I’ll Sue! Mill Owners vs. the Town of Arlington
In 1873, the growing town of Arlington planned to build a municipal water delivery system. An earlier private venture to draw water from Spy Pond had not succeeded, so the town decided to take matters into its own hands, this time using the Lexington Great Meadows watershed as the source. There was already a dam … Continue reading I’ll Sue! Mill Owners vs. the Town of Arlington
A Mystery Object Identified at the Mill
At the Mill, we often find tools and other objects that we cannot identify. Manufactured tools are easy to look up, but not so jigs and other custom-made objects. Shaker Workshops had used the Mill’s Barn for its showroom for nearly 40 years before ceasing operations there in 2019. In preparing the Barn for a … Continue reading A Mystery Object Identified at the Mill
Frame-making in the Schwamb Mill’s Business Years
In 1847, Charles Schwamb arrived in Boston from Germany and began making oval frames. By 1864, he had his own frame factory in what is now the Old Schwamb Mill. In 1904, his grandchildren Clinton and Louis Schwamb took charge of the business, running it as The Clinton W. Schwamb Company, Inc., until Clinton’s son … Continue reading Frame-making in the Schwamb Mill’s Business Years
Engineering, Then and Now: Peter Schwamb and the Construction of the Mount Wilson Telescope
In December of this year, NASA will try to launch the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This project has suffered from delays, technical problems, and budget woes. In that respect, it is typical of Big Science endeavors. A century ago, the world’s largest telescope was under construction in greater Boston and going through the same … Continue reading Engineering, Then and Now: Peter Schwamb and the Construction of the Mount Wilson Telescope
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Old Schwamb Mill 