The North Grosvenordale Mill feels almost as much like a castle as it does a mill. Beyond its grandiose architecture, it even has a moat, which lends it even more of the aspect of a castle. Standing in relative isolation on the banks of the French River in rural Connecticut not far from the state border of neighboring Massachusetts, it feels like a place that’s not really on the way to anywhere else. When I read about it online however, and saw a few of the photographs that other people had taken of the place, I knew that it would worth the detour on my road trip through Connecticut for this project.
Specializing in the production of fine cottons, this enormous mill in North Grosvenordale CT was once one of the largest textile mills in Connecticut. Built by William Grosvenor in 1872, it was actually his second mill - the first one having been constructed about a mile further south down the French River in what was then known as Masonville.
The huge facility was initially powered by turbines installed beneath the mill to harness the energy of the river’s flow. With the decline of the textile industry the mill would suffer the same fate as many other mills around New England, eventually closing for good in 1954. Since that time, some parts of the facility have been adapted for other uses, but in its heyday as a working textile mill at the turn of the 20th century, the North Grosvenordale mill employed close to 2000 people.
Given that the North Grosvenordale mill is now on the list of historical sites, its preservation seems assured, although, given the scale of the complex and its relative isolation, it is certainly not clear what it will take to repurpose this structure for more 21st century activities.
© Gordon Webster
Using the link below, you can browse a curated set of images from the North Grosvenordale Mill photo shoot in a gallery at my website, from which you can purchase photographic artwork in multiple formats. If this work resonates with you and you haven’t already done so, please consider subscribing to get future project updates.
