Blackinton Historic District, Historic mill district in North Adams, United States
The Blackinton Historic District is an industrial area in North Adams with brick mill buildings and Victorian-era houses spread across about 240 acres. The main street, Massachusetts Avenue, runs through the center while the district sits west of downtown with the Hoosic River forming its southern boundary.
The area was founded in 1821 when Sanford Blackinton and his partners opened a wool mill that grew into a major manufacturer in western Massachusetts. The operation ran for more than a century, shaping the region until the mill closed around 1950.
The district is named after Sanford Blackinton and still shows the social divisions of industrial times, with large factory buildings standing near modest worker housing while churches and the old Company Store anchored community life. Walking through, the mix of building types reveals how the place was organized by class and work.
The district follows a straight line along Massachusetts Avenue, making it easy to explore by car or on foot to see the different building types from west to east. The terrain is relatively flat and walkable, and you can easily reach it by heading west from the downtown area.
Residents identified so strongly with this place that until the mill closed they thought of themselves as part of Blackinton rather than North Adams. This sense of belonging came from the tight-knit communities that formed around the factory and its operations.
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