Newmarket Manufacturing Company c. 1823-1934

Newmarket Manufacturing Company c. 1823-1934. . No. 1 Mill | 1824 , In 1823, businessmen from Salem, Mass., bought property along the Lamprey River to build Newmarket's first mill. They chose granite for its durability. The No. 1 Mill of the Newmarket Mfg. Co. was completed at a cost of $11,197.94, and Main Street was moved from the river's edge to its current location. When the cupola burned in 1858, the mill's top two floors were torn off, and a bell tower was added to No. 2 Mill. , No. 2 Mill | 1825 , Using water power and more than 4,000 spindles, No. 2 Mill produced cotton textiles, turning out about 160,000 yards a week by 1869. Supplies were delivered to the mills by small packet boats and tall-masted schooners, including the Helen Mar, the North America and the Pembroke, which freighted cotton from New Orleans to Boston for 62.5 cents per 100 pounds. , No. 3 Mill | 1827 , This will was built from granite quarried on Durham Point. The machinery, installed in 1829, included 1,034 spindles. , No. 4 Mill | 1869 , Unlike the first three mills, which were built with granite blocks, No. 4 was constructed from smaller trap rock left behind in the quarries after building the original mills. The agent's office (now demolished) was located at the mill's north end – on the spot where you now stand. , No. 5 Mill | 1881 , Originally only two stories high and constructed from brick secured from local brickyards, No. 5 Mill, like its predecessors, started with a few looms weaving unbleached cotton shirting and sheeting. Eventually, these cotton goods were valued at more than $1 million per year. , No. 6 Mill | 1892 , No. 6 Mill (not pictured) was added as an extension to the south end of No. 5 and, like the others (except No. 7 and No. 8 Mills) was powered by mater. , No. 7 Mill | 1901 , The last example in town of 20th-century weave shed construction, No. 7 Mill was a three-story brick structure (now demolished) built in the No. 3 Mill yard to help increase the company's weaving capacity. , No. 8 Mill | 1917 , Known as “The Great Weave Shed,” No. 8 Mill was once the largest single textile room in the world, covering five acres. To make way for the mill, dozens of houses were relocated to neighboring streets using winches, cables, and teams of great horses. Until it closed in 1934, the mill produced silk casket linings, fur capes, and men's hats. Although No. 8 was torn down in 1942 and replaced by other businesses, the foundation can still be seen on Main and Elm Streets. , End of a Era | 1934 , In 1934, after more than a century of operation, the mills fell silent. Following several years of labor unrest, the Newmarket Manufacturing Company declared abandonment of 256 buildings lieu of paying taxes – including all the mills, the worker housing and the 14-acre mill yard. The era of pounding looms and water-powered industrialization on the banks of the Lamprey had come to an end. , Artist | R.P. Hale