A History of the Belknap Mill: The Pride of Laconia's Industrial Heritage

by Carol Lee Anderson, J. Paul Morin (Foreword by)

Overview

Laconia's Belknap Mill thrived in the boom of the Industrial Revolution. The historic mill swiftly rose to the forefront of the city's hosiery industry in the nineteenth century. Lakes Region historian Carol Lee Anderson reveals the mill's unique history, including its inventive, entrepreneurial owners, their climb to industrial success and the challenges they overcame. This fascinating story encompasses the saga of countless French-Canadian immigrants whose arrival in the Lakes Region influenced the course of industry and daily life in the city of Laconia. The mill's story continues, and the preservation of this historic textile mill includes a fierce struggle of historic values versus urban renewal. Learn how this early symbol of the Industrial Revolution fought to become the pride of Laconia's industrial heritage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626192416
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	06/24/2014
Series:	Landmarks
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

For nearly a decade, historian Carol Lee Anderson has written about local history throughout the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire. She has served as a board member for a number of historical societies, and, in 2009, she became a founder and first president of the Gunstock Mountain Historical Society. Carol published The History of Gunstock: Skiing in the Belknap Mountains" and "The New England Life of Cartoonist Bob Montana: Beyond the Archie Comic Strip" with The History Press. Laconia local J.Paul Morin's family owned and operated the Belknap Mill for three key generations."

Table of Contents

Foreword J. Paul Morin 9

Acknowledgements 11

Introduction 15

1 The Flow of Water 19

2 From the Ashes Came a Mill 25

3 Meredith Divides 33

4 Mechanical Genius 39

5 The Mill Next Door 47

6 Against the Odds 52

7 J.P. Morin: A French-Canadian Success Story 61

8 Power, Religion and Education 67

9 Morin's Mill 74

10 That's Men's Work 83

11 Relying on the Girls 92

12 Their Words, Their Stories 102

13 When One Door Closes Forever 108

14 Save the Mills 115

15 Another Door Opens 125

16 We Had a Good Life 133

Appendix 141

Notes 143

Bibliography 149

Index 153

About the Author 157