Boston Manufacturing Company
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
This mill complex on Moody Street in Waltham sits between the railroad and the Charles River. It holds sixteen buildings erected from 1814 to 1921, along with a granite dam built in 1847 and raised in 1850, and traces of the race that carried water to the mills. The Boston Manufacturing Company began here in 1813 and produced its first cloth in early 1815. Historians quoted in the document call it the first truly modern American factory, because it brought spinning and weaving together under one management and one roof. Paul Moody's machine shop developed power looms and other equipment. Later brick mills, a picker house, boiler and engine houses, and a finishing building show growth through the nineteenth century, with the 1873-80 mill the largest. The district extends an earlier landmark designation that covered only part of the site, since most of the surviving industrial space dates after 1850. Several altered buildings are noted as no longer contributing.
Significance in brief: The Boston Manufacturing Company, founded in 1813, is described as the first truly modern factory in the United States, combining spinning and weaving under one roof and using power looms. The nomination extends an earlier landmark designation to cover all remaining company industrial structures, arguing for state and local significance since most surviving industrial space was built after 1850.
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 77001412, listed December 22, 1977. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 144 Moody St., Waltham |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | December 22, 1977 |
| Reference number | 77001412 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1813-1922 |
| Architect / builder | Paul Moody |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture, Invention |
| Level of significance | National, State |
| National Historic Landmark | Yes, designated December 22, 1977 |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is marked excellent and good; some buildings have been altered, adapted as a restaurant, or partly boarded up. The complex is occupied. |
| Acreage | 2.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.37316, -71.23559 (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 77001412.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q2074499
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.