Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books,articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data: _ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 X State Historic Preservation Office CFR 67) has been requested - Other State agency _previously listed in the National Register _ Federal agency - previously determined eligible by the National Register - . Local government - University - designated a National Historic Landmark .Other _ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey Name of repository: # Massachusetts Historical Commission - recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # Cape Ann Historical Society (0PB Form 10000- OMB Approvel No.
1021-0018 United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service National Register of Historlc Places Continuation Sheet Sectlon number 7 1 Page Gloucester Net & Twine Company Gloucester (Essex County) Massachusetts - 7. DESCRIPTION Location, Environment, and Site Features The late 19th century Gloucester Net & Twine Company Complex occupies the southeast corner of Maplewood Avenue and Grove Streets in a dense turn-of-the-century, mixed use neighborhood. The nominated property is now surrounded by a chain link fence and includes a large paved parking lot at the rear. Ancillary buildings shown on assessors lots #9, 10, but now gone, were wood-frame structures that included two long ropewalks. They are not included in the nomination. Summary Evolution of the Property The present main building and rear power house date to the original 1884 incorporation of the company.
Two wood-frame ropewalks and several sheds were added to the rear of the property in ca. 1890-1915 and appear to have remained in place until ca. 1960. The one story wood-frame east wing was probably added ca. 1900. The one story brick building at the southeast corner of the property was constructed between 1919 and 1934 for use as an office. The site originally extended back (E) to the Boston & Maine Railroad which was connected by a spur line to aid delivery of products and shipping of product. Current Building Appearance The main building is a large six by sixteen bay, wood frame structure dating to 1884. It is currently sheathed with mid 20th century asbestos shingles. It rises three stories from a brick foundation to the low-pitched roof with simple wooden cornice that typifies this period and type of industrial architecture.
A one-story wing on the Grove Street elevation (N) retains original clapboard siding. Paired windows throughout the building are simply framed and retain 6/6 sash. Paired basement windows are aligned with the other stories; they display granite lintels and sills, and contain six pane sash. The sixteen bay Maplewood Street facade (W) is centered on a four story, one by one bay stair/entry tower capped by a pyramidal roof. The tower covers the two central bays. The entry, which is centered on the outer face of the tower, contains a new, glazed double-leaf door, but retains its original six-pane transom and gabled hood supported on brackets. The south side elevation contains six aligned and evenly spaced windows at each story. This fenestration pattern is repeated at the upper stories of the east elevation.
A three by six bay wing with original clapboards as well as 6/6 sash covers the first story. The rear elevation (continued) (OPB Form 10800-a United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Sectlon number 7 Page Gloucester Net & Twine Company Gloucester (Essex County) Massachusetts - continues the regular fenestration seen elsewhere on the building. Centered on its first story is a ca. 1884 brick power house, terminating in a square-plan brick smoke stack. A small, wood-frame, shed roof vestibule with double-leaf door is immediately adjacent to the south. The powerhouse rises one story to a corbelled cornice, and a corrugated-metal gable roof with copper gutters and downspouts. Irregularly spaced windows with granite lintels and sills contain 6/6 sash.
A small one by one bay entry vestibule with segmental-arch door and window openings is located at the west end of the south elevation. A larger three by one bay wing extends from the rear (E) elevation adjacent to the smoke stack. It contains a segmental-arch vehicular entry with double-leaf doors, flanked by one window on each side. A 20th century, one story, concrete block shed stands north of the powerhouse. A one story brick structure is tucked into the southwest corner of the main building, in the small yard area defined by the stairtower. It rises directly from the sidewalk. As the most stylish component of the complex, it displays banded rustication, stepped gable ends with granite coping, and an arched pedestrian entry with radiating brick voussoirs and granite keystone.
Located in the second bay from the south, the entry, with its modern glazed door, is approached by three granite steps. Window openings with granite lintels and sills contain new single-pane sash. One window is located south of the entry with two groups of three windows to the north. The south elevation contains two windows. A ventilating turret is centered on the roof ridge. This wing appears to date to the 1920s. Archaeological Description While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the property, it is possible that sites are present. The physical characteristics of the area including a well drained level to moderately sloping landscape in close proximity to wetlands indicates locational criteria which are favorable for prehistoric site locations.
In general, however, construction of the main building, three frame structures to the rear of the main building, two large ropewalks and paving indicate the potential for significant prehistoric survivals is low. There is a high potential for significant historic archaeological resources on the property. Several late 19th and early 20th century structures affiliated with the main mill building are no longer extant, some of which may survive as archaeological resources on the nominated property. Two wood framed ropewalks were originally attached to the main building but were removed in ca. 1960. The ropewalk sites are not included in the nomination. Structural remains may, however, survive from three frame structures or sheds, also removed in ca. 1960 from the area to the rear of the main building. Trash deposits resulting from mill operations (continued) (upg.
Form 10000a United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service Natlonal Register of Historlc Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7,8 Page 3, 1 - OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Gloucester Net & Twine Company Gloucester (Essex County) Massachusetts may also survive on the property. Prior to the construction of the mill in 1884, the area was reportedly undeveloped land. (end) 8. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The Gloucester Net & Twine Company Complex is closely associated with the intense development of Gloucester's fisheries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also significant as one of the city's best-preserved examples of industrial architecture, owing to the loss or extensive alteration of most of its contemporaries.
The complex possesses integrity of location, design, materials, setting, and workmanship, and meets Criteria A and C for listing in the National Register on the local level. The period of significance for this property is 1884-1945. The Gloucester Net & Twine Co. was one of Gloucester's largest manufactories. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the city's rapidly expanding industry embraced new, mass- production techniques for harvesting fish. Outfitting the sailing fleet with the large quantities of lines and nets for such operations created a strong demand for local suppliers. Most of the other net-makers in the third quarter of the 19th century were small-scale operations located near Gloucester Harbor. The Net & Twine Company was distinguished from its contemporaries by its large-scale organization and output, its inland location, and its reliance on the railroad.
The railroad spur that extended into the complex was an important asset in the company's national and international distribution. Early planning for the establishment of the company stressed the great prospects for growth in the market for fish, given recent and projected population increases throughout the U.S., and Gloucester's importance as the center of the country's fishing industry. The economic benefits to Gloucester and its labor force were also emphasized, particularly in employing women and girls. A contemporary newspaper account in support of the proposed net and seine factory claimed that "If a portion of the profits and employment that accrues to other localities in their manufacture could be transferred to Gloucester, the city would acquire additional resources of wealth and comfort for its citizens and the enlargement of taxable property...
It will give employment to a large number of fishermen's widows, and children over fourteen (continued) (OPS Fom 10-000- OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Natlonal Register of Historlc Places Contlnuation Sheet Sectlon number Gloucester Net & Twine Company Gloucester (Essex County) Massachusetts Page - 2 years of age, and would aggregate a great many thousand dollars yearly in cash." With only four large net factories said to be existing in the U.S. at this time, the goal of the oroposed operation was to form a "first-class net and seine factory, capable of making the firs quality of fishing gear under conservative control, with the most experienced operatives, wit!
strict regard to economical management." (Cape Ann Weekly, 11 January 1884) The Gloucester Net & Twine Company was incorporated in 1884, one of seven such manufactories in Gloucester that year. By the end of the century, only four net and seine makers were reported in Gloucester, perhaps reflecting the Net & Twine Company's dominance of the market. The Net & Twine Company's early product line was large and diverse, focused on netting and lines of cotton and linen for all the leading fisheries. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, advertised products included fishing lines, cotton lines, rope and cordage, leads, gill nets, mackerel nets, herring nets, seines, and seine repairs. The company's products were shipped throughout the U.S., and to the Canadian maritimes, Newfoundland, and Europe.
Towards the end of this period, the Net & Twine Company also advertised cork, tennis nets, and baseball backstops, which suggests concurrent trends in recreation and summer resorts (see Summer Resorts context). At its founding, investor confidence in the success of the Gloucester Net & Twine Company seemed to be high. The business was incorporated with a capital fund of $125,000, which at the time was more than three times the capitalization of the Cape Ann Anchor Works, and more than four times that of the Russia Cement Co., two of the city's other leading fishing- supply factories. The early leaders of the company were prominent and successful businessmen. William E. Stowe of Boston was President; John G. Dennis, of Rockport, was Vice-President; and Joseph O. Procter of Gloucester was Treasurer and Clerk. Stowe was reported to have 44 years experience in the net industry.
At one of the first meetings preparatory to organizing the company, Stowe was so assured of the venture's success that he offered to buy 20% of the initial stock himself, "if he could have the right men who he could put his finger on to run the business in an economical manner." (Cape Ann Weekly, 18 January 1884) (continued) (up8 Fomm 10000g United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service Natlonal Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Sectlon number 8 3 Page Gloucester Net & Twine Company Gloucester (Essex County) Massachusetts - Stowe proposed begining with a four acre lot, a 65 by 200 ft building costing no more than $25,000, 30 French net machines, 20 twine twisters, and 300-400 girls on the payroll. The present site on Maplewood Avenue was purchased from the Benjamin K.
Hough estate for $3,000, and was considered optimal because of its proximity to the railroad. Local support for the enterprise was essential. Joseph Procter, who soon became the company's first treasurer and clerk, spoke at one of the early organizational meetings of the great opportunity presented by Stowe's interest and offer of capital. Fishery owner Charles Pew and businessman and philanthropist Addison Gilbert also spoke in support of the venture, while two other prominent fishery owners, Sylvester Cunningham and Sylvanus Smith, were appointed to a committee to pursue the matter further with Stowe. Joseph O. Procter was an eminent Gloucester businessman.
He started his career in the fisheries (see Central Gloucester District Boundary Increase), and soon became involved in the Gloucester Mutual Fishing Insurance Company, First National Bank of Gloucester, and Gloucester Water Supply Company. Procter also was a supporter of the Gloucester Board of Trade, Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library, YMCA, Widow's and Orphan's Fund, and Fishermen's Institute. By 1899-1900, Stowe remained as President of Gloucester Net & Twine, but Sylvanus Smith of Gloucester was installed as Vice-President, and George A. Smith, also of Gloucester, served as Treasurer and Clerk. Sylvanus Smith was senior member of Sylvanus Smith & Co., said to be "one of the largest in the New England fisheries, employing a large fleet of first- class vessels" (Pringle: 335).
Smith himself was esteemed as one of the most knowledgeable men in the fisheries industry, and invested in both real estate and business ventures. He held a number of other prominent positions in Gloucester as well, serving as first president of the Board of Trade, president and director of the First National Bank, and state representative. In 1912, Gloucester Net & Twine took over a local competitor, L. A. Burnham & Co., which was well-known for its tarred cotton lines for trawls and handling. Burnham & Co. had also been established in 1884 and was located nearby on Maplewood Avenue. Somewhat smaller in scale, it occupied a linewalk and 2-story factory building, employed 16 skilled operatives, and shipped its products throughout New England and "the British Provinces" (Industries & Wealth: 117). In 1916, the expanded Gloucester Net & Twine Co.
utilized two large linewalks, operated mills in East Cambridge and Baltimore, and was affiliated with the "well-known" Linen (continued) NPS Form 10-000% United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service National Register of Historlc Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approvel No. 10240018 8 Sectlon number 4 Page Gloucester Net & Twine Company Gloucester (Essex County) Massachusetts - Thread Co. of New York (Int & Ind: 53). Most of the company's netting was sold under the brand name of Gold Medal. In 1919, Gloucester Net & Twine Co. (Harold S. Ross, clerk; Thorvald S. Ross, Treasurer) sold its business and its property to American Net & Twine Co. of Cambridge, which continued to advertise nets, twine, and fittings for all the fisheries, as well as Burnham Tarred Lines.
American Net & Twine operated the property as its headquarters for the production of purse seine netting, trap netting, cord, gill netting, otter trawls, tarred lines, and trawl boards-- products which clearly reflect mechanized, 20th century fishing techniques. During American Net & Twine's operations, the company purchased from another manufacturer (Merchant Box & Cooperage of Gloucester) a third parcel of undeveloped land, to the south of their existing two parcels on Maplewood Avenue and Grove Street, possibly with future expansion in mind. A 1923 history of Gloucester provides a lengthy description of the manufacturing at the Net & Twine Co. In the main building on Maplewood Avenue, girls still worked the spools, bobbins, and shuttles of the netting machines-- "some of which tie at a single motion more than four hundred knots" (Hawes: 203).
The netting machines were located on the upper floor of the building, while tarring of the nets was done in vats in the basement. The line walk at theback of theproperty produced a wide variety of lines of every weight, some sent to the Pacific coast for halibut fishing. Inside the line walk were machines for twisting the lines, vats of tar, a reeling room above, an artificially heated drying room, a tying and papering room, and a storehouse for seasoning of the lines before shipping. By 1934, however, American Net & Twine Co. (now of Boston) had itself been dissolved, and all its property and assets were sold to The Linen Thread Co., Inc. of Delaware. The Linen Thread Co. Inc.
remained at this location until 1960, with an updated line of products: "(A)Il types and sizes of fishing netting, sport nets, ropes, lines and twines of cotton, linen, manila, Nylon and Nyak, as well as a full range of linen, cotton and Nylon threads for shoe manufacture and other industrial uses. Also cotton and jute yarns and twines." (Chamber of Commerce: n.p.) (continued) (DSFom 10.000 United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service Natlonal Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Section number 8 5 Page Gloucester Net & Twine Company Gloucester (Essex County) Massachusetts - Burnahm tarred cotton fishing lines continued as a mainstay of the business and a standard in the commercial fisheries. Gold Medal and Barbour's Red Hand were the principal brands of the company towards the end of its operations.
Since The Linen Thread Co.'s demise, the property has continued in industrial use. Major occupants today include Strong Leather Co. (manufacturer of small leather goods) and D.F. Harris & Sons, Inc. The latter firm was established as sailmakers in 1865, produced canvas for the Army and Navy in both world wars, and became a leading manfacturer of awnings on the North Shore in the early 20th century; a minor line of home furnishings and window treatments was added in the 1950s). The Net & Twine Co. is located in a predominantly residential neighborhood of downtown Gloucester, well inland from the harbor that it served. Until the last quarter of the 19th century, most of the Oak Grove neighborhood around the Net & Twine Co. Complex was undeveloped land, part of large estates owned by local businessmen and farmers.
The neighborhood experienced its greatest development between 1885 and 1900, characterized by speculative construction and tract-style subdivisions for working class families. Residents had an easy commute to several large manufacturing companies in the neighborhood at the turn of this century. In addition to the Net & Twine Co. and its one-time competitor, L.A. Burnham & Co., these businesses included the Ipswich Hosiery Mill (later Mighty-Mac) at the opposite end of Maplewood Avenue, and Lewis H. Marchant & Co., established in 1877, which manufactured wood boxes for the packaging of fish in a large plant at the corner of Willow and Cleveland streets. In 1899, when the Gloucester Net & Twine Company Complex first appears in a City atlas, the main building on Maplewood Avenue is indicated, with the brick power house located at the center rear.
In 1899, three frame structures in a variety of sizes were arrayed near the back of the main building, while a long and narrow line factory and rope walk, also of wood- frame construction, stretch along most of the southern property line. A spur of the Boston & Maine Railroad line is shown curving into the Net & Twine Co. property, where it splits into two branches, the southern end stopping at the back of the main structure (south' of the power house) and the northern end shown extending to Maplewood Ave. A description of the company in 1916 states that two large linewalks were attached to the main structure at that time, "one of them having been added within recent years" (Interests and Industries: 52). With the exception of the power house, none of these early structures survives.
The small brick structure standing at the front of the property probably was built by (continued) (0-8Form 10.000-a United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service National Register of Historlc Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Section numbers Page 6 Gloucester Net & Twine Company Gloucester (Essex County) Massachusetts - American Net & Twine Co. between 1919 and 1934, and appears to be barely visible in a phoptograph published around 1925 (Illustrated Survey of Gloucester: n.p.). Architecturally, the Gloucester Net & Twine Co. Complex is significant as a remarkably large, intact, and rare survivor of Gloucester's maritime-related support industries.
Although the main building is generally quite functional in design, the tower centered on its Maplewood rear of this structure, and especially the free-standing brick building in front, are more elaborately detailed examples of their period. Along with a handful of other surviving industrial complexes, the Gloucester Net & Twine Company Complex helps to reveal the nature and scale of activity necessary to sustain Gloucester's fisheries. Significantly unlike many of its contemporaries, this property continues in industrial use. Archaeological Significance Historic archaeological remains described above have the potential to provide important data relating to support industries for Gloucester's late 19th and early 20th century fishery industry.
Structural remains and related features from the three frame structures located to the rear of the main building can document the role of ancillary structures to overall mill operations. These structures may also contain important information relating to line and net technologies for the period Potential trash deposits in the area could contain artifact evidence of mill production and manufactures providing examples broken machinery, tools or detective products manufactured at the mill. Potential archaeological resources at the mill can provide important information on late 19th and early 20th century net and twine production which, in an important port such as Gloucester probably represented the state of the art at that time. (end) (PS Form 10.000-a United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service Natlonal Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approvel No.
1024-0018 Section number 9 Page 1 - Gloucester Net & Twine Company Gloucester (Essex County) Massachusetts 9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Historic atlases: 1872 (DeBeers), 1884 (Hopkins), and 1899 (Stadly). City directories: 1884-85 and 1899-1900 Cape Ann Weekly Advertiser, 11 and 18 January 1884 Cape Ann Historical Association library; Vertical file entitled "Net & Twine Company, Gloucester" Chamber of Commerce. "Gloucester Come Aboard... Listing some of the products of Gloucester, Massachusetts." Gloucester, Mass., (1955) Gloucester Daily Times. "An Illustrated Survey of Gloucester(,) Massachusetts; A National Market." Gloucester, Mass.: (ca. 1925). Hawes, Charles Boardman. Gloucester by Land and Sea; The Story of a New England Seacoast Town. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1923. Isaacs, I. J., compiler. The City of Gloucester, Mass.; Its Interests and Industries.
Gloucester, Mass.: Board of Trade, 1916. Industries and Wealth of Essex and Middlesex Counties, Mass.; And a Review of the Principal Points Situated Therein. New York: American Publishing & Engraving Co.: (ca. 1890-1895). Oaks, Martha. The Gloucester Fishermen's Institute 1891-1991. Gloucester, Mass.: Gloucester Fishermen's Institute, 1991. Pringle, James R. History of the Town and City of Gloucester, Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Gloucester, Mass.: Published by the author, 1892. (end) Gloucester Net & Twine Company Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property 1.2 acres UTM References (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) 1. 19 363160 4719860 Zone Easting Northing 2. Zone Easting Northing 3. Zone 4.
Zone Easting Northing Easting _ See continuation sheet Northing Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) 11. Form Prepared By Candace Jenkins/Wendy Frontiero, Preservation Consultants, Gloucester Historical Commission, name/title_with Betsy Friedberg, National Register Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission organization_Massachusetts Historical Commission street & number_220 Morrissey Boulevard city or town Boston date _October, 1995 telephone_(617) 727-8470 state_MA _ zip code_02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets Maps Photographs A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location.
A sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Representative black and white photographs of the property. Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete this item at the request of the SHPO or FPO.) name street & number telephone city or town stater zip code Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).
Estimated Burden Statement:Publicreporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503. (PS Form United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Sectlon number 10 Page 1 Gloucester Net & Twine Company Gloucester (Essex County) Massachusetts - 10. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA Verbal Boundary Description: The boundary is defined as assessors lot #41-1.
Verbal Boundary Justification: The boundary reflects the current ownership holdings. Lots 9 and 10 that were formerly part of the property, have lost their buildings and are thus not included (end) 1.
NITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOI JATIONAL PARK SERVICI JATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACE IVALUATION/RETURN SHEE' REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY NAME : Gloucester Net and Iwine Company MULTIPLE NAME: Gloucester MPS STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Essex DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: 3/25/96 4/25/96 DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: DATE OF PNNS 09/9 DATE OF 45TH DAY: REFERENCE NUMBER: 96000474 NOMINATOR: STATE REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N OTHER : N REQUEST: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N PDIL: SAMPLE: N PERIOD: N SLR DRAFT: LESS THAN 50 YEARS: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: NATIONAL: N N N COMMENT WAIVER: N VACCEPT RETURN REJECT 4/26/9/04578 ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS: Entered in the National Register RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER TELEPHONE DISCIPLINE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N 2.22 bloucester 9/93 G. Nefd Twine Maplewoad AVC.
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