As the Industrial Revolution in The United States crept north up the (comparatively*) Mighty Blackstone River, following the visionary tactic of Samuel Slater, smaller entrepreneurs were harnessing the smaller tributaries, building water-powered mills further north and to the east and west. With the mills came the mill towns. Pascoag is a mill town.
Pascoag was carved out of granite. It is spiked with granite ledges and glacially deposited boulders, a perfect spot to build mills. Granite quarries dot the landscape. Most are small, barely perceptible for what they are in the encroaching woodlands.
Many have been destroyed as Pascoag has grown over the yrs. And of course there are a couple of rather large ones, (by Pascoag's standards).
These quarries and the surrounding forests supplied much of the building materials for the mills, as well as bridges and banks. The banks have long since been replaced but many bridges remain
Quarrying was difficult dangerous work in the mid-late 1800's, and it was labor intensive. But as noted, granite & limestone were abundant & ready sources of building material.
...........Running right through the heart of town a river runs.....and hidden from view in the overgrown underbrush lies the reminders of what once was........
For Pascoag was once an industrial powerhouse, turning out fine woolen and worsted fabrics that were in global demand. The readily available building materials and steady running water made it a fine locale for the mills that blossomed like dandelions around the river...
and the inevitable Mill Villages
The click-clacking looms could be heard throughout town, the railroad made several trips a week to Northern Rhode Island and nearby Mass. to fetch the choice woolens and bring them to the shipping ports for destinations that seemed like wild dreams to the millworkers and their families.
Pascoag was carved out of granite. It is spiked with granite ledges and glacially deposited boulders, a perfect spot to build mills. Granite quarries dot the landscape. Most are small, barely perceptible for what they are in the encroaching woodlands.
These quarries and the surrounding forests supplied much of the building materials for the mills, as well as bridges and banks. The banks have long since been replaced but many bridges remain
...........Running right through the heart of town a river runs.....and hidden from view in the overgrown underbrush lies the reminders of what once was........
For Pascoag was once an industrial powerhouse, turning out fine woolen and worsted fabrics that were in global demand. The readily available building materials and steady running water made it a fine locale for the mills that blossomed like dandelions around the river...and the inevitable Mill VillagesThe click-clacking looms could be heard throughout town, the railroad made several trips a week to Northern Rhode Island and nearby Mass. to fetch the choice woolens and bring them to the shipping ports for destinations that seemed like wild dreams to the millworkers and their families.
...And now....Those mighty mills are gone.....the remnants of which dot the landscape, hiding in a century's growth, right in the heart of town....
No comments:
Post a Comment