Mill Village Historic District

Mill Village is a planned textile community on the Hoosic River in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was built in 1865-1867 by the Williamstown Manufacturing Company, organized by Williams College professor Paul Chadbourne with the Arnold Brothers of Adams. The district centers on a three-story brick mill and includes 24 double workers' houses in simple Greek Revival style, a superintendent's house, a machinists' house, a school and stores. French-Canadian families moved in to supply the labor, and the company owned and rented the housing. In 1878 a newspaper called the village the model manufacturing property in the state. Later, workers bought lots on the south side of Arnold Street and built their own houses, which marked a move away from company paternalism. The mill closed in 1931 and was converted to photographic paper production in 1940. The district was listed as a well-preserved example of a small planned mill community, with possible archaeological value.