BlockThe nomination, in full
Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.
FORM A - AREA Form numbers in this area Area letter N-23-1/2/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11 MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 294 Washington Street, Boston, MA. 02108 479 Eall River, Mass. Photo (3x3" or 3x5") Staple to left side of form number_ MF-4-12 Town Name of area (if any) Union Mills Pleasant Street General date or period 1859-1890 Sketch map. Draw a general map of the area indicating properties within it. Number each property for which individual inventory forms have been completed. Label streets (including route numbers, if any) and indicate north. (Attach a separate sheet if space here is not sufficient) 25assan GRANITE ENGINE HORLENOI 1Sty.8DSHT. SaldoLs-t 419-2 ZeN 1SHM MILL N°2 SalNOLS-9 lON77IW S.8 8 *30L5-2 6-STORIES PLEASANT ST.
saliaes-z d013 BOILER HOUSEN 2 I-STORY GRANITE ORIG/NALLY 150" ALTEREDTO 100 (Appron.) Recorded by_ Pereira/Vielmetti/Fox Organization FROHP Date 6/25/81 (Staple additional sheets here) ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE of area. (Describe physical setting, general character, and architecturally significant structures). The Union Mills complex contains one of the earliest remaining mills in Fall River, dating from 1859. Located on the east side of the Quequechan River, the Union was one of the first in the city to be powered by steam and was the first mill to be built above the falls, a change made possible by the new steam engines and made necessary by the fact that all suitable locations near waterfalls were by then fully occupied. The 1859 mill was designed by Josiah Brown, the first builder of local mills who can be considered a professional designer.
Brown was self- educated and had traveled to Europe for study and observation. He was assisted in this early effort by Wm. C. Davol. Brown later designed the Robeson, Border City, Fall River Manufactory and Montaup, of which the first two survive. The Union, originally 5½ stories high, is of the narrow mill type and measures 160' X 70'. It was constructed of irregular granite ashlar with parged joints, in a style vaguely reflective of Italianate influences. As was typical of granite mills of the period, walls at the base were over 3 feet thick and floor timbers were 12" X 16" supported on heavy iron columns. Except for changes in the roofline, (Cont HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE of area. (Explain development of area, what caused it, and how it affected commmity; be specific).
The Union Mills Company, incorporated in 1859, was the first Fall River textile company to be financed by community stock subscriptions. The idea of a mill corporation owned by shareholders was conceived by Hale Remington, who invited others to participate including S. A. Chace, the company's first president, and David Anthony, the first treasurer. Capital of $175,000 was raised from twenty subscribers, all described as "gentlemen" with holdings from $1,000 to $2,000. The original 1859 print cloth mill, among the first in the city to be powered steam, had a capacity of 15,000 spindles. During the war the enterprise was by sufficiently profitable to allow construction of a second mill of 30,000 spindles in 1865 without any increase in capital or assessment of stockholders..
During the financial troubles of 1879, the property was sold to creditors and reorganized as the Union Cotton Manufacturing Company, capitalized at $750,000. A third mill brought capacity to 89,608 spindles and 2,122 looms. During peak years of pro- duction following World War I, capacity reached 110,816 spindles and 2,837 looms with 900 employed in the production of print cloth and wide goods measuring 30 million yards annually. The Union Mills paid cash dividends which averaged 20.7 percent between 1911 and 1925, a record equalled by only one other Fall River mill. Within a few years, however, Fall River's mill economy collapsed and the Union closed in 1929. Buildings are presently used for retail space, light manufacturing and storage. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Phillips' History of Fall River, Fascicle II, P. 126 Fall River and Its Industries, p.
121-123 History of Bristol County, MA, P. 316-317 American Wool and Cotton Reports, 1920 Handbook HABS No. Mass-981, New England Textile Survey, 1970-71 1920 Corporate Millvard: Plans Mill Architecture in Fall River, P. 189, 193, 194 Barlow Insurance Plans; No. 4098, 1876 The Cotton Textile Industry of Fall River, Mass., by Thomas Russel1 Smith, (King's Crown Press, 1944), p. 78, p. 133 Fenner's History of Fall River (1911), p. 72-73 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the Secretary, Boston Commmity: Form No: Fall River, Mass. Property Name: Union Mills N-23-1/4/6 Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below. ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Continuation) the Union is representative of the early period of Fall River mill architecture. The cotton machinery was built by Marvel, Davol & Co. of Fall River and Wnt.
Mason of Taunton. The engine by the Corliss Steam Engine Co. of Providence was of the type which was to become famous throughout the manufacturing world. One of its advantages was that the exhaust steam could be used for dressing the loom warps and in winter for heating the buildings. The Union was the first mill in Fall River to be heated in this manner. The contract with the Corliss Company stated that the mill could either pay a fixed sum or the amount saved in energy over a period of time, and the management quickly paid the stipulated amount because the economy was so engine was used in most subsequent factories until the Globe Yarn Mills_#2 of.1886-7. In 1865 a second granite mill, 282' X 72', and ells were constructed, along with a cotton storage house and office.
In 1878 a third brick mill was built, and in 1890 a separate engine house and boiler house were added to Mill #2, and all three mill buildings were altered with the removal of their gable roofs and addition of an upper story, overhanging bracketed cornice and low-pitched roof. Nine buildings remain including Mill #1 and one ell, Mill #2 and picker house, boiler house and engine room, a brick storage house and a later engine room attached to Mill #1. Most of the buildings are granite, giving the complex a unity of materials in addition to its early feeling; The Union Mills Complex is one of the city's earliest remaining mills, associated with a prominent local architect, and reflects the monumental granite architecture of the period. It also represents a substantial period of post-war industrial expansion, and thus meets criteria A and C of the National Register.
Staple to Inventory form at bottom NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Item number OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use anly 115163 received date entered Page q g, Multiple Resource Area Thematic Group Name State Fall River Multiple Resource Area MA *Inminotion/Type of Review 81. St. Joseph's Orphanage Substantive Review Keeper 82. St. Louis Church Enford hen the -1eton Attest *Keeper 83. St. Mary's Cathedral and Regft6ted Yo Fhe National Register Attest fKeeper 84. St. Patrick's Church Intered in the National Register Attest fkeeper 85. Stafford Mills Entered in the National Begister Attest fReeper 86. Union Mills Entered National Register Attest fReeper Attest 87.
Valentine-French House Entered in the National Register fKeeper Entered In the National Register 88. Wampanoag Mills Attest /Keeper 89. Winslow, Luther Jr., House Intered In the Netlpnal Regtater Attest tKeeper 90. Woman's Club of Fall River Intered in the Nettoral RogLater Attest Hkeeper Attest Date/Signature 2l64) BananDrl 116/83 deloulaye 2/10/83 Aelrbzen +/a/83 abulmuByen 2/0/83 ZelousByur 7ra/83 AelouByen 3/k/83 AuluaByen 7/6/83 AelauByan 2/r/8) LleresByen 3/k/83 Selmesßgen NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Jnited States Dep Wational Park Servics ETALUATION/ RETURN SHEET Union Mills (Fall River MRA) Bristöl County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviower's comments: Working No. 16/83-15 Fed. Reg. Date: - 7-84 Date Due: 2/3/83 2/19/83 Action: ACCEPT 2116/83 Enteredin the RETURN.
Netlonal Regiater REJECT- Federal Agency:. -sample - request - appeal - NR decision Recom. /Criteria. Reviewer_ Discipline Date -technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below continuation sheet -Nomination returned for: 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification etogery Prosom Uee lle Aompataltton 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys tes shle property toon dererd 7. Description esrie te reed tetertarato uins hock ene _unaitered aitered d ertetnel (ll tumeerel ployeteat summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection chock ene - oredce - noved 8.
Significance Period Arees ef SignificanceCheck and justify below pecific dates Statement of Significance (in one peragraph) Sadider: Architect summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource contexi relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nomineted property Quedrengle neme. UNT Reterences Verbal boundery description and ustification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: - national - state - local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date titie 13.
Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Signed - Date- Phone: 202 272 -3504 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet PARTS Nát VAREHOUSE SALES INC.. LANCES - T-V FallRiver MRA, Ma MP-4-12 Union mill n/w mill#2 Please refer to the map in the Multiple Property Cover Sheet for this property Multiple Property Cover Sheet Reference Number: 64000279