Mill series 7 of 14 - read GC8Y7N5 1st
SAMPSON SHOES
In 1850 Calvin Sampson sold his farm in Stamford VT, moved to North Adams. A year later he opened his first shoe store and within two years he began to make his own shoes. Sampson’s shoe business soon took off when he bought a Cutlery plant on Marshall street in 1869 ( The back of that building was 200 feet West of your current location). Sampson. like many of the other mills, had labor strikes. In 1870 he fired all the known members of the "Knights of St. Crispin" union, then, had a novel idea and sent a representive to San Fransisco and recruited 75 Chinese workers. This worked well, and thier output was higher than the previous workers so he increased the Chinese workers to 123 who stayed 10 years before slowly moving to Boston where they began a Chinatown. This broke up the Crispin union not just here, but eventually nationwide.Samson became known nationwide for this manuver which was replicated afterward by many other businesses.
By 1926 Sampson Shoes had given way to Dean Spencer Leather who produced fancy leather, and leater straps for textiles, loom machines, baby carriages, and more. A=145 They also manufactured fiber board which among other things was used for chair seats.
Eventually the location was purchased by Sprague Electric where they built a new modern building for thier offices, and today that is now a Social Security Office in the front and the back end is District Court.
Chinese Workers outside Sampson Shoe Factory
WEBER BROS SHOES
Your current location use to be another Shoe manufacturer, Weber Brother Shoes, who made only mens shoes. These buildingas are also gone, but you can see from the pictures how large it actually was
Above is Weber Bros shoe factory
WILKINSON & BLISS SHOES
If you now turn to the East and look across the road and parking lot you will see housing on the other side of the far fence. That was the location of yet another factory, Wilkinson & Bliss Shoe Factory.
Thanks to the North Adams Historical society for providing information and photos
To solve for this Puzzle:
Final Coords E= Count the number of light posts in this parking lot and subtract 5
N 42° 42.A W 073° 06.6E4