Bridgewater Iron Mfg. Company Worker Housing
7-9 Bolton Pl
1845
Architectural Style
Italianate
Significance
Architecture, Industry
Use Type
Multiple Family Dwelling House, Workers Housing
Neighborhood
Stanley
Massachusetts Historical Commission Report
Architectural Significance
This is a relatively substantial double house which was built c. 1855-1852. Its 5-bay x 2-bay main block features paired entrances which open on to a Victorian porch addition with turned posts and slatwork balusters.
Historical Significance
This house is labeled N. Perkins on the 1852 map—presumably it was built as a workers' boardinghouse. The Lazell, Perkins Co./Bridgewater Iron Mfg. Co. greatly expanded its facilities after the coming of the railroad to Bridgewater in 1846—the late 1840s and 1850s was a time of accelerated building activity in the Stanley section. By the 1870s this house is shown as part of the Bridgewater Iron Mfg. Co.'s extensive residential holdings. This firm began to sell off its workers' housing beginning in 1889. By 1893 the Stanley Tool Co. had purchased the former Bridgewater Iron Mfg. Co. industrial buildings—the workers' housing was sold to private individuals.