Hallville Mill Historic District is a
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...
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 ...
of
Preston,
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
, that was listed on 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 1996.
Contributing properties
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distr ...
in the district are 23 buildings, two other contributing structures, and one other contributing site over a area.
[ The district includes the ]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 ...
that forms Hallville Pond (a mill pond), historic manufacturing buildings and worker housing, and the Hallville Mill Bridge, a lenticular pony truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...
built circa 1890 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company.[Hallville Mill Bridge; Preston, Connecticut]
, Berlin Iron Bridge Company website, accessed October 27, 2009
Hallville is a historic textile mill village
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles.
Europe
Italy
* '' Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World He ...
. The first mill on the local stream, Indiantown Brook, was a fulling mill
Fulling, also known as tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelt waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate (lanolin) oils, dirt, ...
built in 1752 for finishing of locally produced homespun woolen cloth.[ ]Carding
In Textile manufacturing, textile production, carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passi ...
machines were added in the early 19th century. In 1857 Joseph Hall, Sr., a weaver
Weaver or Weavers may refer to:
Activities
* A person who engages in weaving fabric
Animals
* Various birds of the family Ploceidae
* Crevice weaver spider family
* Orb-weaver spider family
* Weever (or weever-fish)
Arts and entertainmen ...
born in England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, built an industrial-scale woolen mill
Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
on the site. The mill remained under his family's ownership under the name Hall Brothers' Woolen Mill (named for the founder's sons)[ and was continually expanded over the years. As of 1888 the mill employed 175 workers and produced of ]cloth
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is n ...
annually.[ It was a major source of employment and tax revenue for the town of Preston.][Hallville Mill Historic District]
Preston Pipeline, Volume 4, Issue 4
, November 1996. Page 8. The article includes quotations from the National Register of Historic Places nomination form.
The district has significance "as an intact representative small-scale 19th-century mill village
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles.
Europe
Italy
* '' Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World He ...
containing a high concentration of contributing buildings and structures built as components of a company-owned town based initially on so-called Rhode Island manufacturing system." As such, the mill and its associated village provide physical evidence of the area's economic transition to industrial production during the late 19th century.[ and ]
Route 2A, a two-lane undivided highway, passes through Hallville. Increased traffic volumes on this road, attributed to the nearby Foxwoods
Foxwoods Resort Casino is an integrated resort owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their Indian reservation, reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casino ...
and Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun is a large casino and entertainment complex located on 240 acres (97 ha) of the Mohegan Indian Reservation in Uncasville, Connecticut, along the banks of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is owned and operated by the fe ...
casino
A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
s, are considered to be a threat to the historic character of the village.The Most Important Threatened Historic Places: A Status Report
Connecticut Trust For Historic Preservation website, accessed October 28, 2009
See also
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places
Historic districts in New London County, Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut
Preston, Connecticut
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut