| Wheelockville | |
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| — Village — | |
| Stanley Woolen Mill | |
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Wheelockville
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Worcester |
| Elevation | 246 ft (75 m) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 01569 |
| GNIS feature ID | 611599[1] |
Wheelockville is a village in the town of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, United States.[2] Part of the village centering on Mendon and Henry streets is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Wheelockville Historic District. Wheelockville appears on the Blackstone U.S. Geological Survey Map. Worcester County is in the Eastern time zone (GMT -5) and observes DST. The Village receives municipal services from Uxbridge, for fire, police, EMS, School district, public works, and other services. Worcester County, Massachusetts Sheriff, Lewis Evangelidis runs corrections, and court services from West Boylston, and Worcester District is the regional judicial jurisdiction. The Uxbridge district court serves surrounding towns.
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The earliest textile mills of Uxbridge were centered at the village of Wheelockville including the Daniel Day mill, the Jerry Wheelock Mill, and the Luke Taft Mill. John Capron's mill was nearby (only a few blocks West) on the Mumford River at Uxbridge. Daniel Day, who married Sylvia Wheelock, and who was Jerry Wheelock's father in law, established the first woolen mill in the Blackstone valley at Uxbridge, in 1809, one of the oldest woolen mills in the US. Jerry Wheelock, who joined his father in law in the business, was then the earliest known Wheelock to become a textile manufacturer. It is understood that the village's name of Wheelockville is derived from this branch of the Wheelock family.
The earliest Wheelock settler of Uxbridge was Lt. Simeon Wheelock, an Uxbridge blacksmith who fought at Lexington, and died in Shay's Rebellion. Shay's Rebellion had opening salvos in the town of Uxbridge. The Blackstone Valley is a corridor of national significance to America's earliest industrial revolution. Wheelockville is the geographic center of this valley. Two of the rivers that powered these early mills flowed through Wheelockville, including the Blackstone River, and the West River (Massachusetts). The family owned business begun by Jerry Wheelock and his father in law continues today, under the name of Berrocco, Inc.
Two mills built here are important to the early history of the Blackstone Valley: The Luke Taft Mill and the Moses Taft Mill. Both mills had connections to the famous American Taft family. In later years the Wheelock family had ownership of the Moses Taft Mill and the village took the name of Wheelockville. However that Mill is listed in the National Register as the Calumet Mill, or Central Woolen Mills District. The Waucantuck Mill Complex, was near the site of one of the original Luke Taft Mills, and was razed in 2010 because of toxic wastes. It was listed separately in the National Historic Register. The original mills built here by Daniel Day, and Luke Taft, were powered by water from the local rivers. This system of water powered mills, driven by dams, with spillways, and surrounded by mill villages, was first developed at nearby Slatersville, Rhode Island, by John and Samuel Slater, and became known as "The Rhode Island System".
The Moses Taft Mill also held the name of the Calumet mill.[2] The Wheelock family is an influential early American family with roots in this historic community. Wheelockville and Uxbridge are part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor of the National Park Service of the U.S. The Blackstone Valley is the earliest industrialized region in the United States. The Moses Taft mill ran 24/7 during the American Civil War making Union Blue Uniforms.[2] The same mill made Khaki Uniforms and cloth for the armies of France and Italy during the World War I.[2] This village was used for scenes in two movies, The Great Gatsby (1974 film), and Oliver's Story in the 1970s.
See Uxbridge for local Government and Town website uxbridge-ma.gov
| County government: Worcester County | |
|---|---|
| Clerk of Courts: | Dennis P. McManus (D) |
| District Attorney: | Joseph D. Early, Jr. (D) |
| Register of Deeds: | Anthony J. Vigliotti (D) |
| Register of Probate: | Stephen Abraham (D) |
| County Sheriff: | Lew Evangelidis (R) |
| State government | |
| State Representative(s): | Ryan Fattman (R) Kevin J. Kuros (R) |
| State Senator(s): | Richard T. Moore (D) |
| Governor's Councilor(s): | Jen Caissie (R) |
| Federal government | |
| U.S. Representative(s): | Richard E. Neal (D-2nd Dist.) |
| U.S. Senators: | John Kerry (D), Scott Brown (R) |