Mill town

For places called Milltown, see Milltown.

"Mill village" redirects here. For other uses, see Mill Village.

A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories (usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles).

United Kingdom

Oldham in Greater Manchester, England, is an archetypal British "mill town". Oldham is home to many historic cotton mills which together were its largest source of work. Today the wider fashion and sportswear industries employ a small minority of Oldham's population.

In the United Kingdom, the term "mill town" usually refers to the 19th century textile manufacturing towns of northern England and the Scottish Lowlands, particularly those in Lancashire (cotton) and Yorkshire (wool).

Some former mill towns have a symbol of the textile industry in their town badge. Some towns may have statues dedicated to textile workers (e.g. Colne ) or have a symbol in the badge of local schools (e.g. Ossett School).

County	Towns
Cheshire mill towns	Congleton, Crewe, Macclesfield
Derbyshire mill towns	Glossop, Hadfield, New Mills
Greater Manchester mill towns	Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Bury, Chadderton, Failsworth, Heywood, Hyde, Lees, Leigh, Manchester, Middleton, Oldham, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom, Reddish, Rochdale, Royton, Shaw and Crompton, Stalybridge, Stockport, Wigan
Lancashire mill towns	Accrington, Bacup, Barnoldswick, Blackburn, Burnley, Calder Vale, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Nelson, Oakenclough, Padiham, Preston for others see table below.
Yorkshire mill towns	Batley, Bingley, Bradford, Brighouse, Cleckheaton, Dewsbury, Elland, Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Keighley, Morley, Mytholmroyd, Ossett, Pudsey, Shipley, Skipton, Sowerby Bridge, Todmorden, Yeadon

The list below includes some towns where textiles was not the predominant industry. For example, mining was a key industry in Wigan and Leigh in Greater Manchester, and in Ossett in Yorkshire.

Spindleage of Lancashire mill towns producing spun cotton between 1830 and 1962

Date	1883	1893	1903	1913	1923	1926	1933	1944	1953	1962
Accrington	590	438	467	660	191	718	469	287	152	92
Ashton	1,574	1,731	1,781	1,955	1898	1,144	644	633	182
Blackburn	1,671	1,398	1,321	1,280	1,224	1,071	672	451	309	103
Bolton	4,086	4,770	5,457	6,797	7,371	7,842	7,507	6,204	4,886	1,772
Burnley	1,126	734	667	563	538	507	240	182	144	14
Bury	875	899	833	955	1050	1000	745	630	524	268
Chorley	552	527	541	856	838	837	739	491	397	122
Farnworth	557	779	966	1,485	1,478	1,484	1,344	1,237	1,104	162
Glossop	1,106	1,158	968	882	821	839	524	204	154	10
Heywood	660	887	836	1,070	1,100	1,096	864	545	533	68
Hyde	590	499	533	741	793	696	475	366	337	58
Leigh	1,337	1,514	1,679	2,445	2,761	2,925	2,891	2,615	2,336	548
Manchester	2,445	2,353,	2,225	3,703	3,307	3,439	3,417	2,974	1,934	271
Middleton	498	494	645	1,278	1,268	1,252	1,041	1,193	923	161
Mossley	1,153	1,217	1,033	1,288	1,297	1,289	371	264	256	-
Oldham	9,311	11,159	12,230	16,909	17,231	17,669	13,732	8,948	7,621	2,478
Preston	2,146	1,883	2,074	2,161	1,997	1,965	1,592	1,146	1,024	278
Rochdale	1,627	1,835	2,422	3,645	3,749	3,793	3,539	2,459	1,936	983
Stalybridge	1,083	1,157	1,027	1,236	1,104	1,103	801	483	426	122
Stockport	1,601	1,742	1,568	2,266	2,382	1,924	1,427	1,141	154
Wigan	864	775	888	1,085	1,123	1,141	922	681	575	352

In thousands of spindles. ^[1]

On his tour of northern England in 1849, Scottish publisher Angus Reach said:

In general, these towns wear a monotonous sameness of aspect, physical and moral... In fact, the social condition of the different town populations is almost as much alike as the material appearance of the tall chimneys under which they live. Here and there the height of the latter may differ by a few rounds of brick, but in all essential respects, a description of one is a description of all.^[2]
— Angus Reach, Morning Chronicle, 1849

United States

New England

The Androscoggin River at Berlin, New Hampshire

Beginning with technological information smuggled out of England by Francis Cabot Lowell, large mills were established in New England in the early to mid 19th century. Mill towns, sometimes planned, built and owned as a company town, grew in the shadow of the industries. The region became a manufacturing powerhouse along rivers like the Housatonic, Quinebaug, Shetucket, Blackstone, Merrimack, Nashua, Cocheco, Saco, Androscoggin, Kennebec or Winooski.

"In the nineteenth century, saws and axes made in New England cleared the forests of Ohio; New England ploughs broke the prairie sod, New England scales weighed wheat and meat in Texas; New England serge clothed businessmen in San Francisco; New England cutlery skinned hides to be tanned in Milwaukee and sliced apples to be dried in Missouri; New England whale oil lit lamps across the continent; New England blankets warmed children by night and New England textbooks preached at them by day; New England guns armed the troops; and New England dies, lathes, looms, forges, presses and screwdrivers outfitted factories far and wide." - Jane Jacobs, The Economy of Cities, 1969

In the 20th century, alternatives to water power were developed, and it became more profitable for companies to manufacture textiles in southern states where cotton was grown and winters did not require significant heating costs. Finally, the Great Depression acted as a catalyst that sent several struggling New England firms into bankruptcy.

State	Towns
Connecticut mill towns	Bridgeport, Danbury, East Windsor, Enfield, Hartford, Killingly, Manchester, Middletown, Naugatuck, New Haven, New London, Norwich, Putnam, Seymour, Shelton, Torrington, Vernon, Waterbury, Willimantic, Winchester, Windham, Windsor Locks
Maine mill towns	Anson, Auburn, Baileyville, Biddeford, Brunswick, Chisholm, Corinna, Lewiston, Lincoln, Lisbon Falls, Livermore Falls, Millinocket, Milo, Newport, Old Town, Orono, Pittsfield, Rumford, Saco, Sanford, Skowhegan, Waterville, Westbrook, Wilton
Massachusetts mill towns See also: List of mill towns in Massachusetts	Adams, Amesbury, Athol, Attleboro, Chicopee, Clinton, Dalton, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Gardner, Grafton, Greenfield, Haverhill, Holyoke, Hudson, Lawrence, Lowell, Ludlow, Lynn, Maynard, Methuen, Milford, Millbury, Monson, New Bedford, North Adams, North Andover, Orange, Pittsfield, Russell, Southbridge, Springfield, Taunton, Uxbridge, Waltham, Ware, Webster, Winchendon, Worcester
New Hampshire mill towns	Belmont, Berlin, Claremont, Dover, East Rochester, Franklin, Gonic, Gorham, Greenville, Groveton, Harrisville, Jaffrey, Keene, Laconia, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lincoln, Manchester, Milford, Milton, Nashua, Newmarket, Newport, Penacook, Pittsfield, Rochester, Rollinsford, Somersworth, Suncook, Tilton, Troy, Wilton
Rhode Island mill towns	Bristol, Burrillville, Central Falls, Coventry, Cumberland, Lincoln, Pawtucket, Providence, Slatersville, Valley Falls, West Warwick, Westerly, Woonsocket
Vermont mill towns	Bellows Falls, Bethel, Brattleboro, Bridgewater, Burlington, Ludlow, Newport, Springfield, Vergennes, Winooski

Mid-Atlantic

State	Towns
Maryland mill towns	Ellicott City, Jerusalem, Oella, Owings Mills, Savage
Laurel Mill (Laurel Factory)	New Jersey mill towns	Clinton, Millville

South

State	Towns
Alabama mill towns	Fairfax (Fairfax Mill and Fair View Mill), Lanett (Lanett Mill), Langdale (Langdale Mill), Sylacauga (Avondale Mill), Opelika (Opelika Mill), River View (Riverdale Mill), Shawmut (Shawmut Mill), Valley (Carter/Lanier Mill)
Arkansas mill towns	Amity, Delight, Glenwood, Malvern, Mountain Pine
Georgia mill towns	Bibb City, Cabbagetown, Chicopee, Hogansville, New Holland, New Manchester
North Carolina mill towns	Alamance, Bellemont, Burlington, Bynum, Canton, Carolina, Carrboro, Cliffside, Concord, Cooleemee, Drexel, Edgemont (East Durham), Enka, North Carolina , Falls, Glen Raven, Glencoe , Hanes, Haw River, High Shoals, Hildebran, Kannapolis, Long Shoals, McAdenville, Mooresville, Mount Holly, North Carolina, Rhodhiss, Riegelwood, Roanoke Rapids, Sawmills, Saxapahaw, Spencer Mountain, Swepsonville, West Durham, West Hillsborough
South Carolina mill towns	Cateechee, Central, Cherokee Falls, Columbia (Olympia and Granby Mills), Fort Mill, Graniteville, Great Falls, Joanna, La France, Lockhart, Lyman, Newry, Pacolet Mills, Pelzer, Piedmont, Slater, Ware Shoals, Watts Mills, Whitmire

Sawmill towns

State	Towns
Illinois	Carrier Mills, Harrisburg
Oregon	Roseburg
Wisconsin	Eau Claire

Model Mill Settlement, Chadwick Mills, Charlotte, N.C. Published circa 1905-1915

White Oak Cotton Mills, Greensboro, N.C. circa 1914

Aerial view of Ware Shoals Mill

South America

Colombia

San José de Suaita

References

↑
- Williams, Mike; Farnie (1992). Cotton Mills of Greater Manchester. Carnegie Publishing. ISBN 0-9487898-9-1
↑ Powell, Rob (1986). In the Wake of King Cotton. Rochdale Art Gallery. p. 12.

External links

Museums and historic sites

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