Print Size: 14" x 17" (Frame Size: 16" x 20")
From modest early 19th century beginnings in the wilds of New Hampshire, Amoskeag Mills grew over the course of 75 years into the world’s largest textile mill, famous for its excellent "sheetings, shirtings and tickings." The 5.8 million-square-foot complex stretched over a mile on both sides of the Merrimack River, using water power from its falls to produce some 50 miles of fabric per hour at its height. All mill facilities in the paternalistic company town of Manchester were designed and built by the mills’ engineers using the same red brick from the company’s own brickyard. The 3-story industrial buildings were kept narrow and pierced with multiple windows for maximum natural light, their continuous facades interrupted by periodic stair towers and bell towers poking above the roofs to announce the beginning and end of work. With the introduction of the railroad in 1842, raw materials, particularly cotton from the South, were delivered on spurs alongside the mills by railcars that were then loaded with finished goods for distribution to the rest of the country – including denim for Levi Strauss. In 1914, the mill’s newspaper reported that it had “…contributed in no small degree to the success of Levi Strauss & Co. and, in return, that concern has contributed in an equal degree to the success of Amoskeag denims, advertising as it does, their superiority over all other denims.” Amoskeag Mills declared bankruptcy in 1935, unable to compete with the South’s cheaper labor, and new and improved manufacturing plants. The renovated complex is today a residential and commercial hub, occupied by condominiums, shops, restaurants, art studios, museums, college facilities, government offices and various businesses.
