The Attleboro Area Industrial Museum, Inc in Attleboro, MA | Museums and Galleries

The Attleboro Area Industrial Museum, Inc

Hours & Admission
The Museum is open:
Thursday - Friday 10:00am - 4:00pm
The Attleboro Area Industrial Museum, Inc. to make these materials readily available for both research and enjoyment; and to act as a resource center for the education of the public about the industrial history of the Attleboro area, so that knowledge of the past may contribute to a fuller understanding of the present and inspiration for the future.
The Building
The Attleboro Area Industrial Museum was incorporated on July 4, 1975 as the City of Attleboro's Bicentennial project. The idea of creating an industrial museum for the area had been in discussions for decades, but only became possible with the availability of the building housed at 42 Union Street, the Attleboro Refining Company. In 1899, Harold D. Baker and his brother George W. Baker, both of Providence, Rhode Island, formed a partnership to establish the Attleboro Refining Company in Attleboro, Massachusetts. It specialized in the refining of gold, silver and copper byproducts. The refinery followed established refining methods used at that time known as a stripping process. The process dated back to the late 18th Century. Base metals such as copper and zinc were eaten by a compound-acid solution. The precious metals underwent succeeding operations where they were reduced to a certain degree of fineness.
Jewelry Studio
This class is geared towards those who would like to brush up on various jewelry making skills or for the intermediate jewelry maker. Students will complete numerous projects throughout the eight weeks. Techniques introduced will be soldering, sawing, filing, polishing, stamping, and enameling. Individual creativity and design will be addressed. The creation of hand built tools will also be examined. This class is taught as an apprenticeship!
Museum School
The Attleboro Area Industrial Museum is offering it’s popular Make Your Own Wedding Ring Class. In this class participants get to design their own wedding rings with the help of our resident silversmith John Szymak. Designs are created in wax using the museum’s workshop facilities. When designs are finalized, they are taken to an outside facility for casting in whatever precious metal is chosen. Have that truly unique wedding band. Design it yourself!
Research Library
Appointments are required for use of the AAIM Research Library.
Appointments may ONLY be made for Wednesdays and Fridays with no more than two researchers utilizing the Research Library at one time.
A minimum of a twenty-four hour notice is required with an idea of a topic to be researched.
AAIM staff will make copies from research materials in our Research Library for a fee of $.10/copy. If however, the book, catalog, etc. will be further damaged from copying or handling, we reserve the right to refuse the opportunity for researchers to have copies made. Handheld copiers or scanners are not permitted.