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Loft 27
Loft 27
Hamilton Manufacturing Company (1825)
Mill No. 7
Built 1911-1919
Hamilton Mills c.1916 Mill No. 7 c.1979
Mill History
The Hamilton Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1825 for the purpose of manufacturing cotton and woolen goods. They were sold two mill powers (one mill power could drive 3,584 spindles) and a building site from the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, thus becoming the second of Lowell’s original ten large textile corporations. The Hamilton site was situated between the Pawtucket and Hamilton canals.
By 1842 the Hamilton Manufacturing Company had 21,248 spindles and 590 looms in three mills producing flannels, prints, and drillings. By 1866, a fifth mill was in production for a total of 50,268 spindles and 1,350 looms.
Several building campaigns expanded the size of the mills, and another campaign had begun in the early 1880s. By 1882, all of the original buildings on the northern bank of the Hamilton Canal had been replaced by building efforts.
When the Hamilton Manufacturing Company started cutting back its operations in 1923, the company began demolishing its boardinghouses along its southernmost boundary. In 1927 the company sold the Jackson Street Storehouse, Counting House buildings, and Mill No.6 to the Courier Citizen Company. In 1929 Marden & Murphy, “Industrial Liquidators,” bought most of the remaining Hamilton property. Robert F. Marden was also the assistant editor-in-chief of the Courier-Citizen Company. Marden and Murphy demolished most of the Hamilton Print Works Complex and boardinghouses between 1935 and 1936. The remaining structures were owned by various entities by mid-1950s.
Building History
Built during two building campaigns, 1911-1912 and 1919-1920, Mill No. 7 replaced Hamilton’s three original mills. In 1911 the Hamilton Manufacturing Company constructed a four-story brick mill, which was the westerly end of Mill No.7, built out partially over the lower Pawtucket Canal and occupied the former site of Mill No. 2. In 1919 the company obtained permit for an addition to Mill No. 7, which was completed the following year.
When completed in 1920, Mill No.7 was among the largest textile mill buildings ever built in New England. Its steel framing system was also unique, and was partially encased in exterior sidewalls, which made the brick cladding non-load bearing. This allowed large window openings for maximum sunlight into the mills.
Various tenants occupied the building from the closing of the company in 1926. In 1975, Joan Fabrics Company bought Mill No.7 and it was used for the weaving of automobile upholstery fabric on modern rapier looms.
Preservation and Reuse
In 1982, the Central Street buildings over the Lower Pawtucket Canal were demolished, which opened up the canal in what is now known as the Industrial Canyon. Joan Fabrics began a large-scale project of restoring the historic windows in 1992.
Today Hamilton Mill No. 7 has been converted into loft-style apartments with soaring ceilings, spacious layouts, and other amenities.