Bay State Village History
Bay State Village
The Bay State area got its name from the Bay State Tool Company which was located
there. Most of the people who worked at Bay State Tool Company lived in the area and
named it Bay State.
The Bay State area also includes the Northampton Cutlery, formerly the Clement Cutlery,
a brick block of workers housing and six wood frame houses constructed for mill
workers.
The buildings of the Cutlery date from 1850 to 1918 and document the growth of the
th
small hardware industry in the 19 century. Facing the cutlery on Ladd Avenue is the
1866 Clement Cutlery with Mansard roof, designed by E.C. Gardner. The Mill River
setting of these structures is excellent and enhanced by the presence of worker’s housing
on Lexington Avenue and Riverside Drive. An early (c.1840) unit of brick worker’s
housing overlooking the Cutlery and six free-standing wooden frame structures (c.1860)
on Riverside Drive east of the factories communicate the same functional values as the
mill buildings themselves. These four elements well illustrate the vital relationship
between the New England water power and early industrial development, and the impact
of the factory system on the lives of factory operatives.