Introduction to the Research Guide

The city of North Adams, MA is situated in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. Once home to over 20,000 residents, this former industrial stronghold has seen its population decrease to approximately 16,000 in recent years.

North Adams was originally part of the neighboring town of Adams, but residents voted to make it a separate entity in the late nineteenth century, and it was incorporated as a city in the 1890's. From its first decades, it became apparent that North Adams' source of prosperity would not be in agriculture (the soil being rather poor for that endeavor) but its abundant water power. This attracted both local and regional investors, and lent the town an industrial bent once infrastructural improvements permitted manufacturers to reach extensive markets for their goods. Trains proved to be a huge factor in this process, and North Adams businessmen lobbied to ensure secure routes of transit. By the mid- nineteenth century, manufacturing was booming: the big industries of the time were textiles and shoes, but production of all kinds of goods was prolific and varied, spurring the town's rapid growth in both population and physical size. Manufacturing in North Adams not only determined the business make-up of the town, but also affected its demographics as a flood of immigrant workers of Irish, Italian, and French Canadian descent (the dominant places of origin) migrated to the city in search of work in the city's mills and factories. These immigrants soon became the dominant ethnic groups, and the newcomers' churches, clubs, and schools have helped to form the character of the city. Although factory owners began to distance themselves from the newcomers over time, the workers have a rich history of labor activity of their own which, though sometimes obscured by time and news coverage, sought to advance their status even though this also put them at odds with their employers at times.

The textile industry remained the dominant industry despite some tough periods through the turn of the century, with the Arnold Print Works leading the way from its sprawling mill complex on Marshall Street. The Arnold Print Works, according to several North Adams residents, was the driving force keeping North Adams workers and the city's economy afloat during the Depression years, as other manufacturers fell by the wayside.

The Depression also brought a new player to town, a fledgling electronic components manufacturer called Sprague Specialties Corporation. Sprague struggled through the Depression, but surged with government contracts during World War II, just as the owners of the Arnold Print Works decided to liquidate the company after being unable to obtain government orders. The sprawling complex on Marshall Street was not vacant for long: soon Sprague (now known as Sprague Electric) moved into the site for what would prove to be a forty-plus year occupation. During this time, North Adams essentially became a company town-- at one point, about a quarter of the city's workers were employed by the company. A distinct workers' society sprung up within Sprague-- replete with publications, parties, and banquets-- which won the loyalty of many, even as their unions only slowly managed to get Sprague to increase the wages and benefits offered by the company to its employees.

Eventually, Sprague's tenure also came to an end-- this time due to corporate takeovers and souring employee-management relations. The complex on Marshall Street-- largely vacated in 1986-- once again faced a period of uncertainty and transition, with many of its former workers left feeling betrayed and bitter by the company's evacuation and confused about what to do next. Although the idea of bringing in another manufacturer to take Sprague's place was bandied about, the potential for traditional industry endeavors in western Massachusetts was rather limited, and instead plans for a new museum featuring contemporary art were developed, proposing to change the city's economic focus from traditional production-oriented facilities to one based on new "high" technologically-oriented fields and tourism. The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMoCA) is scheduled to open in 1998, after a decade-long battle to obtain adequate funding and iron out a feasible development plan. It proposes to provide a boost to the struggling economy of the city, but will not employ nearly as many people (at least directly) as its predecessors. The nature of the project also leaves many residents wondering how the character of their living environment will be affected by the project, and looking to the past to help explain the present and move on toward the future.

Using this Research Guide

The history of North Adams is a complex one, with many interesting facets to explore, including business trends, narratives of labor and immigration, and architectural and structural development. The purpose of this guide is to provide guidance for those interested in doing research on North Adams, especially as it pertains to industry and the Marshall Street complex which once held the Arnold Print Works and Sprague Electric. There are many sources about a variety of topics concerning North Adams, but they are scattered about at different libraries and other sites, making research a bit time-consuming and tedious.

In the process of compiling this guide, I did a lot of this legwork, and hopefully the result currently in your hands can help make hunting down sources a bit easier. The bibliography covers a variety of topics, and sources are listed according to their corresponding topics, often more than once. The sources are a diverse lot, ranging from conventional books and articles to interviews, videos, and even a dramatic presentation. The bibliography lists the title, publishing information, and location(s) of each source, and within each sections items are in a roughly chronological order. A corresponding set of detailed summaries (arranged alphabetically by the name of the author or collection) is provided to help you decide which sources are likely to be relevant to your needs and interests. The contacts list lets you know how to get in touch with the individuals or institutions holding the materials, and how they go about allowing you to access them. In addition, a separate site map section is provided to help you get a feel for the city and the Marshall Street complex.