Bigelow Carpet Mill
Also known as: The Old Mill
Why it's listed
Six interconnected brick buildings on Union Street in Clinton, Massachusetts, make up the former Bigelow Carpet Mill. The complex grew from a small one-story building of 1847 into a large industrial works, with later construction running to 1922. Buildings 1, 2 and 3, rebuilt or erected in the 1880s, form the focal point, with round arched windows, buttresses, corbelled brickwork and towers. Other buildings range from two to five stories and are plainer in design. The mill is associated with Erastus B. Bigelow, who held fifty patents, forty of them for loom improvements, and who invented the first power looms for weaving carpets. He joined his brother Horatio in 1849 to manufacture Brussels carpeting, and the firm incorporated as the Bigelow Carpet Company in 1854. The mill closed in 1932, then saw partial warehouse use and vacancy. Nypro bought it in 1972 and rehabilitated the main core for manufacturing, keeping the complex in industrial use.
Significance in brief: The mill is tied to Erastus B. Bigelow, an inventor who developed power looms that mechanized carpet weaving and other complex textile work. It is also significant as an intact group of buildings still used for industry, reflecting late 19th-century industrial architecture with brick post and beam construction, large windows and high Victorian detail.
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 78000467, listed December 22, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Union and High Sts., Clinton |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | December 22, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78000467 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture, Invention |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and in use; rehabilitated by Nypro after purchase in 1972, with the main core in manufacturing and office use and some buildings used for warehousing or empty. The mill closed in 1932 and was partly warehouse and partly vacant for about forty years. |
| Acreage | 9.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.41549, -71.68552 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 78000467.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4906806
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.