Hamilton Woolen Company Historic District

Clustered at the south end of Mill Street in Southbridge, this 3.5-acre district preserves the surviving core of the Hamilton Woolen Company. The five-story brick Big Mill, built in 1836 and rebuilt after a fire in 1850, is recognizable by its end stair tower with a round-arched belfry. Opposite it, a quadrangle of one-and-a-half-story Greek Revival brick tenements housed mill workers. A two-story building dated 1857 and a four-story dye house added in 1929 complete the group. The company grew from earlier water-powered operations at Globe Village, was reorganized with Boston investors in 1831, and became the town's major industry until the American Optical Company overtook it in size. Its expansion, including delaines production from 1844, drew skilled workers and spurred the village's growth. Most of the larger mill complex has been demolished, which makes the survival of a mill together with its worker housing unusual in Southbridge. The district was recognized for its industrial and architectural importance.