Wachusett Shirt Company
Also known as: Waterways Apartments
Why it's listed
Five connected factory buildings on Water Street in Leominster, Massachusetts, once made shirts for the Wachusett Shirt Company and now serve as apartments. Built between 1887 and 1910 beside Monoosnock Brook, which supplied water power, the group includes a four-story brick factory, a laundry, a wooden annex, a corner building and a Georgian-influenced brick office. Local Osborne brick, granite and clapboard give the complex a unified look, with decorative brick cornices and low-arched window heads repeated across several buildings. Shirt making began in Leominster in 1880, and Wachusett grew under partners George Gane and F.A. Whitney into the town's largest producer, employing about 600 people in 1915. Paul Weber built the first factory, and Whitney may have designed it. The company declined after Whitney retired in 1913 and had disappeared by the mid-1950s. The buildings were later rehabilitated for housing, and their exteriors remain largely intact.
Significance in brief: The complex is tied to shirt making, a major Leominster industry, and housed one of the city's leading industrial and commercial enterprises. The five buildings are also good local examples of late nineteenth century industrial construction, sharing materials such as local brick, granite and clapboard.
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 82004476, listed July 8, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 97-100 Water St., Leominster |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | July 8, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82004476 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1887-1910 |
| Architect / builder | Paul Weber/F.A. Whitney |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Recently renovated into apartments (Waterways Apartments) and in excellent condition; exteriors nearly intact, with aluminum sash and rooftop solar panels added. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 42.52755, -71.75578 (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 82004476.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7958790
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.