John & James Dobson Carpet Mill (West Parcel), 4041-4055 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Significance: The John & James Dobson Carpet Mill is one of the most important industrial complexes surviving from the mid-to-late-19th-century manufacturing boom in Philadelpha. Begun in the 1850s, the mill's initial production was in woolen goods, which later expanded to include carpets and plush fabrics. By the turn of the 19th century, the mill was one of the largest carpet companies in the nation and the chief employer in Philadelphia's heavily industrialized Falls of the Schuylkill region. The numerous buildings on the site were constructed incrementally over the mill's period of production and were designated as separate mill complexes, including Mill No. 1, (The Blanket Mill), Mill No. 4, the Brussels Carpet Mill (later the Falls of Schuylkill Carpet Mill) and the Plush Mills, all of which were part of the John & James Dobson, Inc. Mills. The buildings primarily reflect a simple builder-designed rubblestone construction. The mill, physically one of the largest in the country during the late 19th century, remains today as an articulate architectural statement on the evolution of a mill and the industrialization of Philadelphia.
Survey number: HABS PA-5383
Building/structure dates: ca. 1850 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: ca. 1865 Subsequent Work