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Water powered early industries. Millers sought out rivers, streams, and other reliable water sources to run their machinery. This site on the Green River in Greenfield, Massachusetts, powered mills from 1714 to 1910. The grist mill Captain Jonathan Wells built here in 1714 remained in his family until 1791, when it was sold to Colonel William Moore. Moore launched several enterprises here, including a cotton factory, a nail mill, a cooper's shop, a potash works, a tannery, and a slaughter house. An iron foundry built next to the complex in 1823 was the first such site in Greenfield.

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