Cheshire Mill No. 1, 1846-1848

The Granite Mill

The Granite Mill stands at the core of the Cheshire Mills Complex and is its most significant structure historically, architecturally, and aesthetically. The building’s form, a rectangular structure of ashlar granite blocks, surrounds a timber-framed interior. It has stone cornices, a single stair/bell tower centered on the front gable end, and a monitor roof. The building, commissioned by Cyrus Harris, was designed and constructed by Asa Greenwood, a stonemason from Marlborough. The granite blocks were hauled by oxen from Greenwood’s quarry. The wrought iron balcony and stair system is probably original. Harris died soon after the building was completed, and its subsequent sale to Faulkner & Colony, of Keene, marked the beginning of the Colony family’’s mill history in Harrisville. The continuous use of the building for woolen manufacturing protected it from major alterations, and so its unique architectural record was preserved. 

Owned by Historic Harrisville, Inc.