A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles.

Europe

Italy

* '' Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Heritage Site * ''Nuovo quartiere operaio'' in Schio * ''Villaggio Leumann'' a Collegno * ''Villaggio Frua'' in Saronno * ''Villaggio operaio della Filatura'' in Tollegno

Poland

Żyrardów

The town grew out of a textile factory founded in 1833 by the sons of Feliks Lubienski, who owned the land where it was built. They brought in a specialist from France and his newly designed machines. He was French inventor, Philippe de Girard from Lourmarin. He became a director of the firm. The factory town developed during the 19th century into a significant textile mill town in Poland. In honour of Girard, 'Ruda Guzowska' as the original estate was called, was renamed Żyrardów, a toponym derived of the polonised spelling of Girard's name. Most of Żyrardów's monuments are located in the manufacturing area which dates from the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is widely believed that Żyrardów's textile settlement is the only entire urban industrial complex from the 19th-century to be preserved in Europe.

Russian Empire

* Bogorodsk-Glukhovo factory * Nikolskoye, Vladimir Governorate

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the term "mill town" usually refers to the 19th century textile manufacturing towns of northern England and the

Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowl ...

, particularly those in Lancashire (cotton) and Yorkshire ( wool). Some former mill towns have a symbol of the textile industry in their town badge. Some towns may have statues dedicated to textile workers (e.g. Colne) or have a symbol in the badge of local schools (e.g. Ossett School). The list above includes some towns where textiles was not the predominant industry. For example, mining was a key industry in Wigan and

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Sta ...

in Greater Manchester, and in Ossett in Yorkshire.

In thousands of spindles.

On his tour of northern England in 1849, Scottish publisher Angus Reach said:

North America

United States

New England and Northeast

Beginning with Samuel Slater and technological information smuggled out of England by Francis Cabot Lowell, large mills were established in New England in the early to mid 19th century. Mill towns, sometimes planned, built and owned as a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

, grew in the shadow of the industries. The region became a manufacturing powerhouse along rivers like the Housatonic, Quinebaug, Shetucket, Blackstone, Merrimack, Nashua, Cocheco, Saco, Androscoggin, Kennebec or Winooski. In the 20th century, alternatives to water power were developed, and it became more profitable for companies to manufacture textiles in southern states where cotton was grown and winters did not require significant heating costs. Finally, the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

acted as a catalyst that sent several struggling New England firms into bankruptcy. File:Assawaga Mill, Dayville, CT.jpg, Assawaga Mill, Dayville, CT, in 1909 File:American Thread Co. Mill.jpg, American Thread Co. Mill, Willimantic, CT, c. 1910 File:Hollingsworth & Whitney Paper Mills.jpg, Hollingsworth & Whitney Paper Mill, Waterville, ME, c. 1920 File:Cumberland Mills, Westbrook, ME.jpg, Cumberland Mills, Westbrook, ME, c. 1902 File:Mill Street, Attleboro, MA.jpg, Mill Street, Attleboro, MA, in 1908 File:Arlington Mills, Lawrence, MA.jpg, Arlington Mills, Lawrence, MA, in 1907 File:Merrimack Falls, Lawrence, MA.jpg, Merrimack Falls, Lawrence, MA, c. 1905 File:Noon Hour at Amoskeag Mills.jpg, Amoskeag Mills, Manchester, NH, c. 1912 File:Jackson Mills, Nashua, NH.jpg, Jackson Mills, Nashua, NH, in 1907 File:Alice Mills Rubber Mfg. Plant.jpg, Alice Mills, Woonsocket, RI, in 1911 File:Colchester Mills, Winooski, VT.jpg, Colchester Mills, Winooski, VT, in 1907

Midwest

South

File:ChadwickMills.jpg, Model Mill Settlement, Chadwick Mills, Charlotte, N.C. Published c. 1905–1915 File:WhiteOakMills.jpg, White Oak Cotton Mills, Greensboro, N.C. c. 1914 File:Wareshoalsmill.jpg, Aerial view of Ware Shoals Mill

Sawmill towns

South America

Colombia

San José de Suaita San José de Suaita is a former industrial village (mill town) located about 200 km north of Bogotá in the Department of Santander, Colombia. It became a corregimiento in 1924, by decision of the local council. Population There are 1,212 re ...

Notes

References

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External links

Museums and historic sites

Belknap Mill Society Museum, Laconia, NH

Slater Mill Historic Site, Pawtucket, RI

Lowell National Historic Park, Lowell, MA

Quinebaug & Shetucket Rivers Valley National Historic Corridor

Southern Textile Heritage Corridor, Vir, NC, SC, Ga, Al

Museum Lewiston-Auburn, Lewiston, ME
Company towns Industrial Revolution History of the textile industry Communities by industry