Cuttin' a Rug in Saxonville

From That Same Old Guy:

Was the Saxonville neighborhood of Framingham, Mass., named after actor John Saxon? Did the actor known at birth as Carmine Orrico, who starred in Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon" and appeared in roughly 200 film and TV projects, once stride along Saxonville's avenues, mix it up with the area's mill workers and skinny dip in the Sudbury River?

Or was this village in the northeast part of Framingham dubbed the way it was due to the influence of the Saxons, a "Germanic tribe that originally occupied the region which today is the North Sea coast of the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark," per the World History Encyclopedia.

"Late in the third century...Frankish raiders joined the Saxons in the southern part of the North Sea and the English Channel," per the WHE. "They preyed on shipping lanes and also raided the coast of Britain and Gaul. These attacks on Roman Britain during the late third century forced the authorities to build a network of forts with thick stone walls at coastal locations to repel these attacks, and the south coast of England became known as the Saxon Shore frontier."

Did the Saxons' pirating forays extend to inland Massachusetts, and the Sudbury River, hundreds of years before the English and French?

Sadly, the real story behind the name Saxonville is actually pretty boring. "With the industrial revolution of the mid-nineteenth century, the force of the waterfall, previously used to run a grist mill, was harnessed to power a large textile mill," according to an archived version of the City of Framingham web site. "One of the early companies was named the Saxon Factory Company, and the village was renamed Saxonville."

I'll hold out the possibility that the factory company was founded by a bunch of dudes who were at least inspired by the Saxons.

Anyway...let's talk about this neighborhood and the mill complex that gave it the name.

"...[T]he Saxon Factory Company [was] a woolen mill established...in 1824 by Abner, Benjamin, and Eliphalet Wheeler with several Boston partners. Later owners Michael Simpson and Nathaniel Francis changed the factory's name to the Saxonville Mills," according to the Historic Framingham blog, which used information from Images of America: Framingham. The mill's wooden buildings were destroyed by fire in 1883. The sole brick building, No. 7, survived. New brick buildings rose after the fire.

"Saxonville Mills merged with the Roxbury Carpet Company in 1919 and assumed the name of the latter," according to the Historic Framingham blog. Roxbury Carpet ceased operations in 1973.

The entire complex appears to be in good shape these days, with numerous tenants (PC Exchange, Tribute Home Care, Kano Computing, Studio X and the Saxonville Mills Cafe). I imagine there was a period after the carpet company closed where this place might have become rundown, as with many old mills and factories.

(The Josephine Kochnowicz Clock Tower. I have no clue who she is/was.)

(The Sudbury River flows alongside the mill.)

There is a mural on the back of one of the buildings that was painted by Sorin Bica, one of the artists whose work I recently captured in downtown Framingham (see October 17, 2021, "Putting Framingham in the Frame."). There are artist studios in the Saxonville Mill complex.

There is also a former firehouse on the property, which, along with the adjacent Athanaeum Hall, has been proposed as part of the historic district.

(The rear of the old fire station.)

Erected in the 1840s, Athanaeum Hall has served many purposes in the last 180 years, including hospital, jail, newspaper press room for The Saxonville Mirror, polling place and school, according to the Friends of Saxonville web site. "It was also used as a community hall for dances, lectures, plays, religious services, sporting events, veterans' meetings and wedding receptions."

The City of Framingham owns the building. There have been plans over the years to fully renovate the Hall. I'm not sure what the building's status is these days.

There are a handful of national-chain stores and businesses in Saxonville (Dunkin', Extra Space Storage), as well as many beautiful old homes and local stores. I only had time to shoot a few of the latter. Well, one that's still in business, and one that ain't, and both with similar names.

Located in a strip mall that was quite desolate on a Sunday afternoon, Liberty's Famous Pizza has a great sign. From what I've been able to figure out online, this place, about a third of a mile from the mill complex, has been in business for at least 50 years, although I'm guessing not necessarily in this location.

Unfortunately, Liberty Music, situated directly across from Saxonville Mill, is no longer in business.

Liberty sold, rented and repaired musical instruments for at least 25 years, according to the Internet. I hope somebody takes over this space, although it seems more likely this building will be torn down.