{"nrhp_refnum":"97000562","name":"Alvah Stone Mill","other_names":["Montague Book Mill"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"440 Greenfield Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Montague","county":"Franklin County","state":"MA","lat":42.53742550000004,"lon":-72.53790237636383,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-06-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Engineering","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A mill complex district on the north bank of the Sawmill River in Montague Center, Montague, Massachusetts, with five buildings, six structures, seven objects and two sites. The main grist mill was rebuilt in 1834 on foundations dating from the 18th century, and wings were added in 1934.","why_significant":"The complex preserves a water-powered mill site in use from the 18th century onward, with an 1834 post and beam grist mill, 1934 additions and hydroelectric equipment. It documents the mill's changing functions over time, from corn mill to grist mill to metal stamping works. The document also ties the site to Montague's early settlement, which was based on water power and farming.","narrative":"This mill complex sits at a natural drop in the Sawmill River at the center of Montague Center, Massachusetts. The main building began as an 18th century corn mill, possibly gaining fulling, carding and sawmill functions in the early 1800s. It was rebuilt in 1834 as a grist mill with a post and beam frame, keeping some earlier rubble stone foundations that now enclose the power house. In 1934 two wings were added, the water wheel was replaced by turbines and a generator, and the building was converted to making hydraulic marking machines. Since the 1980s it has housed a bookstore, cafe and performance space. The district also includes a c. 1890 tool crib, a c. 1934 die cutting shop, two 1880-90 fire hydrant sheds, and a timber frame dam rebuilt in 1901 and 1936. The dam is now breached. Together these resources show the long, changing use of a water-powered site tied to the town's settlement.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Now used as a bookstore, cafe and performance space, with hydroelectric equipment in the power room. The timber dam is breached and badly deteriorated, and one c. 1890 storage shed is unused.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.331072-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/1/7951/63795101/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/97000562.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000562/e610c5aea8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000562/e610c5aea8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Michael Femia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Montague_-_The_Bookmill.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Femia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Montague_-_The_Bookmill.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"01001236","name":"Montague Center Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/montague-center-historic-district-01001236/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795101","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4943259"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/franklin-county/alvah-stone-mill-97000562/"}