Sunday, March 29, 2015

Lawrence, MA Everett and Stone Mills

Taking a step back in time, I had the opportunity to join Bob Lussier and Steve Perlmutter along with seven other photographers to visit and photograph the Stone Mill (1845) and the Everett Mill(1909) in Lawrence, MA.  The Everett Mill was once a bustling cotton mill housing 4,728 looms operated by 2,100 employees of whom 50% were female.  These mills now have many vacant floors that provide in insight into history. Walking through the mill buildings one gets a sense of that history viewing the worn, tattered and no longer used areas of the buildings.

The Everett Mill 6th floor is expansive and empty. However, if you close your eyes and listen you can bring yourself back in time to when the looms were hard at work being tended by the many employees to create some of the finest cotton fabric in the world. The stain and battered window shades provide and eerie lighting to this enormous room.

The 5th floor of the Everett Mill was a stark white with only this emergency door providing some color to the again well worn work area.

The attic of the Stone Mill again provides a peek into history.  The Stone Mill was used as a machine shop, housing a forge and foundry for the Everett Mill.  However, at one time this area housed an experimental worsted wool machinery testing and leading to the eventual production of the popular worsted wool. 

These photos once again taken in the attic area of the Stone Mill display the basically lit areas of the work space.  Many individuals toiled to make their living in these spaces. 


This photo shows a sealed door which led to an enclosed walkway from the Stone Mill to the Everett Mill.  The only remaining portion of this walkway are the steel beams which still find their way across the courtyard. 

 The Stone Mill was built entirely from stone. This is the only mill in the city, which houses many mills from the era, which is built in this style. The slate room provides protection from the elements but also heat in the summer for the many floors.
Sixth floor of the Everett Mill. 

4TH floor entrance in the Everett Mill. 

Stairway on one end of the Everett Mil.  A unique design that added some architectural character to the building. 

One of the many pressure valves that can be found in the mills which were originally powered by water from the man made canal which provided water from the Merrimack River.