The 1916 Fire That Emptied the Church

The butter tub factory was a major employer. Then came the fire in 1916. It destroyed the building and the jobs. The local church suffered because many of the men who lost work were Catholic. They moved away with their families, and their departure had a particularly detrimental effect on the local church for many years.

This neighborhood is known as the Brick Kingdom. It sits along the falls of Willoughby Brook, where the water drops about 90 feet from Crystal Lake. Industrial activity started here in the 1790s, with a sawmill starting in 1798 and a gristmill in 1807. By the 1800s, the area was a dense cluster of manufacturing. People made piano actions, furniture, and baseball bats.

One mill in Barton was one of the last carding mills in the country. Other factories made specialized horseshoes for snow. They even manufactured toilet tanks and seats. The industrial pulse eventually slowed down. Most businesses closed by the 1940s, with the very last leaving in 1952.

Today, the Crystal Lake Falls Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. It covers several blocks of Barton village at the northwest corner of Crystal Lake, extending along Water Street, Main Street, and West Street.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons