{"nrhp_refnum":"84002190","name":"Old Colony Iron Works-Nesmasket Mills Complex","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Old Colony Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Taunton","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.886282086500074,"lon":-71.02928576491215,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An industrial complex in East Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, beside the Taunton River, made up of an early brick shovel mill, an 1892 brick textile mill and a c. 1910 brick office. The industrial use dates to a dam and forge of the 1810s-1820s.","why_significant":"The complex is described as East Taunton's oldest and longest-lived industrial network, which turned an 18th-century farming settlement into a manufacturing village. It keeps integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship, and reflects Taunton's growth as a major 19th-century manufacturing centre. It meets criteria A and C.","narrative":"Along the Taunton River in East Taunton, this group of brick mill buildings records nearly a century of continuous industry. It began in 1813, when farmer Stephen King dammed the river to power a corn mill. By 1824 new owners had moved the dam to its present location and built an iron forge. A nail and shovel factory and rolling mill followed in 1829, and the Old Colony Iron Company was incorporated in 1844. A fire in 1881 destroyed the rolling mill and nail factory but spared the shovel shop, and the company closed. The Nemasket Mills, a cotton manufacturer, then built a 400-foot, three-story brick mill in 1892. The shovel mill was raised from two stories to four and rented to an oil cloth works. A Georgian Revival office was added around 1910. Textile production continued until the 1930s, after which tenant industries took over. The complex is valued as one of Taunton's oldest mill sites, with its original character largely intact.","period_of_significance":"1824 - c. 1920","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late 19th century industrial construction; Georgian Revival (office building)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition described as fair to poor, with continued industrial use; most of the workers' houses on Battle Row have been demolished.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.706662-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/11/7897/63789711/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002190.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002190/97b3260cac-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002190/97b3260cac-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Riverbend_Taunton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Riverbend_Taunton.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789711","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Colony_Iron_Works-Nemasket_Mills_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7083735"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/old-colony-iron-works-nesmasket-mills-complex-84002190/"}