The history of the Star Mill, southeastern Massachusetts' oldest surviving woolen mill complex, is a history of contradictions. Though during the decades following the Civil War the Star Mill was Middleborough's largest employer and heaviest taxpayer, the town was better known for its manufacture of boots and shoes. The Star Mill was a paternalistic employer providing for its workers but its wages were among the lowest in the state and its successor, the Nemasket Worsted Company, collapsed as a result of a protracted labor strike in the mid-1920s. And while the production of woolen cloth between 1864 and 1924 historically has been considered a successful enterprise, the mill was plagued by frequent periods of inactivity.
   Star Mill: History & Architecture documents the previously untold story of Middleborough's woolen industry, he building that housed it and the people who lived it.