Charles River Museum of Industry

The Charles River Museum of Industry is a museum in Waltham housed in a former textile mill building along the Charles River Bike Path. It displays machines, tools, and artifacts from the 19th and 20th centuries that document the evolution of manufacturing.

The building was part of America's first integrated textile mill, where all stages of cotton production took place under one roof. The museum itself was created in the 1980s to preserve this industrial history for the public.

The museum displays how machinery and skilled labor came together to make this location a center of industrial production. The exhibits focus on local companies like the watch factory that operated here and shaped the region.

The museum sits on a popular biking trail, making it easy to reach by bicycle. The location is best visited on pleasant days when you can explore the surrounding cycling route.

The building once housed the Waltham Watch Company, one of America's first businesses to manufacture watches on a large scale. Many of the tools and machines on display came directly from the time when production still took place here.

Location: Massachusetts

Inception: 1980

Website: http://crmi.org

GPS coordinates: 42.37306,-71.23360

Latest update: December 13, 2025 12:25