The Tilton Mills

The Tilton Mills. Tilton Riverfront Park. Situated on the Winnipesaukee River, the town of Tilton was a prime location for a variety of mills in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The products produced in Tilton during the height of the mill manufacuring period included children's hosiery, cotton yarn, ladies shoes, wollen goods, leather goods, machinery belts, and the world famous "Tilton Tweeds". The power of the Winnipesaukee River and the village's proximity to the railroad allowed manufacturing to flourish here. , The Tilton Riverfront Park was once the site of a very prosperous mill, known by many as the Pilsbury Mill. Originally built in 1868, and called the Winnisquam Mill, it was used to manufacture cotton. Later owners used it to manufacture ladies shoes, wollen goods, an finally, leather items. Its most redent incarnation was as the Tilton Leather Mill. Prior to its demolition, it was called "the best surviving nineteenth century wollen factory in the state." , In designing the Tilton Riverfront Park, the park committee worked diligently to capture and incorporate the history of the site into the park's design. The park's design links the past to the present in several ways. Visitors will find sitting walls down near the river that follow the outline of the mill's original foundation, as well as the original mill building. The most notable connection betweenthe past and th epresent is the bell that now hangs above the pavilion. This is the bell that originally hung in the mill and tolled daily. It has been refurbished and repainted by local artisans so that it can hang as a reminder of the town's history.