From Dave Brigham:
My expedition to Millis, Mass., bubbled up in a roundabout way. There I was, minding my own business, watching the local TV weather report, when the meteorologist zoomed into an area on the map where rain was particularly heavy. In between Medfield and Medway, two towns I'd certainly heard of, was listed "Clicquot."
"What the heck is Clicquot?" I asked myself. Soon enough, I learned that it's a section of the town of Millis, and that the name has an interesting history.
If you're a champagne afficionado like me -- *cough cough* -- you might recognize the name Veuve Clicquot. From Wikipedia: "Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin...is a Champagne house founded in 1772 and based in Reims [France]. It is one of the largest Champagne houses. Madame Clicquot is credited with major breakthroughs, creating the first known vintage champagne in 1810, and inventing the riddling table process to clarify champagne in 1816. In 1818, she invented the first known blended rosé champagne by blending still red and white wines, a process still used by the majority of champagne producers."
So why is a village in this small Norfolk County town named for the bubbly name-checked by rapper Benny Mayne?
If this smokestack ghost sign with missing letters could talk, it would tell you that for most of the 20th century, the Millis-based Clicquot Club Company was one of the nation's largest beverage companies. "[T]he Clicquot Club Co., known initially as the Aqua Rex Bottling Works company, was established on Curve Street in 1881 by Henry Millis and Charles LaCroix using money Millis received from his father, Lansing Millis. In 1885, the town of Millis was named after Lansing, a retired railroad man of considerable means," according to this Milford Daily News article, citing several sources. "The company took its name, which is pronounced 'kleeko,' from a French champagne, according to Hindy Rosenfeld, a collector of Clicquot Club memorabilia who donated her collection to the town shortly before her death in 1996."
From Wikipedia: "In 1881...Henry Millis...made a suggestion to Charles LaCroix, of the LaCroix Fruit Farm, that he call his sparkling cider 'Clicquot' - after the famous French champagne, Veuve Clicquot - and start selling it....The company produced mainly sparkling cider for the first few years but later on Millis would experiment in other flavors as well. The sparkling cider was soon dropped and the company began focusing mainly on ginger ale. During this time the soda company hired a significant amount of the town's residents and would continue to do so for years to come."
For more than 40 years, Clicquot Club was the largest manufacturer of ginger ale in the world. The Millis plant grew to be quite large, and the company ran other operations across the country. I suspect you know what's coming for the company, which was obviously a major employer in town. "When [the company] was purchased by Cott Beverages in 1971, 500 employees produced 240 million cans and 84 million bottles a year," according to the Milford Daily News article. "In 1980, Cott Beverages closed its doors for good."
The plant is used by a variety of companies these days.
Directly behind the old Clicquot Club site is a large, mostly vacant former industrial site.
"In 1889 the town voted to buy a strip of land from Henry L. Millis located at the south side of Curve street," according to MACRIS. "Four stone buildings were built to house the Steel Edge Stamping and Retinning Plant. These buildings were made of stones gathered from the stone walls on the surrounding farms, the largest portion coming from Oak Grove Farm. For many years the plant had a busy life and its products were sent all over the U.S."
In the ensuing decades, a number of manufacturers called the plant home, including Central Stamping Co., American Flax Fibre, Puritan Carbonating Co., United Cork and Seal, Safepack Mills, the Rubberoid Company and lastly, GAF, which manufactured roofing materials here.
These days, all that's left of the once-massive plant is the stone tower seen below.
You can see the Clicquot smokestack from the old plant entrance on Curve Street.
I'm not aware of any redevelopment plans for this site. The town has been studying and surveying residents and looking into options, which would likely include a mix of residential, commercial and office space.
A little west of the old GAF plant is the local American Legion hall, located in a circa-1925 Craftsman-style Bungalow.
"The Millis Post # 208 of the American Legion was organized in 1920," according to MACRIS. "The Post is active in erecting memorials to veterans of foreign wars in Millis."
Close by, on Plain Street, the Millis Wishing Bridge crosses an old railroad right-of-way.
The bridge is fairly new, replacing a span from 1947. The petition to name it the Millis Wishing Bridge was made a few years ago by the Life Experience School, an "alternative day program for individuals with special needs who are dedicating their lives to provide humanitarian services to their community." Unfortunately, the program is no longer in business.
Along Exchange Street, near the intersection with Main Street, I was over the falls about Niagara Hall.
"Niagara Hall was erected in 1879 for the purpose of housing the 'Niagara' fire engine, which remains a cherished relic today," per MACRIS (see photo below for a glimpse of the engine).
I believe this beauty has also served as a police station and town hall down through the years. The Niagara Coffee Haus, located on the second floor, hosts regular folk, rock, blues, jazz and Americana music acts.
I continued west on Main Street, and after passing the town police station, I looked north on Auburn Road, and could tell there were abandoned railroad tracks up ahead. So I ventured forth.
When walking on tracks like these, I always look behind me every few minutes to a) make sure no punks are following me, and b) to keep one step ahead of zombies. These tracks were owned by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad for a long time. Most recently, they were used by the Bay Colony Railroad. There was also commuter train service through Millis until 1967. I believe there was an old train car along a side track here until fairly recently.
Before too long, I ended up at an abandoned manufacturing facility that I figured dated from the 1960s.
And, according to LoopNet, it was built in 1960. Damn, I'm good. I'm not sure what company most recently occupied the site. An application was filed two years ago to construct a solar array here. I'm not sure of the status of that application.
I really wanted to follow the curve of the tracks into the woods, but I headed back toward the center of town.
Along Main Street, I saw St. Thomas Hall.
Built in 1957, the parish hall is affiliated with the St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, which holds worship services a short walk away, on Exchange Street.
Along Exchange Street, I enjoyed the contrast between the sign for a hair salon and the name WINIKER BLOCK carved into the building.
The building dates to the late 1930s or early 1940s.
Continuing north-northeast along Exchange Street, I was rewarded with a building that, while not as photogenic as Niagara Hall, was my favorite of the day.
(The bell seen in the foreground is believed to have been cast in 1845 by George Holbrook, according to this web site.)
Known as the Lansing Millis Memorial Building, after the founding father, this unique, Richardsonian Romanesque building rose in 1886. "At a special town meeting held Oct. 18, 1885, the heirs of Lansing Millis requested permission to erect a building to be known as a memorial to Lansing Millis," according to MACRIS. "A railroad station was to occupy the first story and the second story was to be devoted for the use of a public library and town offices. This received unanimous approval."
I love the combination of stones and shingles, which gives this municipal building a cozy feel. But the perfect touch is the collection of decorative stones around the front and sides of the building. Again, from MACRIS: "In the erection of this building, the outside walls were made of stones and the citizens were invited to contribute unusual stones that they could gather. Many of Mr. Millis's business friends contributed stones as memorials. These stones were marked with the initials of the corporation donating the stone. In the upper half of the tower there are eighteen such stones and in the lower half, nine."
The town offices remained in the Lansing Millis Building until 1998. The building was leased to a private school at some point. In February 2021, the town received a conditions assessment and feasibility study it had commissioned from Spencer, Sullivan & Vogt. The report acknowledged "the Town’s willingness – and in fact, enthusiasm – to revitalize this building, especially given its current state of disrepair."
In the fall of 2022, the Milford Town Meeting considered, among other warrants, one to provide "$2.9 mil or any other amount" to design, upgrade, construct and renovate the building. I'm not sure of the status of that project.
On the grounds of the old train station is a plaque, the likes of which I'd not seen before.
I believe this memorial honors those who went without shaving for some period of time in recognition of the town's 100th birthday. When I was growing up in Simsbury, Connecticut, there was a similar effort whereby men didn't shave leading up to the town's 300th anniversary in 1970. My dad grew a pretty good beard.
Following my trek through Clicquot, I did some MACRIS research and discovered a few other places I wanted to check out. So I returned.
On Myrtle Street, in the Rockville section of town, is yet another fantastic old fire house.
Built in 1924, the station has what MACRIS calls a Folk Victorian look. While there is fire equipment inside, I'm not sure whether it's an active house. It has some cool details.
Along Farm Street, near the intersection with Cedar Street, is the old town pound.
From MACRIS: "The Town Warrant authorized Michael Metcalf's construction on the Town Pound on Farm Street in 1734. The Pound was a holding area for stray animals. Owners paid a fine to the pound keeper when they claimed their animals." I have featured a few other town pounds on the blog, which can be found here and here.
Lastly, I checked out an old railroad trestle spanning the Charles River, connecting Millis and Medfield.
Known as the Charles River Railroad Bridge, this feature dates to 1925.
