Newton Upper Falls Historic District

Upper Falls is a former mill village in Newton, Massachusetts, where the Charles River drops 26 feet through a narrow gorge. Water power, used from 1688, determined where the mills, streets and houses were placed. The district covers roughly 69 acres and includes about 182 buildings, among them the brick Elliot Manufacturing Company cotton mills begun in 1821, workers' cottages, churches, schools, shops, and the Gamewell fire alarm factory. Greek Revival is the most common style, with later Italianate, Stick Style and Queen Anne examples. The oldest building is the Bixby House, dating from about 1750. Echo Bridge, a seven-arch granite aqueduct bridge of 1876-77, and the stone Cook's Bridge cross the river into Needham. Otis Pettee's machine shops and the arrival of the railroad drew the village center away from the falls. Few metropolitan communities retain so intact a collection of early structures, which is why the area was listed.