The Blackstone Manufacturing Company Historic District encompasses the "New City" or "High Rocks" area of

Blackstone, Massachusetts Blackstone is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,208 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Providence metropolitan area. History This region was first inhabited by the Nipmuc. Blackstone was sett ...

, an industrial village associated with the Blackstone Manufacturing Company, which began operations in 1809. It includes an area roughly surrounding Butler, Canal, Church, County, Ives, Main, Mendon, Old Mendon, and School Streets. The district includes a wide variety of worker housing, as well as a granite storehouse, the only surviving company structure. The district was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1995.

Description and history

The Blackstone Manufacturing Company was founded in 1808 by investors from

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and was one of several such companies that developed 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 ...

industrially. Its early growth was instrumental in the growth of Blackstone Village in the 19th century. The company owned much of the land in the village, building it out as a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

, providing housing, a school and church, and other services for its workers. Its mill was located at the end of what is now called Old Mendon Street, and included one of the first mills built anywhere in the United States after the

Slater Mill The Slater Mill is a historic water-powered textile mill complex on the banks of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, modeled after cotton spinning mills first established in England. It is the first water-powered cotton spinning mil ...

in Pawtucket. The complex now survives mainly as archaeological remnants, including filled-in raceways and other features. The company remained in independent operation until 1924, when it was acquired by the Lonsdale Company. The historic district occupies an irregular area roughly bounded on the north by Main Street and the east by Bridge Street. The eastern portion of this area is where the mill complex was located, and to its west lies a small grid of streets that were built out by the company with housing. Most of this housing took the form of tenements housing anywhere from two to six units, built with wood frames and originally finished in clapboards. There were a few single-family residences built by the company, as well as the Blackstone Inn, built about 1920, the 1836 Greek Revival Congregational Church, and two school buildings.

References

External links

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

Description and history

See also

References

External links