Central Woolen Mills District
Why it's listed
Central Woolen Mills is a four-acre industrial complex on Mendon and Cross Streets in Uxbridge, built over nearly seventy-five years. Moses Taft built the first mill in 1852 after fire destroyed his Rhode Island mill. Its power came from the abandoned Blackstone Canal, whose bed Taft bought and diverted beneath the main building. The tail race then fed Hecla Pond for reuse downstream. The site holds a four-storey wood-frame main building, brick storehouses, a picker and boiler house, an assorting building, a dye house, a machine shop and an Italianate office, with additions through the 1920s and later. During the Civil War the mill's cloth went to the U.S. government. Later operators included the Calumet Woolen Company and, from 1905, the Stanley Woolen Company, which made khakis and overcoatings in World War I. The complex was listed for its architecture, its link to Taft and its canal-powered mill history.
Significance in brief: The mill preserves buildings from every period of its development and is an excellent example of the moderate-size mills that dominated Uxbridge's nineteenth-century industry. It is associated with Moses Taft, a prominent local manufacturer, and with the conversion of the former Blackstone Canal into a water-power source. It retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and feeling.
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 84002905, listed January 20, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Mendon and Cross Sts., Uxbridge |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | January 20, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002905 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1852-1925 |
| Architect / builder | Moses Taft (builder, 1852) |
| Architectural style | Mill complex; the office building is Italianate in design |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Engineering, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The mill has remained in continuous ownership by the same company since 1905, and a 1913 plan shows a 212 h.p. water wheel still in use. |
| Acreage | 4 |
| Coordinates | 42.08061, -71.62029 (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 84002905.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5062040
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.