

Clock tower, erected 1892 by Lorenzo Maynard, son of the founder.

The Assabet Woolen Mill was originally a textile factory complex founded by Amory Maynard in 1847 near the Assabet River in the northern part of what was then Sudbury, Massachusetts. The area became the Town of Maynard in 1871.[1][2] The business went bankrupt in 1898, but reopened in 1899 as part of the American Woolen Company, who expanded it. The mill ceased operation as a woolen mill in 1950. The buildings were later repurposed by the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) as their corporate headquarters, and named Clock Tower Place. As of 2015, the facility is home to various small business as "Mill & Main". See Maynard, Massachusetts for further detail regarding the use of the dozen or so mill buildings.

History

Starting in the eighteenth century[3], several grist mills and saw mills were constructed along the Assabet River up- and down-river from the site of the current mill building complex. In 1847 Amory Maynard constructed the first buildings of Assabet Woolen Mill on the current site. The mill, located between its mill pond and the Assabet River, produced carpets and later wool cloth used in military uniforms during the American Civil War.[1][4] The mill complex is also home to the oldest, still-working, hand-wound clock in the country (see image). The clock tower was constructed in 1892 by Lorenzo Maynard (Amory's oldest son) as a gift to the town. The weights that power the E. Howard & Co. tower clock and bell-ringing mechanisms are wound up once a week. The four clock faces have always been illuminated by electric lights.[5] After bankruptcy in 1898, it was purchased by American Woolen Company which modernized and expanded the facility. Textile production ended in 1950, and the complex stood empty.

In 1953, several Worcester businessmen formed Maynard Industries, Inc., purchased the property and rented space to business and industrial tenants.[6] In 1957 the newly created Digital Equipment Corporation (Digital) rented about 9,000 square feet of space in the mill complex. Digital expanded its space over time, until in 1974 it purchased the entire 1.1 million square foot complex. Maynard became known as the "Mini Computer Capital of the World". Digital remained in Maynard until 1998, when it was purchased by Compaq, which was itself later bought out by Hewlett Packard.[7] Wellesley Management purchased the property in 2000 and rented space to various business under the operating name Clock Tower Place. In 2015 "Mill & Main" acquired the mill complex and currently leases space to office and light industry businesses and restaurants.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 http://web.maynard.ma.us/history/maynard-family.htm
  2. ↑ William H. Gutteridge, "A Brief History of the Town of Maynard, Massachusetts" 1921 - Maynard (Mass.)
  3. ↑ January 1992, "Development of the Assabet Mills in 19th Century Maynard," John R. Mullin, University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Faculty Publication Series http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=larp_faculty_pubs
  4. ↑ William H. Gutteridge, "A Brief History of the Town of Maynard, Massachusetts" 1921 - Maynard (Mass.)
  5. ↑ Mark, David A. (2014). Hidden History of Maynard. The History Press. ISBN 1626195412.
  6. 1 2 http://web.maynard.ma.us/history/mill-history.htm
  7. ↑ Earls, Alan R. (2004). Digital Equipment Corporation. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-3587-6

Further reading

  • Boothroyd, Paul; Halprin, Lewis. Assabet Mills: Maynard, Massachusetts. Charleston, South Carolina : Arcadia Publishing, 1999. ISBN 9780738502625
  • Mullin, John R. "Development of the Assabet Mills in 19th Century Maynard", Faculty Publication Series, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1992.

Coordinates: 42°25′52″N 71°27′18″W / 42.4310°N 71.4549°W / 42.4310; -71.4549

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