Glendale Power House
Also known as: Monument Mills Power Station
Why it's listed
Along the Housatonic River in Stockbridge, this 13.32-acre complex includes a 28-foot dam, a 1,500-foot power canal, a bulkhead, trash racks, control gates and a 200-foot iron penstock feeding a small stone power house. The 50 by 68 foot building has coursed random ashlar walls, much of the stone salvaged from the nearby Glendale Woolen Mill, a slate-shingled steel truss hip roof and a single large interior room for turbines and generators. Monument Mills, a cotton textile company downstream in Housatonic, bought the water rights in 1905 because low summer water limited its operations. Construction began that July under contractor J.R. Lee, and the plant was dedicated in January 1907. By 1909 it provided half of the mills' power, and it later supplied part of Stockbridge until closing in 1946. The equipment was scrapped around 1950, and a conservation group began restoring it as a hydroelectric and educational project.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the plant has integrity and ties to pioneering efforts to develop electrical power in Berkshire County. It supplied power to the Monument Mills textile company and later part of Stockbridge until 1946. It meets criterion A.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 82004957, listed June 24, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | MA 183, Stockbridge |
|---|---|
| County | Berkshire County |
| Listed | June 24, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82004957 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1900- (specific dates 1905, 1907) |
| Architect / builder | J.R. Lee of Patterson, NJ, contractor; F.O. Toquet, Bridgeport, Conn., civil and hydraulic engineer; H.R. Leyden, New York, chief electrical engineer |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Engineering |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Shut down in 1946; generators and turbines were removed and scrapped around 1950. A local conservation association was restoring it as a low-head hydroelectric project at the time of the form. |
| Acreage | 13.3 |
| Coordinates | 42.28050, -73.35227 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 82004957.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5568378
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.