Hadley Falls Company Housing District

Five rows of two-and-a-half story brick workers' housing line Center, North Canal, Grover and Lyman Streets in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Each row holds eight to ten units and has pedimented dormers (except the Lyman Street row), paired recessed entrances, shared chimneys, a plain brick frieze with a narrow cornice, and sandstone lintels. Construction began in 1848 for the Hadley Falls Company, to designs by mill engineer John Chase and built by contractor Charles McClallan. The company, incorporated in 1847, set out to follow the Lowell model by damming the Connecticut River, building canals, operating industries and housing its workers. These rows were the largest domestic grouping of their type and period in Massachusetts and the earliest company housing in Holyoke. Some windows, entrances and chimneys have been altered, and later dormers were added to some rows. Condition is uneven, with some rows sound and others needing restoration.