Mill town

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

Europe

Italy

Crespi d'Adda, UNESCO World Heritage Site^[1]
Nuovo quartiere operaio in Schio
Villaggio Leumann a Collegno^[2]
Villaggio Frua in Saronno^[3]
Villaggio operaio della Filatura in Tollegno^[4]

Poland

Żyrardów – winter panorama of main square

Żyrardów

The town grew out of a textile factory founded in 1833 by the sons of Feliks Lubienski, who owned the land where it was built. They brought in a specialist from France and his newly designed machines. He was French inventor, Philippe de Girard from Lourmarin. He became a director of the firm.^[5] The factory town developed during the 19th century into a significant textile mill town in Poland. In honour of Girard, 'Ruda Guzowska' as the original estate was called, was renamed Żyrardów, a toponym derived of the polonised spelling of Girard's name.

Most of Żyrardów's monuments are located in the manufacturing area which dates from the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is widely believed that Żyrardów's textile settlement is the only entire urban industrial complex from the 19th-century to be preserved in Europe.

Russian Empire

United Kingdom

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^[6]) 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 above 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 some large mill towns in and around Greater Manchester^{[notes 1]} 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.^[7]

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.^[8]
— Angus Reach, Morning Chronicle, 1849

North America

United States

New England and Northeast

Beginning with Samuel Slater and 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 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	Ansonia, Bridgeport, Bristol, Collinsville, Danbury, Derby, East Windsor, Enfield, Glastonbury, Hartford, Killingly, Madison, Manchester, Meriden, Middletown, Milford, Naugatuck, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Norwich, Putnam, Sandy Hook, Seymour, Shelton, Torrington, Vernon, Waterbury, Willimantic, Winchester, Windham, Windsor Locks
Maine mill towns	Anson, Auburn, Augusta, Baileyville, Biddeford, Brunswick, Chisholm, Corinna, Lewiston, Lincoln, Lisbon Falls, Livermore Falls, Millinocket, Milo, Newport, Old Town, Orono, Pittsfield, Portland, Rumford, Saco, Sanford, Skowhegan, Waterville, Westbrook, Wilton
Massachusetts mill towns See also: List of mill towns in Massachusetts	Adams, Amesbury, Athol, Attleboro, Boston, Chicopee, Clinton, Dalton, Dedham, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Gardner, Grafton, Greenfield, Haverhill, Holyoke, Hopesdale, Hudson, Lawrence, Lowell, Ludlow, Lynn, Maynard, Medford, Merrimac, Methuen, Milford, Millbury, Monson, New Bedford, North Adams, North Andover, Northbridge, Orange, Palmer, Peabody, Pittsfield, Rowley, Russell, Southbridge, Springfield, Taunton, Uxbridge, Waltham, Ware, Webster, Westborough, Winchendon, Worcester
New Hampshire mill towns	Belmont, Berlin, Claremont, Concord, 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
New Jersey mill towns	Allaire, Allentown, Bernards, Boonton, Butler, Camden, Chester, Clinton, Cranbury, Cranford, Dover, Eatontown, Elizabeth, Freehold, Griggstown, Helmetta, Hillsborough, Imlaystown, Jamesburg, Kearny, Kingston, Little Falls, Manville, Medford, Millhurst, Milltown, Millville, New Brunswick, Newark, Orange, Paterson, Perth Amboy, Plainfield, Prallsville, Rahway, Raritan, Roselle Park, Smithville, South Brunswick, Stillwater, Tinton Falls, Trenton, Walnford, Wharton, Woodbridge
New York mill towns	Albany, Amsterdam, Aurora-on-Cayuga, Beacon, Belmont, Bloomvale, Buffalo, Clinton, Corning, Gardiner, Ithaca, Kingston, Little Falls, Marlboro, Mechanicville, Middletown, Montgomery, New Berlin, New York Mills, Newburgh, Newcomb, Niles, Philmont, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Rome, Roslyn, Saddle Rock, Schenectady, Schuylerville, Sleepy Hollow, Stony Brook, Sunset Park, Syracuse, Troy, Utica, Victory, Water Mill
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

Assawaga Mill, Dayville, CT, in 1909
American Thread Co. Mill, Willimantic, CT, c. 1910
Hollingsworth & Whitney Paper Mill, Waterville, ME, c. 1920
Cumberland Mills, Westbrook, ME, c. 1902
Mill Street, Attleboro, MA, in 1908
Arlington Mills, Lawrence, MA, in 1907
Merrimack Falls, Lawrence, MA, c. 1905
Amoskeag Mills, Manchester, NH, c. 1912
Jackson Mills, Nashua, NH, in 1907
Alice Mills, Woonsocket, RI, in 1911
Colchester Mills, Winooski, VT, in 1907

Midwest

State	Towns
Wisconsin mill towns	Biron (Biron Mill)

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, Beirne, Calion, Crossett, Delight, Dierks, Glenwood, Jones Mill, Malvern, Mountain Pine
Georgia mill towns	Bibb City, Cabbagetown, Chicopee, Hogansville, New Holland, New Manchester
Maryland mill towns	Ellicott City, Jerusalem, Oella, Owings Mills, Savage
North Carolina mill towns	Alamance, Altamahaw, Bellemont, Burlington, Bynum, Canton, Caroleen, Carolina, Carrboro, Cliffside, Coleridge, Concord, Cooleemee, Cramerton, Drexel, Eden, Edgemont (East Durham), Enka, Falls, Franklinville, Glen Raven, Glencoe, Hanes, Haw River, Henrietta, High Falls, High Shoals, Hildebran, Hope Mills, Kannapolis, Long Shoals, Mayodan, McAdenville, Mooresville, Mount Holly, Oakdale, Ramseur, 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, Glendale, Graniteville, Great Falls, Inman, Joanna, La France, Lockhart, Lyman, Newry, Pacolet Mills, Pelzer, Piedmont, Slater, Startex, Ware Shoals, Watts Mills, Whitmire

Model Mill Settlement, Chadwick Mills, Charlotte, N.C. Published c. 1905–1915
White Oak Cotton Mills, Greensboro, N.C. c. 1914
Aerial view of Ware Shoals Mill

Sawmill towns

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

South America

Colombia

San José de Suaita

Notes

^ Sourced from a book entitled Cotton Mills of Greater Manchester, although not all of these towns are within Greater Manchester.

References

^ "Crespi D'Adda UNESCO – Sito ufficiale" (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2019.
^ "Associazione Amici della Scuola del Villaggio Leumann" (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2019.
^ "Abitare a Saronno tra '800 e '900" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2019.
^ "Villaggio operaio della Filatura" (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2019.
^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Girard, Philippe Henri de". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
^ "Steel statue tribute of mill girl". BBC. 24 July 2018.
^ 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.
^ WRITER, ALAN BURKE STAFF. "Leather goes to War at Peabody's Leather Museum".
^ "Peabody Institute Library : Online Collections". peabodylibrary.pastperfectonline.com.

[7] Sourced from a book entitled Cotton Mills of Greater Manchester, although not all of these towns are within Greater Manchester.

[1] "Crespi D'Adda UNESCO – Sito ufficiale" (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2019.

[2] "Associazione Amici della Scuola del Villaggio Leumann" (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2019.

[3] "Abitare a Saronno tra '800 e '900" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2019.

[4] "Villaggio operaio della Filatura" (in Italian). Retrieved 5 February 2019.

[5] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Girard, Philippe Henri de". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

[6] "Steel statue tribute of mill girl". BBC. 24 July 2018.

[8] Williams, Mike; Farnie (1992). Cotton Mills of Greater Manchester. Carnegie Publishing. ISBN 0-9487898-9-1.

[Powell1986-9] Powell, Rob (1986). In the Wake of King Cotton. Rochdale Art Gallery. p. 12.

[10] WRITER, ALAN BURKE STAFF. "Leather goes to War at Peabody's Leather Museum".

[11] "Peabody Institute Library : Online Collections". peabodylibrary.pastperfectonline.com.

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