Harrisville, New Hampshire
and Its Woolen Mill
by Patricia L. Cummings
photos by James Cummings
A photo essay that features some of the brick buildings, and important sites of this historic mill town.
One fine day in early autumn, 2008, we decided to take a ride to Harrisville, New Hampshire, an off-the-beaten-path sort of place, best known for its production of fine woolen textiles. Their goods always have been synonymous with quality.
One of the many brick mill buildings at the Harrisville complex
I have always been enchanted by the old, empty mills of New England. Once inside some of these buildings, one can almost imagine the clang of the machines, the stale air of cotton manufactories, and the intent looks on the faces of the workers who attempted to keep the machinery going.
View from another angle. Note the wildflowers and stream.
In the 19th century, grist mills, saw mills, and fulling mills were commonly found in small communities. The Industrial Revolution in the United States found its roots in the work of a young English immigrant, Samuel Slater of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Soon, mill industries of all kinds, from foundries to paper factories could be found near the waterways of New England.
Most important to us are the mills that produced textiles. One reaston that textile mills stand out in memory is due to the sheer number of people they employed. Of course, not all mills were as large as the Amoskeag Mills on the Merrimack River, an employment option for hundreds of immigrants in the early nineteenth century, and the "Mill Girls," who left their farms of origin to learn a new way of life in Lowell, MA, or Manchester, NH.
Canal, at Harrisville Woolen Mills, has pond lilies.
The Old Millstream
Mills relied on water power and therefore, were located on the many streams and rivers of the New England States. In New Hampshire, another important textile mill was the Cocheco Mill in Dover, especially noted for its cotton fabrics, many of which have been reproduced recently, for quilters.
Small waterfall at Harrisville Mills.
The Crompton Loom
In the book, A New Order of Things: How the Textile Industry Transformed New England, Paul E. Rivard discusses the winter's day in 1843 when a Crompton loom for making "fancy cassimere" was delivered in a large sleigh by William Crompton. (91) This piece of equipment revolutionized the art of weaving on four-harness looms which could also be accessorized with a Jacquard mechanism, in order to create a wide variety of weaves. The designs made by the loom came to be called "fancy cassimeres." (92) The new use of machinery led to refinements and an increase in woolen mills in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Harrisville Cemetery Has a View of the Water
Gift Shop Extensive
Today, one of the large brick buildings is home to a gift shop that offers supplies to knitters and weavers. Anyone who loves textiles would enjoy browsing through all that is available, including a loom, should you wish to buy one! There are yarns galore, fiber-made toys for children, books, and much more.
Harrisville: town memorial dedicated to war veterans
Mill Site: A Working Museum
Throught the efforts of townspeople, the Harrisville Woolen Mills site remains as it looked in the nineteenth century. Listed as a National Historic Landmark, the buildings and land upon which they set are being preserved through innovative means, including "historic district legislation, revolving loan funds for restoration work, adaptive reuse of buildings and a system of legal preservation covenants." That information is stated on the inside book cover of Factory Under the Elms: a history of Harrisville, New Hampshire, 1774-1969 by John Borden Armstrong, (Museum of American Textile History, 1985).
This is a lovely little brick building in town is used as the public library.
Schedule of Workshops Received for 2009
Harrisville Designs offers studio classes in Felting, Knitting, Spinning, Weaving and more. These are offered from April through November, with highly-qualified instructors on hand. Tantalizing course names include: Nuno Felting, Portuguese Knitting, Smashing Color Theory, Knit a Sheltand Lace Shawl, and many others, in fact, twenty-three different courses in all. For more information, visit their website: http://www.harrisville.com
Contact Information
The Knitting and Weaving Center Store and Studio is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10-5. Open Mondays, during classes.
Notice received on June 4, 2009,
New classes have been added. Summer hours are Sundays 12-4, and Mondays
10-5. Be sure to check
out our new classes, and give us a call.
Harrisville Designs
4 Mill Alley, Harrisville NH 03450
Fax: 603.827.3335
Class Availability: 603.827.3996
"Pieces of the Past"
We love to see "pieces of the past," and we are forever wayfaring strangers upon New Hampshires byways and sideroads, looking for an interesting story to bring to your computer. We hope you have enjoyed this mini-essay. As always, there is so much more to say. Until next time,
Song: "The Work of the Weavers"
Patricia and James Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH pat@quiltersmuse.com