This talk will focus on the frame-making business of the Old Schwamb Mill as it introduces the audience to the history of the Mill and its production process.

In 1847, Charles Schwamb arrived in Boston from Germany and began making oval frames. By 1864, he had his own frame factory in what is now the Old Schwamb Mill in Arlington, Massachusetts. In 1904, his grandchildren, Clinton and Louis Schwamb, took charge of the business, running it as The Clinton W. Schwamb Company, Inc., until Clinton’s son Elmer Schwamb retired in 1969.

In 1905, as Clinton and Louis worked to revive the family business, there were only four to six regular workers, including the engineer minding the steam engine. Yet they produced just under 6,000 frames that year. Their output quickly grew to tens of thousands of frames annually, an astonishing number when it is remembered that they also produced moulding and other items. The Mill produced finished frames of every type – round, square, octagonal, fan-shaped, panels and spandrels – not simply ovals.

The Old Schwamb Mill continues to produce hand-turned oval and circular frames to this day and offers tours on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm.

This program is offered by Old Schwamb Mill as part of the Hidden Treasures Festival of Nature, Culture & History, an annual month-long celebration showcasing events and activities hosted by local partners celebrating the unique places, objects, and stories of the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area. Hidden Treasures programs are free and open to the public. Click to discover more Hidden Treasures!