Belrockton Dormitory
You are here
Belding Museum and Belding Community Center (Belrockton Dormitory)
1905; 2005–2006 rehabilitation, SmithGroup. E. Main St. at Hanover St.
-
(Photograph by Roger Funk)
Constructed by Belding Brothers and Company, the Belrockton is the only one remaining of three dormitories for young women recruited as laborers from outlying farms. It housed 125 women who lived under the supervision of matrons in a manner similar to the paternalistic practice at Lowell, Massachusetts, and contained sleeping rooms above the first-floor dining and sitting rooms. The name Belrockton is a combination of Belding, Rockville (Connecticut), and Northampton (Massachusetts). The large, L-shaped, three-story brick building with classical detailing was fronted with broad wooden porches on all floors. The City of Belding acquired the former dormitory in 1950 for use as a community center. Today the museum and community center display exhibits explaining the silk industry in Belding.
Writing Credits
×
Data
-
Location: Belding, MichiganRegional Overviews:Architect:Styles:no metadata available
What's Nearby
Citation
Kathryn Bishop Eckert, "Belding Museum and Belding Community Center (Belrockton Dormitory)", [Belding, Michigan], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MI-01-IA12.
Print Source
Buildings of Michigan, Kathryn Bishop Eckert. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012, 267-267.
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.