{"nrhp_refnum":"82001909","name":"Otis Company Mill No. 1","other_names":["The Old Stone Mill"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ware","county":"Hampshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.258628602000044,"lon":-72.23835971399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-05-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story granite textile mill on East Main Street in Ware, Massachusetts, beside the Ware River. Built in 1845 for the Otis Company, it is known locally as the Old Stone Mill.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an outstanding example of an early 19th century Rhode Island-type textile mill, and one of the last granite mills of the pre-turbine period in western Massachusetts. It also shows how the Otis Company shaped Ware's settlement, economy, politics and social life. Its exceptional condition adds to its importance.","narrative":"Otis Company Mill #1, called the Old Stone Mill, is a five-story granite building on East Main Street in Ware, Massachusetts. It was built in 1845 and measures 48 by 200 feet. Its load-bearing walls are of locally quarried granite, with cast iron tie rods visible on the exterior and a stair tower on the north side. Greek Revival proportions and details mark its design. Later brick and granite additions were made through the 1800s and into the early 1900s. The building is significant as an outstanding example of the early Rhode Island-type stone textile mill, modeled on English predecessors, and as one of the last granite mills of its period in western Massachusetts. The only other survivors named are the heavily altered Thorndike mills in Palmer. The mill also anchored Ware's growth. The Otis Company owned much of the village, drove the local economy and influenced town politics, housing, religion and education until its operations ended in 1937.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 and 1900- (specific date 1845)","architect_builder":"probably Joseph Brown","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, altered, on its original site, and marked occupied with industrial and commercial use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.853143-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/7954/63795435/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82001909.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001909/c151bf0060-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001909/c151bf0060-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WareMA_OtisMillNumberOne.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</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:WareMA_OtisMillNumberOne.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86003508","name":"Ware Millyard Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/ware-millyard-historic-district-86003508/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795435","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Company_Mill_No._1","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7108770"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampshire-county/otis-company-mill-no-1-82001909/"}