Mill town

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.[3]

— Angus Reach, Morning Chronicle, 1849

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.[8] 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.

Peabody, Massachusetts A. C. Lawrence Leather Co. a factory town circa 1910.[9][10]

The Androscoggin River at Berlin, New Hampshire

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.

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

Laurel Mill (Laurel Factory)

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

• San José de Suaita

• American Textile History Museum, Lowell, MA
• Belknap Mill Society Museum, Laconia, NH
• Berlin and Coös County Historical Society, Berlin, NH
• Slater Mill Historic Site, Pawtucket, RI
• Lowell National Historic Park, Lowell, MA
• Lynn Heritage State Park, Lynn, MA
• The Millyard Museum, Manchester, NH
• Quinebaug & Shetucket Rivers Valley National Historic Corridor
• San Jose de Suaita Cotton Mill Museum
• Southern Textile Heritage Corridor, Vir, NC, SC, Ga, Al
• Museum Lewiston-Auburn, Lewiston, ME