Wanskuck Mill Houses

Constructed: 1862 ff
PPS Ten Most: 1994
Building Type: Residential
Trend:

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Wanskuck neighborhood was a mill community. In 1862, Jesse Metcalf, Henry J. Steer and Stephen T. Olney formed the Wanskuck Mill Company to manufacture wool and cloth. The business was so successful that its owners built a village for their workers across Branch Avenue from the mill. While Wanskuck no longer operates in its original capacity, the mill, social hall and housing are intact. PPS listed the housing as “endangered” in 1994 because of nearby development along Branch and Winchester avenues that potentially threatened the future of the old mill houses.

The Wanskuck Mill houses consist of nearly thirty brick and wood-frame duplex dwellings set on the west side of Branch Avenue between Burleigh Street and Wanskuck Hall, a late 19th century social hall built for the mill’s employees. The houses were listed in 1994 because of the increasing threat of new developments and apartments complexes that were beginning to encroach on the old mill village.

Wanskuck Mill and its associated buildings are significant for the role they played in the North End’s heyday as a manufacturing district. The mill houses represent a critical component of a late-nineteenth century mill complex and hold important information about the relationship between employers and employees as they developed within the mill community.

UPDATE: Since 1994, XX developments have been constructed in the area resulting in the loss of XX original mill houses that were constructed for employees of the Wanskuck Mill.

Check and see how many houses were there and how many have been lost: before and after 1994. Is anything being done to save the properties? Also mention the status of the mill itself and the hall. The hall is currently being marketed and appears to be a perfect candidate for restoration/ adaptive reuse. The owners of the mill appear to have successfully found new life for the mill, which is currently the home to several resale and wholesale businesses.

Return to the 1994 Most Endangered Properties List