National Register of Historic Places

Ashland Gristmill and Dam

Ashland, Grafton County, New Hampshire
Listed
December 10, 1979
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
79000317

About this property

The Ashland Gristmill and Dam are a historic former industrial facility in the heart of Ashland, New Hampshire. Built in 1903 on the site of an older mill, the gristmill demonstrates the continuing viability of wood framing for mill buildings in an era when it had become uncommon. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It has been converted to professional offices. The former Ashland Gristmill is located near the eastern end of downtown Ashland, where Main Street (New Hampshire Route 132) crosses the Squam River. The mill stands just north of the road, with the dam extending further north across the river. The dam, originally a wooden construction, is a concrete structure 180 feet (55 m) long and 14 feet (4.3 m) high, and has a 50-foot (15 m) spillway. The mill is a large three-story structure, consisting of a central tower section with flanking two-story wings. The tower section is built using massive timbers for framing, while the wings are built using the more recent balloon framing method. Its basement still houses the turbine and controlling hardware, although these are no longer operational. The mill was built in 1903, after the previous gristmill on the site was destroyed by fire. The central portion originally housed nine large hoppers, while the wings housed storage spaces for maintenance equipment and milled flour. The heavy timber framing was necessitated to help manage vibrations and stresses incurred by the operating machinery of the mill. National Register of Historic Places listings in Grafton County, New Hampshire

Location

Ashland, Grafton County, New Hampshire
43.69579, -71.63024

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
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

Whipple House
Industrial
0.1 mi
St. Mark's Episcopal Church
Industrial
0.1 mi
Ashland Town Hall
Industrial
0.1 mi
First Free Will Baptist Church and Vestry
Industrial
0.1 mi
Ashland Junior High School
Industrial
0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Ashland Gristmill and Dam listed on the National Register?

Ashland Gristmill and Dam was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Ashland Gristmill and Dam?

Ashland Gristmill and Dam is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Ashland Gristmill and Dam?

The period of significance for Ashland Gristmill and Dam is recorded as the listed era.

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