{"nrhp_refnum":"80000667","name":"Washburn, C.P., Grain Mill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Central and Cambridge Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Middleboro","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":41.89360308700003,"lon":-70.91897462799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-04-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A timber-crib grain elevator and mill complex at the corner of Cambridge and Center Streets in Middleboro, Massachusetts, beside the former Old Colony Railroad line. The mill was built in 1899, with sheds added in 1902, an office in 1904 and a reinforced concrete wing in 1918.","why_significant":"The mill and its flanking sheds contain the only timber-crib grain elevator of its period known to survive in Massachusetts and possibly New England. It also keeps much of its original turn-of-the-century machinery. It is tied to a locally important agricultural business run by the Washburn family.","narrative":"Standing at the corner of Cambridge and Center Streets in Middleboro, this grain mill was built in 1899 for Charles Parker Washburn and expanded in stages: flanking sheds in 1902, an office in 1904 and a reinforced concrete wing in 1918. The three-story clapboard building uses timber-crib construction, with 14 bins of spiked yellow pine planks, and sits beside a railroad spur extended at Washburn's expense. Grain moved through the building by gravity, electricity, bucket elevators and screw conveyors, then was packaged and stored in the sheds. It served farmers from Plymouth to Providence and as far as Provincetown. The mill is listed as the only timber-crib grain elevator of its period known to survive in Massachusetts and possibly New England, and it keeps much of its original machinery. It closed in 1974 after the decline of local agriculture, ending a family milling business traced to 1634. Plans called for conversion to a hardware store.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"C. P. Washburn","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The mill closed in December 1974. The form lists it as occupied and work in progress, with plans to convert it into a hardware supply store.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.381179-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/7964/63796461/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000667.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000667/8094b173bf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000667/8094b173bf-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CPWashburnGrainMill.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CPWashburnGrainMill.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796461","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.P._Washburn_Grain_Mill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5006196"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/washburn-c-p-grain-mill-80000667/"}