Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, looking upriver...

...and downriver in 1911

The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was a textile manufacturer which founded Manchester, New Hampshire. From modest beginnings in near wilderness, it grew throughout the 19th century into the largest cotton textile plant in the world. At its peak, Amoskeag was unrivaled both for the quality and quantity of its products. But with great size came an inability to adapt. In the early 20th century, the business failed in changing economic and social conditions. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 384 pixelsFull resolution (1022 × 490 pixel, file size: 99 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, looking up the Merrimack River, Manchester, NH; from a 1911 postcard by Alphonso H. Sanborn. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 384 pixelsFull resolution (1022 × 490 pixel, file size: 99 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, looking up the Merrimack River, Manchester, NH; from a 1911 postcard by Alphonso H. Sanborn. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 384 pixelsFull resolution (1022 × 490 pixel, file size: 103 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, looking down the Merrimack River, Manchester, NH; from a 1911 postcard by Alphonso H. Sanborn. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 384 pixelsFull resolution (1022 × 490 pixel, file size: 103 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, looking down the Merrimack River, Manchester, NH; from a 1911 postcard by Alphonso H. Sanborn. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Sunday textile market on the sidewalks of Karachi, Pakistan. ... Nickname: Queen City Location in Hillsborough County Coordinates: Country United States State New Hampshire County Hillsborough County Incorporated 1751 Mayor Frank Guinta (R) Area    - City 90. ... Wilderness is generally defined as a natural environment on Earth that has not been modified by human activity. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cotton ready for harvest. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

Origins

In May of 1807, Samuel Blodget completed at Derryfield a canal and lock system beside the Merrimack River. His enterprise allowed boats traveling between Concord and Nashua to bypass Amoskeag Falls, opening the region to development. Blodget envisioned here "the Manchester of America," a water-powered textile center comparable to the Industrial Revolution English city he had recently visited. The name stuck, and in 1810 Derryfield was changed to Manchester. That same year, Benjamin Prichard and others incorporated the Amoskeag Cotton & Woolen Manufacturing Company. He and three brothers -- Ephraim, David and Robert Stevens -- had purchased land and water power rights the year before on the west bank of the Merrimack near Amoskeag Bridge, where they built a mill. From Samuel Slater they bought second-hand mill machinery, but it didn't work well. In 1811, new machinery was built to spin cotton into yarn, the currency with which factory wages and dividends were paid. Weaving became a cottage industry for local women, who earned between 2 and 7 cents per yard, depending on the type of fabric. A good weaver could average 10 to 12 yards per day. Year 1807 (MDCCCVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Canal du Midi, Toulouse, France Canals are man-made channels for water. ... Canal locks in England. ... Merrimack River watershed The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an earlier spelling that is sometimes still used) is a -long river in the Northeastern United States. ... Location in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Coordinates: Country United States State New Hampshire County Merrimack County Incorporated 1733  - City Manager Thomas J. Aspell, Jr. ... Nickname: Gate City Location in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Coordinates: Country United States State New Hampshire County Hillsborough Incorporated 1746 Government  - Mayor Bernard A. Streeter Area  - City  31. ... The Amoskeag Falls are a set of waterfalls located in Manchester, New Hampshire on the Merrimack River. ... Hydropower (or waterpower) harnesses the energy of moving or falling water. ... A Watt steam engine. ... This page is about the City of Manchester in England. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Samuel Slater (1768 – 1835) popularly called The Father of the American Industrial Revolution Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early American industrialist popularly known as the Founder of the American Industrial Revolution. // The son of William Slater, a wealthy farmer, Samuel Slater was born near Belper... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about yarn fiber. ... Tweed loom, Harris, 2004 Woven sheet Weaving is an ancient textile art and craft that involves placing two sets of threads or yarn made of fiber called the warp and weft of the loom and turning them into cloth. ... The use of the term has expanded, and is used to refer to any event which allows a large number of people to lalalawork part time. ...

But the mill was unprofitable. Indeed, after September of 1815, "little or nothing was done in it." In 1822, Olney Robinson of Rhode Island purchased the company, using money and equipment borrowed from Samuel Slater and Larned Pitcher. Robinson proved incompetent, however, and the business passed to his creditors. Slater and Pitcher then sold three-fifths of the company in 1825 to Dr. Oliver Dean, Lyman Tiffany and Willard Sayles of Massachusetts. In April of 1826, Dr. Dean moved to the site and oversaw construction of the new Bell Mill, which was named for the bell on its roof to summon workers. Also erected was the Island Mill, located on an island in the Merrimack. Boarding houses and stores were built, creating the factory village of Amoskeag. The three-mill complex prospered, becoming known for its excellent "sheetings, shirtings and tickings," especially the latter. Success attracted investors, including The Boston Associates. With capital of 1 million dollars, the business was incorporated on July 1, 1831 as the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. Offices were established in Boston, where the treasurer de facto ran the firm, with an agent (manager) in Manchester to oversee personnel and operation of the mills. April 5-12: Mount Tambora explodes, changing climate. ... 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... A creditor is a party (e. ... Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway 1825 (MDCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... The oldest surviving photograph, Nicéphore Niépce, circa 1826 1826 (MDCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Ticking is a marking that occurs on some horses. ... The Boston Associates was one of the earliest investment capital companies in America. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without...

The Manchester of America

Mill No. 11 in c. 1908

Engineers determined that the east bank of the Merrimack River was best for the extensive mills, tiered canals and mill town the company planned. Consequently, most of the land on the east side was purchased in 1835, where property holdings would eventually encompass 15,000 acres. It would also purchase all nearby water power rights to prevent competition. A foundry and machine shop were established to make and maintain mill machinery. In 1838, Manchester was laid out and founded. In 1839, Stark Mill No. 1, an Amoskeag affiliate with 8,000 spindles, was completed, together with six blocks of boarding houses for employees. Throughout the company's history, its engineering department designed and built all mill facilities, whether for use by Amoskeag or others, giving the complex a unity of design. It had unity of color as well, the warm red brick made at the firm's brickyard upriver in Hooksett. Towers containing bells and stairwells added decorative flourishes to utilitarian factories. To take advantage of natural light, workshops were long but narrow, pierced with rows of windows. The Concord Railroad (later Boston & Maine Railroad) entered Manchester in 1842. Freight cars ran on spurs beside the mills to supply raw materials, particularly cotton from southern states, then carried away finished fabrics to markets around the country. One customer would be Levi Strauss, whose riveted blue jeans were made with cloth from the Amoskeag Mills. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... A Tier is a term used commonly within fighting game circles and tournaments to describe a characters general success in tournaments and common battles of the fighting game they hail from. ... Amoskeag Canal, 1948, by Charles Sheeler A mill town is a community that grew up around one or more mills or factories, usually on a river that was used as a source of power in the days before electricity. ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A foundry is a factory which produces castings of metal, both ferrous and non-ferrous. ... A lathe is a common tool used in machining. ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1839 (MDCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A spindle (sometimes called a drop spindle) is a wooden spike weighted at one end with a wheel and an optional hook at the other end. ... See also Wikimedia Commons has multimedia related to: Bricks Masonry Brickwork Ceramics Fire brick In role-playing games, a brick is a character whose main useful skill is being able to take a great deal of damage (usually physical damage) and act as a shield for weaker allies. ... Hooksett is a town located in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. ... 1898 map The Boston and Maine Railroad (AAR reporting mark BM), also known by the abbreviation B&M, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Historic Southern United States. ... Alternative meaning: Claude L vi-Strauss, the French anthropologist. ... Blue Jeans Jeans are trousers traditionally made from denim, but may also be made from a variety of fabrics including cotton and corduroy. ...

Elm Street in c. 1907

Incorporated in 1846, Manchester was intended to be a model of utopian factory-city planning, as Lowell, Massachusetts had been before it. William Amory, the cultured company treasurer, together with Ezekiel A. Straw, the first Amoskeag agent, influenced the style of Manchester's urban design. It had broad avenues and squares ("reserved for public promenades") graced by fine schools, churches, hospitals, fire stations and a library. Row houses (called corporations) were built and rented to workers with families after years on a waiting list. Italianate, Second Empire and Queen Anne style mansions accommodated the company elite. Parks provided employees with fresh air, recreation and rest. Twenty acres were donated by Amoskeag Mills to create Valley Cemetery. The city's main thoroughfare, Elm Street, ran atop a ridge parallel to the mills below, but at a remove to lessen their clamor. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... See Utopia (disambiguation) for other meanings of this word Utopia, in its most common and general meaning, refers to a hypothetical perfect society. ... For planning in AI see automated planning and scheduling Planning is the (psycholgical) process of thinking about the activities required to create a desired future on some scale. ... Nickname: Motto: Art is the Handmaid of Human Good Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Middlesex County Settled 1653 Incorporated 1826 A city 1836 Government  - Type Manager-City council  - Mayor William F. Martin, Jr. ... A town square is an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. ... The canonical example of Second Empire style is the Opéra Garnier, in which Neo-Baroque meets Neo-Renaissance. ... The Buttermans, the historic home of John Newman, the butter king, is one of several Queen Anne mansions in Elgin, Illinois The Queen Anne style of British and American architecture reached its greatest popularity in the last quarter of the 19th century, manifesting itself in a number of different ways... The Valley Cemetery (a. ...

Everything in the company town seemed influenced by the benevolent paternalistic management -- including the moral and physical habits of the help. Women in particular were monitored both at work and home in accordance with the Lowell System. At first many came to Manchester from surrounding farms. But as the need for labor increased, immigration was promoted from Canada, particularly Quebec, where many were desperate after unscientific farming exhausted the soil. Other workers arrived from Greece, Germany, Sweden and Poland, with each nationality claiming a neighborhood in the city. Child labor was not uncommon, nor were injuries and fatalities in the mills. When tower bells rang at the end of the day's one shift, thousands of employees changed from work clothes and swarmed out the iron gates. A company town is a town or city in which most or all real estate, buildings (both residential and commercial), utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company. ... Cover of the Lowell Offering illustrating the paternalistic atmosphere. ... Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Official languages French Government - Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault - Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 75 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area Ranked 2nd - Total 1,542,056 km² - Water... Child laborers coming out of a dye factory, Dhaka, Bangladesh Child labor (or child labour) is the employment of children under an age determined by law or custom. ...

Weave Room in c. 1910

Locomotives and fire engines were built by the Amoskeag Locomotive Works. During the Civil War, Southern cotton became scarce, so the company's foundry made 25,000 muskets. It would also make sewing machines and, of course, textile machinery. Following the rebellion, the country's rapid industrialization resumed, with Manchester becoming a textile center greater than its namesake. Company engineers built more factories, lining both sides of the Merrimack. Mill No. 11 was the world's largest cotton mill, 900 feet long, 103 feet wide, and containing 4000 looms. Gingham, flannel, and ticking were company specialties, although numerous other fabrics in cotton and wool were produced. The noise from thousands of looms running simultaneously in the weave rooms was deafening, so workers had to communicate by shouting in each other's ears or lip reading. Amoskeag peaked by World War I, supplying the Federal government with materiel. It employed up to 17,000 workers in 74 textile departments, with 30 mills weaving 50 miles of cloth per hour. Defense patronage brought workers an increase in pay combined with a reduction in hours, from 54 to 48 per week. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Great Western Railway No. ... Fire Engine in South Bend, Indiana. ... The Amoskeag Locomotive Works built steam locomotives at the dawn of the railroad era in the United States. ... This article is becoming very long. ... A foundry is a factory which produces castings of metal, both ferrous and non-ferrous. ... Muskets and bayonets aboard the frigate Grand Turk. ... A modern machine (Singer Symphonie 300) A sewing machine is a mechanical (or electromechanical) device that joins fabric using thread. ... Gingham is a fabric made from dyed cotton yarn. ... A young man wearing a tartan flannel shirt. ... Lip reading, also known as lipreading, speech reading, or speechreading, is a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue with information provided by the context, language, and any residual hearing. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Materiel (from the French for material) is the equipment and supplies in Military and commercial supply chain management. ...

Decline

Noon Hour in c. 1912

Following the armistice, the national economy slipped into recession. In the early 1920s, orders for Amoskeag products slackened, and various mills stopped production for days, weeks or even months. Without steady work or pay, the employees' bond with their once paternalistic employer weakened. That bond had kept Manchester a "strikeless" city. Then Parker Straw, agent and grandson of Ezekiel A. Straw, posted a notice that as of February 13, 1922, all departments would receive a pay reduction of 20 percent, with running hours increased from 48 to 54 hours per week. The United Textile Workers of America persuaded millworkers to strike when the new arrangements were to take effect. They did, and the city's entire economy suffered. After 9 months, however, necessity forced employees to return to work with their demands unmet. Technically, Amoskeag won, but it would prove a Phyrric victory. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A white flag is traditionally used to represent a truce. ... A recession is traditionally defined in macroeconomics as a decline in a countrys real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two or more successive quarters of a year (equivalently, two consecutive quarters of negative real economic growth). ... The 1920s is a decade that is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... The Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) was an industrial union of textile workers established through the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1939 and merged with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America to become the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) in 1976. ... A Pyrrhic victory (pronounced pirric) is a victory which comes at heavy cost to the victor. ...

The strike cost Amoskeag not only the loyalty of employees, but customers as well. And it occurred when new sources of energy, including electricity and petroleum, were replacing water power. Cotton could be processed and woven where it grew, saving transportion costs to New England. With aging technology, it became increasingly difficult for Amoskeag to compete. Northern labor costs were higher than in the South, which had new factories, layouts, and automatic looms. The South did not have New Hampshire's inventory tax, which levied commodity supplies at a business like coal and cotton. In an attempt to remain competitive, Amoskeag made the mistake of adding more mills and spindles to reduce the costs of making fabric, at a time when the textile industry had excess productive capacity. Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... Commodity is a term that refers to goods that are mined or agriculturally produced. ... Coal Coal (IPA: ) is a fossil fuel formed in swamp ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. ...

In 1925, treasurer Frederic C. Dumaine made the fateful decision to split the firm in two. Profits from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company's years of plenty were placed in the newly created Amoskeag Company, a holding company. Capital was thereby protected from fluctuation in the business cycle, but it was also denied the mills to modernize. Then came the Great Depression. One daily shift increased to three, with management again trying to increase hours and reduce pay -- particularly for women, the majority of its workforce. Violent strikes in 1933 and 1934 required the intervention of the New Hamphire State Militia. When the picketing ended and work resumed, vengeful agitators sabotaged machines and products. The stricken business closed mill buildings one by one, laying off scores of employees when few jobs existed. 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... A holding company is a company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors. ... // [edit] Introduction [edit] Definition If we were to take snapshots of an economy at different points in time, no two photos would look alike. ... The Great Depression was a time of economic down turn, which started after the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... It has been suggested that National Guard Bureau be merged into this article or section. ... Employees of the BBC form a picket line during a strike in May 2005. ... German supply train blown up by the Armia Krajowa during World War II Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy, oppressor or employer through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction. ...

On Christmas Eve, 1935, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company abruptly closed its doors and filed for bankruptcy. A damaging flood the following year ended any chance of revival. Per order of the presiding judge, the vast complex was liquidated. By 1937, half the buildings were occupied by other businesses under the aegis of Amoskeag Industries, established in 1936 by local businessmen. Today, the renovated old mills are home to offices, restaurants, software companies, branches of local colleges, art studios and the Millyard Museum. The Christmas Eve (1904-05), watercolor painting by the Swedish painter Carl Larsson (1853-1919) Christmas Eve, the evening of December 24th, the preceding day or vigil before Christmas Day, is treated to a greater or a lesser extent in most Christian societies as part of the Christmas season. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administration - see text) in the UK. Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organizations to pay their... Picture of flooding in Amphoe Sena, Ayutthaya Province, Thailand. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ægis has entered modern English to mean a shield, protection, or sponsorship, originally from the name of the mythological protective shield of Zeus. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ... For a one-room apartment, see Apartment. ...

Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in 1911

(Data recorded on panoramic postcard reproduced above)

Amoskeag Chimney in 1907

Statistics: Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

• Number of looms -- 24,200
• Number of spindles -- 662,000
• Yards of cotton & worsted cloth woven per annum -- 237,000,000
• Number of bags woven per annum -- 1,500,000
• Number of turbine water wheels -- 30
• Amount of horsepower furnished by wheels -- 16,290
• Number of boilers -- 185
• Rated horsepower of boilers -- 27,750
• Number of steam engines -- 12
• Amount of horsepower furnished by engines -- 15,100
• Number of steam turbines -- 5
• Amount of horsepower furnished by turbines -- 26,678
• Number of alternating current generators -- 14
• Amount of horsepower developed by generators -- 41,175
• Number of electric motors -- 583
• Amount of rated horsepower of motors -- 27,702
• Number of gallons oil consumed per annum -- 75,000

Size:

• Number of square feet of floor space in buildings -- 5,844,340
• Number of acres of floor space in buildings -- 137

Wages:

(Table showing amount of wages paid per year at end of 10 year periods)

• 1831 -- $36,298
• 1840 -- $74,239
• 1850 -- $487,005
• 1860 -- $633,680
• 1870 -- $1,107,428
• 1880 -- $1,604,322
• 1890 -- $2,435,481
• 1900 -- $2,772,611
• 1910 -- $6,176,353
• 1911 -- $6,370,089

Total amount paid in wages from 1831 to 1911: $114,753,340

References

• Tamara K. Hareven, Amoskeag: Life and Work in an American Factory-City, University Press of New England, Hanover, NH 1978
• Alan R. Sweezy, "The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company," Quarterly Journal of Economics; Vol. 52, No. 3 (May, 1938)

External links

• History of Manufacturing at Amoskeag Falls
• Millyard Museum