The Houses
Over the years, the layout of the village has not changed very much. However, the names of some of the various streets have been changed - some more than once. The number of houses has been increased. Present day maps show about 120 houses in the area generally recognized as the village. The first houses were built when the town was still named Bivingsville. As the mill increased its workforce, more houses were built.
By 1875, about 30 years after the mill was started, there were 60 houses with 400 residents. In the late 1940’s the new mill owners remodeled some of the houses but tore down 35 houses that were in poor condition. Some of the houses torn down were known as Shotgun Houses. Click on this link to see photos of some of these. In the 1950’s the mill owners began to sell the houses to the residents. One example of this was the house at 144 Broadway. This house was sold to Bess and Ada Corn, whose family had lived in the house for over 40 years. In May of 1955, they paid $3,750 for the house. Bess and Ada were my great aunts. For the complete list and story of selling the mill houses see "Selling the Houses."
(Copy of receipt for 144 Broadway.)
Running water was installed in the house sometime after World War I. However, up until about 1950 the houses still had not have an inside bathroom but used outdoor privies.
