Attleboro Area Industrial Museum

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A black, white, and dark blue striped header image with the text Attleboro Area Industrial Museum

This past Saturday — July 6, 2024 — I visited three stops in the Passport to History developed by Old Colony History Museum, along with one bonus stop. Attleboro Area Industrial Museum was the second stop on my trip. I had been meaning to visit this museum since learning about it at the Industrial History New England Lunch on Day 1 of NEMA Conference 2022, so this visit checks off another item from my very long museum bucket list.

Besides being a member of New England Museum Association (NEMA), this museum is part of Industrial History New England, much like other history stops that I have visited and appear on this blog, including:

I have visited perhaps a tenth of the stops on the list and will not be running out of places to go any time soon!

The museum is located in a one-story red brick building, and its large yellow-and-black sign makes the parking lot easy to spot. Inside the museum are antique machines, mannequins in period costume, and a few interactives suitable for families and school groups.

Attleboro Area Industrial Museum; one-story red brick building with a blue awning over the entrance Sign for Attleboro Area Industrial Museum; large yellow-and-black sign over a parking lot

Nearest the entrance is a model blacksmith shop. Pressing a series of red buttons triggers audio that informs visitors how to navigate this exhibit. I wish these buttons existed throughout the museum to create a cohesive experience. I enjoyed turning the dials of the clock to learn about the busy day in the life of a blacksmith. I also played a game similar to “The Game of Life” by Milton Bradley where I spun a series of wheels to learn about advantages and disadvantages for blacksmiths and move my blacksmith along a wall.

Blacksmith Shop Exhibit; a pair of mannequins dressed as blacksmiths Red Buttons to Hear the Audio for Blacksmith Shop Exhibit
Interactive Clock at Twelve Interactive Clock at Four Interactive Clock at Seven

Next, I went to the button exhibit, which combined a mannequin display of three female workers making buttons under the watchful eye of a male supervisor set beside a large cabinet filled with buttons. Collectors of rare buttons would delight in poring over the neat labels. Nearby was “The Fire Queen”, a horse-drawn hand-pump fire engine similar to one I had seen at the Fire Museum of East Texas way back in 2021 while working as a National Park Service ranger. The engine was in use from around 1859 to 1885 when water mains were installed in the busiest parts of town. Beside the engine was another mannequin display, this one with a wire making machine and a manual drill, along with a Shadowgraph, a tool from the 1950s used to precisely measure electronic parts with accuracy of 0.001 inches.

Buttons Exhibit; a mannequin display of three female workers making buttons under the watchful eye of a male supervisor “The Fire Queen”, a red painted horse-drawn hand-pump fire engine
Wire Making Machine and Manual Drill with Mannequin Operator Shadowgraph; a wooden box with a blue screen used to precisely measure electronic parts

A meeting room to the side of the main exhibit area held a variety of other artifacts, including painted maps of the area and a denim jacket covered in vintage pins made by Knobby Krafters, Inc. an Attleboro business started Nerney family in 1924 and sold in 2021. Back to the main area, a mannequin stood among multiple hand-powered brocading machines, which were used to decorate jewelry by etching straight lines. Rings and pins were major sellers for the Lloyd G. Balfour Company based in Attleboro. For me, the most interest part of this museum was its collection of phantom press badges for Major League Baseball teams. Since teams are required to order their badges in advance of the playoff season, some badges go unused when the team fails to make the cut. These badges are now rare collectors items.

Male mannequin standing among multiple hand-powered brocading machines Meeting Room; two painted maps hang on the walls perpendicular to each other, many black, plastic chairs are set up along the floor.
A Box of Metal Parts Labeled Blackstone Lloyd G. Balfour Exhibit; an older male mannequin represented Balfour sits at a desk while and a younger female mannequin representing his secretary stands to his left. Behind are displays of Balfour rings and pins. Phantom Pins from Major League Baseball Teams

Several more interesting items lived in this area or just beyond, including cash registers and adding machines with big, pressable buttons; a time clock with a stamping device where factory workers would mark a timecard; a giant balance scale in front of a window; and the original charter for separating Attleboro from Rehoboth.

Time Clock; below the clock is a stamping device where factory workers would mark a timecard; on either side are wooden racks for timecards Vintage Metal Cash Register with Big Buttons Giant Balance Scale in front of a Window

The museum is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with a bonus presentation on the last Thursday of the month, when the museum is open until 8:00 p.m. The museum is free with donations accepted. Guided tours are apparently $4 for adults and $3 for children according to the website, but I saw no mention of this on site. The museum is well-lit and easy to navigate, although the doors do not have an automatic opening button. Even with age-appropriate interactives, this may not be the best choice for families and school groups with children under twelve, as no barriers stand between visitors and operational machines.


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 6/10

Accessibility: 7/10