The property at the former Texaco Research Center in upstate New York is steeped rich in history. The 153-acre site, which is bisected by Fishkill Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River, was first home to a wool and saw mill erected on the property back in 1811. It grew significantly during the Civil War when it began manufacturing the blue serge cloth used for Union Army uniforms.
The mill became more than just a place to work. It was a community where workers lived in homes built on company land, their children attended the onsite school, and their families shopped at the company’s general store.
During the post-Civil War depression, the owners of the mill cycled along with the U.S. economy, and closed it permanently in 1929. Families moved on, and the facility fell silent for two years.
Texaco purchased the land and began developing the site in 1931, transforming the mill buildings down by Fishkill Creek into the original Beacon Laboratories. Over the course of the next 72 years, the complex expanded multiple times as it furthered its research, development, technical services and environmental protection work in support of the downstream petroleum and energy business.