{"nrhp_refnum":"00000075","name":"Bent, G.H., Company Factory","other_names":["Bent's Cookie Factory"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7 Pleasant St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Milton","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.24511266900004,"lon":-71.06898985699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-02-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wood-frame cracker factory at 7 Pleasant Street in Milton, Massachusetts, built in 1892 for the G. H. Bent Company, with a ground-floor retail shop, bakery floors and brick Dutch ovens.","why_significant":"It is one of few intact industrial buildings left in Milton and has kept its original use for over a century. It is the sole local successor to the water cracker business Josiah Bent founded in 1801. It meets Criteria A and C and is significant at the local level.","narrative":"Built in 1892 at 7 Pleasant Street in Milton, this wood-frame factory has made crackers and cookies for more than a century. The main block is two stories above a raised granite basement, with cedar clapboards, a low hipped roof, and a retail shop at the southwest corner of the ground floor. Side wings, a loading dock and a rear storage shed were added over time, and two brick Dutch ovens survive in the bakery. The business descends from Josiah Bent, who began making water crackers in Milton in 1801, and his grandson George H. Bent incorporated the company in 1891. After the National Biscuit Company closed its Milton plant in 1926, this factory remained the only local successor to that trade. Its designer and builder are unknown. It is one of few intact industrial buildings left in Milton, and it was recognized for its industrial, commercial and architectural importance to the town.","period_of_significance":"1892-1949","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a cookie and cracker factory with a retail shop, which reopened in December 1995; the exterior was restored in 1993-94.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.303417-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/42/7964/63796442/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/00000075.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000075/3f89729085-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000075/3f89729085-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GH_Bent_Milton_MA_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GH_Bent_Milton_MA_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796442","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._H._Bent_Company","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15221225"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/bent-g-h-company-factory-00000075/"}