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Amoskeag Millyard and Merrimack River, as viewed from the New Hampshire Heritage Trail
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Amoskeag Millyard
A Local Legacy
What's a "company town"? In case you're not sure, the story of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire, is a good example of one.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was the largest maker of cotton cloth in the world. It employed most of the town's people and became so powerful that it even played a big role in city planning. No other manufacturing companies could think about locating in New Hampshire without Amoskeag's permission, because it owned most of the land available for industry. At first, only young women worked at the Amoskeag mills. After the Civil War, men were also hired, as were many immigrants. The mill brought great prosperity to the city. But that prosperity did not last forever. After the First World War, many textile mills were located in the South, which was closer to the cotton farms and where wages were lower. Eventually, the Amoskeag Company had to lower wages to stay in business, causing the workers to strike in 1922. The company reopened, but it was not as strong as before. In 1935, it closed forever, bringing economic disaster to the town and its people.
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About Local Legacies
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