Mill series 2 of 14 - read GC8Y7N5 1st
Eclipse Mill
In 1833 two cotton mill buildings stood on this location owned by Arnold & Co. By 1853 they had expanded and had 100 looms in three buildings. That year a 110' x28' stone dam was built across the Hoosac River. The first heavy rain caused the dam to bend a foot+ in an elliptical shape, giving name to the mill.
The mill was taken over on May 1, 1879 by the Arnold Print Works, which was in the process of reorganizing its holdings and expanding after the Panic of 1876. It became the fourth cotton mill owned by Arnold Print Works. It was operated under the name Gallup and Houghton, the major partners in that firm.A=148
In 1896 the Eclipse mill was renovated and enlarged, and again about 1904 the size was doubled from 900 to 2,000 looms. Shortly after that businesses declined due to the financial panic of 1907 and output was reduced 2/3. In 1910 the mill was sold to the Hoosac Cotton Mills along with 224 tenement houses.
New construction plans were made in 1919 for a four story 170'x60' brick structure to replace older buildings no longer considered safe. A Mr. George Stebbins was awarded the work for a 170 foot by 60 foot brick extension. Soon after the 1929 depression began Hoosac Cotton's business declined, but luckily a few years later in 1935 as the economy was beginning recovery the Eclipse mill received 500 looms to begin manufacturing the 1st synthetic Rayon fabrics
Operations continued on an unenthusiastic basis through the years of World War II. Then in January 1945 the Hoosac Mills auctioned off mill No. 1, the structure north of Union Street, for $20,000 to Steven's Realty. The next owner was the Geveart Company of America, a producer of photographic supplies. They bought the structure in January 1947 for $75,000 but had problems getting permission to store flammable materials. A few years later the building was leased to the Universal Camera Company until Sprague Electric purchased it for storage space in 1957. Since then the building has had numerous uses, including Hunter Outdoor Products that used the building for manufacture, storage, and retail sales. In 2004 the building was rehabilitated and renovated into 40 loft units exclusively for artists and gallery space on the first story which are still there today. Part of the building across the street was used for Delphtree Shitake Mushroom factory during the early 2000's.
While here go to the Eastern end of the building for a short walk to the larger dam This dam was built about 1859 and is known to some of the locals as the “Donut Dam” - I'm told that one winter while ago, Possibly the 1950's, a donut delivery truck slid off the road coming down the hill, crashed, and send thousands of donuts rolling across the top of the frozen dam. Also while there you can see where the Flood chutes begin next to the mill. These have saved the city from many floods since they were built. For some interesting photos of houses being washed away and downtown flooded numerous times, Google North Adams MA flood especially 1927, 1936, 1938, 1942, and 1948
Thanks to the North Adams Historical society for providing information and photos
To solve for this Puzzle:
Final Coords E= According to the sign on the flood chute wall, No parking on what days?
Mon and Thu = 2
Tue and Wed = 4
Sat and Sun = 6
Somedays = 8
Snowdays = 0
N 42° 42. A W 073° 05.9E8