National Register of Historic Places

Crescent Mill

Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts
Listed
February 16, 1983
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
83000659

About this property

Crescent Mill, later Merchant Mill No. 3, is a historic cotton textile mill located at 54 Front Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1872 during an industrial construction boom, it is one of the city's finest examples of Italianate mill architecture. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is now used for other light industrial purposes. Crescent Mill stands in geographically central Fall River, at the southeast corner of Pleasant and Front Streets. The mill is a long rectangular four-story structure, measuring 339 by 74 feet (103 m × 23 m). It is built out of rough-cut native Fall River granite in the Italianate style, except for its six-story tower, which is fashioned out of dressed ashlar granite. The top floor of the mill has an unusual column-free space, made possible by suspending its ceiling from the roof trusses. The mill was built by the Crescent Mill Corporation in 1872; its design is credited to the company treasurer, Lafayette Nichols. Benjamin Covel served as the company's first president. The mill, powered by steam, had a capacity of 33,280 spindles at the outset, producing brown sheetings and fine fabrics. The mill was sold to Merchants Manufacturing Company in 1893, and became known as Merchant's Mill No. 3. Merchants had built its first two mills across Pleasant Street; they were destroyed by fire in 1934. This mill was closed as a textile operation in 1931. National Register of Historic Places listings in Fall River, Massachusetts

Location

30 Front St.
Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts
41.69794, -71.14632

Categories

INDUSTRYARCHITECTURE
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

Borden, N. B., School
Industrial
0.1 mi
Durfee Mills
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0.2 mi
Pilgrim Mills
Industrial
0.3 mi
Union Mills
Civil War
0.3 mi
S. Gourse & Sons Block
Industrial
0.3 mi

Nearby Battles

Mount Hope Bay Raids (1778)
1778Revolutionary War
3.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Crescent Mill listed on the National Register?

Crescent Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 16, 1983.

What type of historic resource is Crescent Mill?

Crescent Mill is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Crescent Mill?

The period of significance for Crescent Mill is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Crescent Mill?

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