Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 1.djvu/36

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��MANUFACTURING AT MANCHESTER.

��A large number of Boston capi- talists united aud resolved to lay the foundations of a great manufactur- ing town. Accordingly, in the year 1831, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was incorporated, with a capital of $1,600,000. The stock of the old Amoskeag Company was merged into that of the new one and the remainder of the stock was taken up in a short time. The Company secured a title to all the water power upon the Merrimack at Manchester, Hooksett and at Garvin's Falls be- low Concord. Upwards of fifteen hundred acres of land on the east side of the river at Manchester were purchased. Those lands extended from the falls south for a distance of about a mile and a half and a mile in an easterly direction. A new town was laid out, the streets crossing each other at right angles. A new stone dam and two canals with guard locks also were constructed. It was the plan of the company to furnish other companies with sites and power for mills and to erect such mills to be operated on their own ac- count and at the same time to sell their lands for stores, dwelling houses, &c. The first mill in the new town was erected by the Amos- keag Company for the Stark Corpo- ration in 1838. The Amoskeag Com- pany also built a machine shop and foundry the same year, and, in 1839, the Company built two mills on their own account. In 1843 this Company erected another mill which was 450 feet long 70 feet wide and five stories high. These were fol- lowed by others at various times, un- til now the Company has ten mills which are among the largest in the

country.

��The Company have recently made very extensive improvements which required a great outlay of money. Among these, are a new stone dam which was erected in 1873 at a cost of $50,000. The channel of the river opposite the manufactering estab- lishments has been turned so that about ten acres of very valuable land has been secured for manufacturing purposes.

The Amoskeag Company has been very successful, and it appears by the last annual report of the Treas- urer, William Amory of Boston, that the dividends have averaged 13 per cent, annually for the forty years he has held the office, and that the total value of the property is now $5,300,000. It also appears that there is a reserved fund of $1,700,- 000. Mr. Amory resigned in 1876 and was succeeded by T. Jefferson Coolidge.

Ex-Gov. Straw, who has been con- nected with the Company from the first, in various capacities has been the Agent for more than twenty years. C. L. Richardson is Clerk.

The Company manufactures Tick- ings, Denims, Drillings, Sheetings, Canton Flannels, Grain Bags, Ging- hams, Shirting Stripes, and a va- riety of fancy cotton fabrics. Also, Steam Fire Engines, machinery, &c.

The following are additional sta- tistics :

Capital Stock in 3000 shares $3,000,000

Number of Mills 10

Number of Spindles 135,000

Number of Looms 4,500

Number of Females employed 2,000

Number of Males employed J 2,000

Pounds of Cotton consumed per week 250,000 Pounds of Cloth made per week 225,000

Yards Cloth made per week 700,000

Tons Coal used per annum 10,000

Cords Woods used per annum 1 ,000

Gallons Oil used per annum 14,000

Pounds of Starch used per annum— 250

tons 500,000

Drugs used per annum $200,000

Water-wheels used: 3 8 ft, 13 5 ft., turbines. Aggregate II. P., about 4,000

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