National Historic Landmark

Boston Manufacturing Company

Waltham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Listed
December 22, 1977
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
77001412

About this property

The Boston Manufacturing Company was a business that operated one of the first factories in America. It was organized in 1813 by Francis Cabot Lowell, a wealthy Boston merchant, in partnership with a group of investors later known as The Boston Associates, for the manufacture of cotton textiles. It built the first integrated spinning and weaving factory in the world at Waltham, Massachusetts, using water power. They used plans for a power loom that he smuggled out of England as well as trade secrets from the earlier horse-powered Beverly Cotton Manufactory, of Beverly, Massachusetts, of 1788. This was the largest factory in the U.S., with a workforce of about 300. It was a very efficient, highly profitable mill that, with the aid of the Tariff of 1816, competed effectively with British textiles at a time when many smaller operations were being forced out of business. While the Rhode Island System that followed was famously employed by Samuel Slater, the Boston Associates improved upon it with the "Waltham System". The idea was successfully copied at Lowell, Massachusetts, and elsewhere in New England. Many rural towns now had their own textile mills.

Location

144 Moody St.
Waltham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
42.37297, -71.23574

Categories

INDUSTRYARCHITECTUREINVENTION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Moody Street Historic District
Listed
0.1 mi
Waltham Gas Light Company
Industrial
0.1 mi
Gilbrae Inn
Early Republic
0.2 mi
Oxford, The
Industrial
0.2 mi
Waltham Gas and Electric Company Generating Plant
Industrial
0.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Skirmish at Menotomy (Arlington)
1775Revolutionary War
5 mi
Battle of Menotomy
1775Revolutionary War
5 mi
Lexington Green — Parker's Stand
1775Revolutionary War
5.1 mi
Battle of Lexington
1775Revolutionary War
5.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Boston Manufacturing Company listed on the National Register?

Boston Manufacturing Company was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1977.

What type of historic resource is Boston Manufacturing Company?

Boston Manufacturing Company is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Boston Manufacturing Company a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Boston Manufacturing Company has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Boston Manufacturing Company?

The period of significance for Boston Manufacturing Company is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Boston Manufacturing Company?

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