Washburn, C.P., Grain Mill

The C.P. Washburn Grain Mill stands at the northwest corner of Cambridge and Center Streets, adjoining the former Old Colony Railroad line. The Grain Mill occupies a Grain Mill (1902) an office (1904) and a re-inforced concrete wing (1918). The Grain Mill and two sheds on the west elevation are set on a rubble foundation and are covered with clapboard. The Grain Mill, itself is three stories high with a pitched roof above which rises a square-plan elevator penthouse covered with shingles and enclosed by a hip roof. The two sheds which flank the Grain Mill are each one-story high and are enclosed by low-pitched shed roofs. The Grain Mill's east elevation contains a concrete loading platform and shed roof supported by wooden braces and iron tension rods, at the first story.

Set beneath this root, on the main body of the bullding, are an eight-panel sliding door flanked by two tripartite windows! "Each tripartite window contains a tall 6/6 window flanked by two smaller 6/6 windows. The east elevation of the south shed is concealed by the office addition, while that of the north shed contains a sliding panelled door and Andersen window. In addition, the north shed contains an angled wall, correspond- ing to the angle of Center Street; this wall is blank except for one Andersen window. Above the first story, the Grain Mill's east elevation 1s blank except for one 0/6 window set in the peak of the gable. The Grain Mill's south elevation is entirely concealed at the basement and first story.

the mill's wall is blank and is painted with à sign bearing the words "C.P. Washburn Above the first Grain Mill"! Above the eaves at the southwest corner is a'shed dormer with paired 6/1 sash.

/Architect C. P. Washburn Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The C. P. Washburn Grain Mill possesses integrity of location, design, setting and materials and possesses historical associations with a locally important agricultural business. The Grain Mill and its two flanking sheds contain the only grain elevator of timber-crib construction of its period extant in Massachusetts and, perhaps, in New England. Although similar, small-scale grain elevators once existed throughout New England, including Acton, Bridgewater and Fitchburg, Massachusetts, the decline of local agriculture has led to the closure and demolition of most other examples.

In addition to its structure, which remains essentially unaltered, the Grain Mill pre- serves a variety of original machinery which provides rare examples of turn-of-the- century industrial engineering. Designed to serve as a country grain elevator, the Washburn Grain Mill was originally used to store, mix and distribute grain to farmers from Plymouth, Massachu- setts to Providence Rhode Island and as far away as Provincetown. Planned by Charles Parker Washburn, the mill was fully automated, making use of electricity and gravity as sources of power At Washburn's expense, a spur of the old Colony Railroad line was extended along the mill's west elevation.

Grain entered the building through a loading platform in the basement where it was dumped into a pit from which a bucket elevator carried it up twenty-two feet to the first storey. At the first storey, grain was weighed and then dropped back to the basement where a cleaner winnowed it of debris. A second bucket-chain elevator then lifted grain to the elevator penthouse where the grain entered a turnhead and was directed through chutes past screw conveyors into bins. Finally, as needed, grain was poured through chutes to the first storey where it was passed through attrition mills and packaged.