Florence, Massachusetts

Florence is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the city of Northampton, near Westhampton and Williamsburg in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.

In 1832, Samuel Whitmarsh planted 25 acres of mulberry trees in Florence in order to raise silkworms. Later, Whitmarsh's silk mill (in nearby Leeds, Massachusetts) was briefly run as a communal project by the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, a utopian community of Abolitionists, who believed that the rights of all should be "equal without distinction of sex, color or condition, sect or religion."

Sojourner Truth, a former slave who became a nationally known advocate for equality and justice, was a member of this community. (She had moved to Florence in 1843.) After the community dissolved in 1846, she bought a house on Park Street, where she lived until 1857. A memorial statue was erected in her honor in Florence in 2002.

Samuel L. Hill, the spiritual leader of the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, invented a machine that could spin silk smooth enough to be used in sewing machines. After the commune dissolved, Hill took over the factory and ran it as the Nonotuck Silk Company. Hill's home at 31-35 Maple Street in Florence served as a stop for the Underground Railway.

Later, the company changed its name again, and, as the Corticelli Silk Company, grew to be one of the world's largest producers of silk thread, made with raw silk imported from Japan. In New York City, the Corticelli logo--a kitten playing with a spool of thread--loomed over Broadway from a huge electrical sign at 42nd Street between 1910 and 1913 [http://www.smith.edu/hsc/silk/clickmap/corticelli.html] . The company went out of business in 1930.

Mirage Studios, the creative force behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books was based out of a renovated factory space in Florence.

Florence was the filming location for the 1999 movie, "In Dreams."

Landmarks include Miss Florence's diner, a 1950's style diner famous for its milkshakes and pies, as well as the stores Cooper's Corner and Birds.

Many areas of Florence have undergone renovations in the recent past, with former factories now playing host to art studios and small retail stores.

External links

* [http://www.noho.com/sojourner/index.html Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue]
* [http://lillylibrary.org/ Lilly Library]
* [http://www.historic-northampton.org/Articles/213/543/7/923425847/ Florence and the Underground Railway]
* [http://www.smith.edu/hsc/silk/Silk%20brochure4x.pdf A brief history of Northampton silk]
* [http://www.smith.edu/hsc/silk/clickmap/corticelli.html Corticelli Silk and Corticelli kitten]