Cocheco Mills

The Cocheco Mills are a historic mill complex in the heart of Dover, New Hampshire. The mills occupy a site at a bend in the Cocheco River that has been the site of industrial activity since at least 1822, when the Dover Cotton Factory was built there. The present mill buildings were built between the 1880s and the early 20th century,[2] and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.[1]

Cocheco Mills
Mill #1
LocationMain and Washington Sts., Dover, New Hampshire
Coordinates43°11′44″N 70°52′23″W
Area11.5 acres (4.7 ha)
Built1822 (1822)
ArchitectMultiple
NRHP reference No.14000081[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 26, 2014

Description
Dover, New Hampshire – Child laborers at Cocheco Manufacturing Company in 1909. Photo by Lewis Hine.

The surviving elements of the mill complex are six major manufacturing buildings, the dam and wheel house which diverted water to the mills, a steel bridge, and the smokestack and remains of the boiler house of the complex.

Dam, wheel house and bridge

The dam stretches across the Cocheco River in a broad arc roughly west of mills #2 and #3. It is made of rough-cut granite ashlar, and stands between 9 and 150 feet in height. It has a modern concrete spillway. The dam was built sometime between 1905 and 1925, replacing an earlier dam. The wheel house stands east of mill #2, and is a small single-story brick structure built on a concrete arch which spans the space between mill #2 and the river. The bridge is a steel truss structure spanning the river west of mill #3. Probably built in the 1880s, it has wooden decking and a decorative balustrade.[2]

Mills

There are four main mill buildings in the complex. The #1 mill is a five-story brick building located south of Washington Street. It was built in 1908 after the previous #1 mill was destroyed by fire; portions of the older structure that survived the fire were supposedly reused in its construction. The 1880 #2 mill marks the northern end of the complex, and is located between Main Street and Central Avenue. It is a four-story brick structure, and is joined at the south end to mill #3, which was built in 1881 and actually spans the river. An L-shaped extension added in 1909 replaced the old #4 mill. The #5 mill, built in 1825, is the oldest surviving element in the complex. Originally 25 bays in length, a portion of the building was demolished in the mid-20th century, leaving the present 10 bays. It has a distinctive Gothic Revival tower to which a belfry was added in the 1850s.[2]

Picker houses

There are two picker houses, both built between 1905 and 1925. The #1 house is adjacent to the #1 mill at the south end of the complex. It is a brick structure three stories tall and roughly 12 bays long and 8 wide. It is joined to the #1 mill by a pair of two-story enclosed bridges. The #2 house is at the north end of the complex; it is a brick structure three stories tall, although because of the site topography one facade only shows two stories. Also 12 by 8 bays in dimension, it was once connected by an enclosed bridge to mill #2, but this has been removed.[2]

History

The mill began operation in 1823, and in 1828 was the site of one of the first textile mill strikes "in which women participated virtually alone".[3] The mills were operated by the Cocheco Mill Company until 1909, when the plant was purchased by Pacific Mill Works of Lawrence, Massachusetts. In addition to textile processing, Pacific operated the Cocheco Print Works on the premises. Competition from textile processors in the American South, combined with the effects of the Great Depression led Pacific to shutter the complex in 1937. The city purchased the complex at auction in 1940. The buildings have since been home to a succession of smaller enterprises, primarily engaged in manufacturing.[2] The building now houses apartments.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "NRHP nomination for Cocheco Mills" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
  3. Nisonoff, Laurie (January 1981). "Bread and Roses: The Proletarianisation of Women Workers in New England Textile Mills, 1827-1848". Historical Journal of Massachusetts. 9 (1): 4–5.
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