Arlington Mills Photographs

In 1820 Abiel Stevens built a wood-frame factory in which piano cases were built. Stevens' first mill burned in 1855, and he rebuilt the following year. The Arlington Mills Company began operation in 1856, after purchasing this location; its investors were owners of Lawrence's other mill operations. In 1880 their 1865 building was demolished and replaced by a new brick structure, now termed teh worsted-weave shed which is one of the surviving buildings. The complex grew over the years, and was by 1925 one of the largest textile factories in the state. During World War I it supplied large quantities of flannel and wool shirting to the United States Army. The Arlington Mills Company suffered financial reverses during the Great Depression, and closed its doors in 1952.