Willowdale Mills

The site of the former Thomas Manning / Willow Dale Mills complex along the Ipswich River in Hamilton, Massachusetts, is owned by Essex County Greenbelt.  The Willowdale Reservation is open to the public. The site has a quarried granite dam, 900 foot long canal/sluiceway with tow path/berm, foundation of a circa 1830 mahogany veneer sawmill, and foundation of a large mill building (80 x 48 feet). The current large mill foundation dates from the spring of 1897 and replaced the foundation of an earlier 1834 stone woolen mill built by Ipswich Doctor, Thomas Manning. The site has a long and fascinating history. The archaeology and history of the site are detailed our report “History and Surface Archaeology of the Willowdale Mills Complex on the Ipswich River, Winthrop Street, Hamilton, Massachusetts 1830-1915” (127 pages, 40mb, PDF)

A trail map can be viewed/downloaded from https://ecga.org/files/galleries/Hamilton_WillowdaleMillReservation_trailmap.pdf