White’s Factory in Acushnet

White’s Factory, or the remains thereof, rest near the Acushnet River. The remnants of the old mill hearken back to the days of old when New England industry relied on the force of water to power their businesses.

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Benny was sitting on the couch, using my phone to browse the net, and sulking. Through the reflection of the nearby window, I could see that he was looking at old Roman ruins. He lifted his head, and I had a feeling that I knew what we was going to suggest.

“Bob,” he said suddenly, “I want to explore some Roman ruins!”

“But Benny,” I replied, “there are no Roman ruins around here in New England, and flights to Rome are really expensive. We’d have to plan such a trip way in advance.”

He took his eyes off of the phone and continued to brood. “There must be some ruins we can see around here!”

Knowing that he wouldn’t be satisfied until I did some research, I looked and tried to find a place that would fit his exploring needs. I came across White’s Factory in Acushnet.

“Hey, Benny, what about this place?” I asked.

All I had to do was show him one picture, and he took off, ran into the car, and buckled up.

White’s Factory

The remnants of the old mill are easy to find – they’re right off of Hamlin Street in Acushnet, MA. As we arrived, Benny jumped out of the car and bolted towards the ruins.

I wasn’t sure how safe the place was. I mean, just take a look at these photos. I had to run to catch up with Benny and scoop him up before he got hurt.

“Look at those old stones! They could fall any moment! And you could run right into the old water channel!” I yelled, gasping for air.

“They’ve been there since the 1800s, Bob; they’re not going to fall today!” Benny retorted. “You’re so overprotective!” As overprotective as I might be, I wasn’t going to take any chances, and if you explore the ruins with a youngster, you shouldn’t either.

Benny was right about how long the old stones were up, though. The mill was built around 1799 when William White built a cotton mill for him and his sons. It burned down in the 1830s, then it was rebuilt. Then they had another fire in 1854. At that point, the White family called it quits with the cotton, and the site became a sawmill.

“Now wait a cotton-pickin’ minute,” I told Benny. “Look at the inside of this old mill! You’re not going to be running around in there!”

Benny returned to his earlier sulking stage for a moment, but then seemed to understand my safety concerns. I picked him up and put him on my shoulder as we explored the inside of White’s Factory.

Once inside, we tried to imagine what the place would have looked like hundreds of years ago, when water was the main source of power for, well, everything. It was difficult to envision the walls packed to the brim with cotton. Perhaps ghosts of New England past haunt this place! Or, maybe I’m just letting my imagination get out of hand.

After we carefully poked around the inner walls, we walked around the old factory and took a few pictures.

There’s a picnic table on the other side of the factory, which would make a great place to stay and have your lunch. The pastoral, relaxing scenery is calming, as long as you don’t have to chase after any small bears who think they can run into the ruins.

Before we left, we took one more walk around White’s Factory to take in the history of the location. Then, we got into the car, and continued our adventures.

For more information on White’s Factory, check out The Fairhaven Office of Tourism.

If you like old New England remains, you need to check out the Old Stone Church in West Boylston, MA.

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White’s Factory is easy to find. It’s at 106 Hamlin Street in Acushnet, Massachusetts, and there’s a small gravel parking lot right next to the old mill.

Check out our map of places we’ve been in New England!