A Short History of the Beaver Mill

A Short History of the Beaver Mill

The Historic Beaver Mill’s story begins in 1851 with the construction of its original three stone floors on the southern end of the building. After a fire, the mill was expanded upward using standard brick construction. As the textile industry in the Berkshires flourished, the mill complex grew—first by adding adjacent sections and eventually expanding to the entire northern end. By the turn of the 20th century, the Beaver Mill, like most mills in the region, was fully constructed and operational, boasting four full floors and more than 130,000 square feet of interior space. 

Some lesser-known details of 19th-century mill construction are worth noting. British insurance companies of the era, seeking to minimize fire risk, effectively became the de facto architects of industrial design. Mills were required to use massive timber beams, which not only supported heavy floors but also resisted fire due to their slow burn rate. Columns were typically round, or if square, had their corners shaved—since rounded surfaces were less likely to catch fire from stray sparks. The original windows, in place until modern heating needs required replacements, pivoted horizontally to allow ventilation without letting rain inside.  Water-power was essential. In the Beaver Mill, a six-foot-diameter pipe still runs 400 feet beneath the building, channeling river water from the high end of the property to turbines at the lower end. This system generated electricity for factory operations. In some original floor areas, indentations where workers once stood for hours at machines can still be felt—quiet testaments to nearly a century of shifting production lines.

After World War I, just 15 years after the mill reached its final form, New England entered a deep recession as the textile industry migrated to the South. The Beaver Mill sat largely vacant. In 1929, by chance, the founder of Sprague Electric—based in Quincy, Massachusetts—was looking for expansion space and was persuaded to purchase the Beaver Mill for $200,000. This acquisition marked the beginning of a transformative era for both the mill and the town.  Sprague Electric quickly outgrew the Beaver Mill, eventually taking over the Eclipse Mill and converting what is now MASS MoCA into its primary campus. By World War II, Sprague employed 4,000 workers in a town of just 22,000. The company dominated the region’s economy for decades.

But change came again. A mix of labor challenges, leadership turnover, outdated technology, and increasing global competition led to Sprague’s decline. It was eventually broken up and sold, and the town entered a deep recession while much of Massachusetts enjoyed an economic boom. The population dropped to 13,000, and many assumed that the mill buildings would eventually be demolished.  In the 1980s, Sprague Electric donated the Beaver Mill to a nonprofit economic development group. With support from city leaders and federal grants, the group partnered with a politically connected faction informally known as the “New Jersey Mafia.” Together, they repurposed the Beaver Mill—and the Eclipse Mill—for military textile manufacturing. Major structural upgrades were made, including new electrical and heating systems, loading docks, handicapped-accessible bathrooms, a new roof, and significant masonry repairs. Pentagon contracts brought a brief resurgence in jobs for the town, producing army tents, sleeping bags, and other military gear. But corruption scandals soon emerged. After only a few years, the owners fled town, leaving the mills vacant once again.

In 1987, Washington D.C. sculptor Eric Rudd was invited by GE Plastics to use their polycarbonate blow-molding equipment at their Pittsfield R&D facility. While working during a return visit in 1988, Rudd learned of a vacant mill in Adams in desperate need of a new owner. The nonprofit that owned the property instead encouraged him to take a look at the nearby Beaver Mill in North Adams. At the time, the Beaver Mill was in dire condition: kids were throwing rocks through its 400 windows—comprising over 10,000 panes—sprinkler systems malfunctioned from neglect and abandoned textile materials were stacked head-high on many floors. The building had just three tenants, and the town’s Main Street was 70% vacant. True unemployment was likely far higher than reported.

With the MASS MoCA project still in its early planning stages, Rudd recognized the creative potential of the building and the advantages of being near other established museums.  In 1990, he and his family moved into the partially restored mill, establishing a massive studio and living space while continuing to renovate other sections. With an abundance of unused space and a lack of viable commercial tenants, Rudd and his wife founded the Contemporary Artists Center (CAC), an artist residency program that operated in about one-third of the gigantic mill.  For a decade, the CAC hosted over 100 artists each summer, offering expansive studio spaces, exhibitions, and opportunities to engage with museum and gallery professionals. The center included five galleries with 15 summer shows annually, plus the “Downtown Installations” program, which filled up to 37 storefronts with art. The CAC also held fundraisers, lectures, performances, and other cultural events that breathed life into the building and the town.

After ten years, Rudd stepped down as pro bono director to focus on his art. Despite new paid leadership, the CAC could not sustain its early momentum and abandoned North Adams seven years later. Today, Rudd maintains one of the largest individual studios in the country within the mill, which also houses many other working artists in more than forty studios. Every nook of the vast “red elephant”—a nickname for mill structures—is now creatively occupied.

The success of the Beaver Mill inspired Rudd’s development of the nearby vacant Eclipse Mill into 40 large live/work lofts and encouraged the adaptive reuse of dozens of other spaces throughout the city. With the opening of MASS MoCA in 1999, the arts officially became the region’s economic engine for its rehabilitation , and the once-abandoned mills found vibrant new life.  

Under the Barbara and Eric Rudd Art Foundation, the Beaver Mill is positioned to remain a permanent creative complex. Adjacent to Natural Bridge State Park and less than a mile from MASS MoCA, it sits within easy biking distance of many local attractions—swimming lakes, museums, parks, and an increasingly vibrant downtown. Just five miles west is Williamstown, home to the Clark Art Institute, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Five miles south lies the revitalized town of Adams.  In just a few decades, the northern Berkshires have been utterly transformed, evolving into a magnet for artists and arts-related organizations. Whether visiting or residing, take a moment to appreciate the historic journey of the Beaver Mill as it continues to serve as a dynamic hub for creative life.