The North Pownal Mill Site

The North Pownal Mill Site. . , Like many Vermont communities, North Pownal developed around an industry powered by a waterway. An eighteenth century grist mill and a mid-nineteenth-century woolen mill were the first industries to locate here along the Hoosic River. The opening of a rail line in 1859 made the site even more appealing to industry., Labor in the Cotton Mills , To help meet labor demands, French-Canadian immigrants, women, and children were employed in the cotton mill. As part of a national investigation of child labor practices, Lewis Hine photographed children working in the mill in 1910. This image of 12-year-old Addie Card was used on a Child Labor Reform stamp, issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 1998., The Mill Village , The presence of the cotton mill led to the development of a small village to support the needs of the mill and its workers. The comparty constructed worker housing, and the children of mill workers were educated in the company school. Powell's General Store, shown here in the early twentieth century, catered to the needs of mill workers, Nineteenth-Century Industrial Architecture , After woolen mill burned to the ground in 1863, the ute was quickly reoccupied by the North Pownal Colton Mill. The brick cotton mill building featured a stair tower with exterior doors, allowing materials to be transported between levels. Many similar examples of industrial architecture survive in nearby North Adams, Massachusetts, The Pownal Tanning Company and the End of an Era , Due to aging technology and increasing competition from mills in the southern states, the cotton mill was closed in 1930. The mill building was reopened as the Pownal Tanning Company in 1936. The tannery converted sheep and cow hides into finished leather for use in products such as shoes and coats. With decreasing demand for leather, Vermont’s last commercial tannery closed its doors in 1988.