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Winooski Falls Mill District

The Winooski Falls Mill District is located along the Winooski River in the cities of Winooski and Burlington, Vermont, in the United States of America. It encompasses a major industrial area that developed around two sets of falls on the river in the 19th century.

Winooski Falls Mill District
Chace Mill on the Winooski Falls
LocationWinooski and Burlington, Vermont
Coordinates44°29′20″N 73°11′15″W / 44.488889°N 73.1875°W / 44.488889; -73.1875Coordinates: 44°29′20″N 73°11′15″W / 44.488889°N 73.1875°W / 44.488889; -73.1875
Area20 acres (8.1 ha) (original size)
1.4 acres (0.57 ha) (size of 1993 increase)
NRHP reference No.79000223[1] (original)
93001009 (increase 1)
09000916 (increase 2)
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 9, 1978
Boundary increasesSeptember 30, 1993
November 12, 2009

Location

The Winooski River flows from the southeast into Burlington Bay, Lake Champlain. The city of Burlington in Chittenden County, Vermont is on the south bank and Winooski and Colchester on the north. It is 45 miles (72 km) from the Canada–US border. There are two sets of falls on the river; the settlement of Winooski is placed between the falls. The historic district refers to the mills built on both banks at the lower falls. The designated district stretches on the northern bank of the river to Center and Canal Streets, including 110 West Canal Street, and on the southern bank including Burlington addresses 485 to 497 Colchester Avenue, 5 to 21 Mill Street and 10 to 32 (even numbers only) Barrett Street.[2] The Burlington addresses represent a 1993 enlargement of the district.[3]

History

In 1789, Ira Allen, one of the towns founders built a dam across the upper falls, and used it to power two saw mills to provide cut timber for the British market in Québec. It was in 1835 that the water rights to the Colchester bank were secured and in 1835 the Burlington Woolen Mill was constructed beneath the lower falls. They followed the employment patterns used in Lowell, Massachusetts, and employed single girls to work in the mills. A series of tenement houses were built to house the operatives, on common land on the hill leading to Winooski Falls Village. The second mill, the Winooski Mill, a cotton mill, was built in 1846 by the Winooski Mill Company on the Burlington side of the river. This operated as such until 1888 when it was reorganised into the Burlington Cotton Mill.[2]

Wool remained the less profitable fiber until the cotton famine of the 1860. This and improvements in wool cleaning techniques caused rapid expansion and the construction of new mills. Water power systems improved, and new steam powered system expanded capacity. This require more operatives and a large number of French Canadians and Irish workers were employed. The Colchester Merino Mill and the Winooski Worsted Mill were built in the 1880s.[2]

In 1902, the American Woolen Company purchased all the mills from the Burlington Woolen Company and refurbished them with modern equipment. The Champlain Mill was built in 1912. By 1922, the American Woolen Company was the state's largest employer and Winooski Falls split from Colchester, incorporating itself as the City of Winooski.

In 1927, there was a major flood where the dams were destroyed and all mills suffered heavy damage, from which some never recovered. The mills closed in 1954.[2]

Child labor

Lewis Hine

 
Lewis Hine photographed Raoul Julien working as a "back-roping boy in a mule spinning room in Chace Mill, in 1909.
 
Leopold Daigneau and Arsene Lussier, 1909

Lewis Hine (September 26, 1874, Oshkosh, Wisconsin – November 3, 1940) was an American sociologist and photographer. Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform. His photographs were instrumental in changing the child labor laws in the United States.[4] In 1908, he became the photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), leaving his former teaching position. Over the next decade, Hine documented child labor in American industry to aid the NCLC's lobbying efforts to end the practice.[5] In 1909 he visited Burlington, and took photographs in Chace Mill. These demonstrate the employment practices where children with French Canadian names are seen to be working in responsible posts, and equally they provide images of the machines in use at the time. Mule spinning was relatively rare in the United States; where ring spinning predominated.

Buildings

Burlington Woolen Mill

This five-story mill was built of local stone over a canal that drove its centrally placed waterwheel. It was built in 1837 and destroyed by fire in 1961. A timber dam was constructed across the lower falls to provide a head for this wheel. The timber dam was destroyed in the floods of 1927.[2] As of 1921 the Burlington Mills employed 1,500 workers who produced items such as Kerseys, Friezes, Meltons, Thibets and worsted dress goods.[6]

Chace Cotton Mill

44°29′18″N 73°11′06″W / 44.4884°N 73.1849°W / 44.4884; -73.1849 (Burlington Mill)

A three-story, 34-bay brick-built mill built on the site of a previous mill. Water for the waterwheel entered through two head gates connected to the upper dam. One gate opened to the working wheel, while the other lead to the wheel pit of a former wheel, a wallower passes the rotary motion to each floor, which contain line shafts. The Lewis Hine photograph shows that mill had spinning mules with a short travel. The mill was built by the Burlington Mill Company in 1892, and changed its name when it was purchased by the Chace Mills of Fall River in 1912.[2][7]

Champlain Mill

A five-story mill, of 28 bays by 8 bays. (280 feet (85 m) by100 feet (30 m).[2]

Colchester Merino Mill

The Colchester Merino Mill built in 1880 and extended in 1902 stands in a group of buildings built on a large rock outcrop. The buildings are dated from 1860 to 1902. The 1902 extension connected it to the Winooski Worsted Mill. Its name tells us that this was a woolen mill built to spin the finest long staple merino wool. It was a 3-story brick built mill with heavy beam construction. The twenty pane windows are topped by segmental brick arches. It was powered by an internal waterwheel which exploited a sliceway from an earlier mill, and used the head provided by the timber dam at the lower falls.[2]

Winooski Worsted Mill

In the same complex as the Colchester Merino Mill, the Winooski Worsted Mill is a similar design. Worsted is a different thread from woolen using combing rather than carding techniques. The building was similar in design to the Merino Mill; the wood beams though were strengthened by metal tie rods.[2]

Carbonizing Mill

This is a 1909, brick built structure built for one process in the cleaning of wool. It is a two-story brick building, with basement, oriented parallel to West Canal Street. It comprises a twenty-by-five bay main block, with projecting center bays, attached engine room and dye house with the typical louvred slat roof lights.

Raw wool would be weighed and sorted according to a variety of classifications, and sent on for opening, willowing and pickering. Wool fibers would be spread into smooth open layers, cut into slices and cleared of large pieces of vegetative matter. It would be sent for cleaning, or scouring in large vats containing a solution of water, soap and carbonate of potash, and then dried. Scouring did not remove all vegetative particles. In a carbonizing process the wool passed through bowls or troughs containing a solution of sulfuric acid or aluminum chloride where the remaining burrs were burnt off.[6]

Timber dam

A lattice work of timber was built across the river, in a manner that was common in New England timber crib dams, what is interesting is the infilling. This was a very early example of the use of concrete. It is here that the Chase Mills Hydro-electric project will be situated.[8][9]

Current use

The Hydropower Reform Coalition has used the water channels to power a 7.4MW Turbo-Generator.[10] Some of the buildings have been converted into loft apartments.

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hugh Boyd & Roger Brevoort (1978). "NRHP nomination for Winooski Falls Mill District". National Park Service. Retrieved December 13, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link) with photos from 1978
  3. ^ Thomas Visser & Reid Larson (1993). "NRHP nomination for Winooski Falls Mill District (1993 increase)". National Park Service. Retrieved December 13, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link) with photos from 1986
  4. ^ The Lewis Hine Project retrieved October 15, 2009
  5. ^ The American Quarterly, Lewis Hine:From "Social" to "Interpretive" Photographer by Peter Seixas
  6. ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places: Carbonizing Plant" (PDF). nepreservation.com. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  7. ^ "Fibre & Fabric: A Record of American Textile Industries in the Cotton and Woolen Trade". September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Chase Mills Hydro-electric project". lowimpacthydro.org.
  9. ^ "Historic Map Works, Residential Genealogy". historicmapworks.com. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  10. ^ "Chace Mill – Hydropower Reform Coalition". hydroreform.org. Retrieved September 11, 2017.

External links

  • Woolen Mill Apartments
  • Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. VT-23-A, "Burlington Woolen Mill Company, Dam, Winooski River, West of Bridge carrying U.S. Route 2&7, Burlington, Chittenden County, VT", 10 photos, 12 data pages, 2 photo caption pages

winooski, falls, mill, district, burlington, mills, redirects, here, textile, corporation, burlington, industries, located, along, winooski, river, cities, winooski, burlington, vermont, united, states, america, encompasses, major, industrial, area, that, deve. Burlington Mills redirects here For for the textile corporation see Burlington Industries The Winooski Falls Mill District is located along the Winooski River in the cities of Winooski and Burlington Vermont in the United States of America It encompasses a major industrial area that developed around two sets of falls on the river in the 19th century Winooski Falls Mill DistrictU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S Historic districtChace Mill on the Winooski FallsShow map of VermontShow map of the United StatesLocationWinooski and Burlington VermontCoordinates44 29 20 N 73 11 15 W 44 488889 N 73 1875 W 44 488889 73 1875 Coordinates 44 29 20 N 73 11 15 W 44 488889 N 73 1875 W 44 488889 73 1875Area20 acres 8 1 ha original size 1 4 acres 0 57 ha size of 1993 increase NRHP reference No 79000223 1 original 93001009 increase 1 09000916 increase 2 Significant datesAdded to NRHPMay 9 1978Boundary increasesSeptember 30 1993November 12 2009 Contents 1 Location 2 History 2 1 Child labor 2 2 Lewis Hine 3 Buildings 3 1 Burlington Woolen Mill 3 2 Chace Cotton Mill 3 3 Champlain Mill 3 4 Colchester Merino Mill 3 5 Winooski Worsted Mill 3 6 Carbonizing Mill 3 7 Timber dam 4 Current use 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksLocation EditThe Winooski River flows from the southeast into Burlington Bay Lake Champlain The city of Burlington in Chittenden County Vermont is on the south bank and Winooski and Colchester on the north It is 45 miles 72 km from the Canada US border There are two sets of falls on the river the settlement of Winooski is placed between the falls The historic district refers to the mills built on both banks at the lower falls The designated district stretches on the northern bank of the river to Center and Canal Streets including 110 West Canal Street and on the southern bank including Burlington addresses 485 to 497 Colchester Avenue 5 to 21 Mill Street and 10 to 32 even numbers only Barrett Street 2 The Burlington addresses represent a 1993 enlargement of the district 3 History EditIn 1789 Ira Allen one of the towns founders built a dam across the upper falls and used it to power two saw mills to provide cut timber for the British market in Quebec It was in 1835 that the water rights to the Colchester bank were secured and in 1835 the Burlington Woolen Mill was constructed beneath the lower falls They followed the employment patterns used in Lowell Massachusetts and employed single girls to work in the mills A series of tenement houses were built to house the operatives on common land on the hill leading to Winooski Falls Village The second mill the Winooski Mill a cotton mill was built in 1846 by the Winooski Mill Company on the Burlington side of the river This operated as such until 1888 when it was reorganised into the Burlington Cotton Mill 2 Wool remained the less profitable fiber until the cotton famine of the 1860 This and improvements in wool cleaning techniques caused rapid expansion and the construction of new mills Water power systems improved and new steam powered system expanded capacity This require more operatives and a large number of French Canadians and Irish workers were employed The Colchester Merino Mill and the Winooski Worsted Mill were built in the 1880s 2 In 1902 the American Woolen Company purchased all the mills from the Burlington Woolen Company and refurbished them with modern equipment The Champlain Mill was built in 1912 By 1922 the American Woolen Company was the state s largest employer and Winooski Falls split from Colchester incorporating itself as the City of Winooski In 1927 there was a major flood where the dams were destroyed and all mills suffered heavy damage from which some never recovered The mills closed in 1954 2 Child labor Edit Lewis Hine Edit Lewis Hine photographed Raoul Julien working as a back roping boy in a mule spinning room in Chace Mill in 1909 Leopold Daigneau and Arsene Lussier 1909 Lewis Hine September 26 1874 Oshkosh Wisconsin November 3 1940 was an American sociologist and photographer Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform His photographs were instrumental in changing the child labor laws in the United States 4 In 1908 he became the photographer for the National Child Labor Committee NCLC leaving his former teaching position Over the next decade Hine documented child labor in American industry to aid the NCLC s lobbying efforts to end the practice 5 In 1909 he visited Burlington and took photographs in Chace Mill These demonstrate the employment practices where children with French Canadian names are seen to be working in responsible posts and equally they provide images of the machines in use at the time Mule spinning was relatively rare in the United States where ring spinning predominated Buildings EditBurlington Woolen Mill Edit This five story mill was built of local stone over a canal that drove its centrally placed waterwheel It was built in 1837 and destroyed by fire in 1961 A timber dam was constructed across the lower falls to provide a head for this wheel The timber dam was destroyed in the floods of 1927 2 As of 1921 the Burlington Mills employed 1 500 workers who produced items such as Kerseys Friezes Meltons Thibets and worsted dress goods 6 Chace Cotton Mill Edit 44 29 18 N 73 11 06 W 44 4884 N 73 1849 W 44 4884 73 1849 Burlington Mill A three story 34 bay brick built mill built on the site of a previous mill Water for the waterwheel entered through two head gates connected to the upper dam One gate opened to the working wheel while the other lead to the wheel pit of a former wheel a wallower passes the rotary motion to each floor which contain line shafts The Lewis Hine photograph shows that mill had spinning mules with a short travel The mill was built by the Burlington Mill Company in 1892 and changed its name when it was purchased by the Chace Mills of Fall River in 1912 2 7 Champlain Mill Edit A five story mill of 28 bays by 8 bays 280 feet 85 m by100 feet 30 m 2 Colchester Merino Mill Edit The Colchester Merino Mill built in 1880 and extended in 1902 stands in a group of buildings built on a large rock outcrop The buildings are dated from 1860 to 1902 The 1902 extension connected it to the Winooski Worsted Mill Its name tells us that this was a woolen mill built to spin the finest long staple merino wool It was a 3 story brick built mill with heavy beam construction The twenty pane windows are topped by segmental brick arches It was powered by an internal waterwheel which exploited a sliceway from an earlier mill and used the head provided by the timber dam at the lower falls 2 Winooski Worsted Mill Edit In the same complex as the Colchester Merino Mill the Winooski Worsted Mill is a similar design Worsted is a different thread from woolen using combing rather than carding techniques The building was similar in design to the Merino Mill the wood beams though were strengthened by metal tie rods 2 Carbonizing Mill Edit This is a 1909 brick built structure built for one process in the cleaning of wool It is a two story brick building with basement oriented parallel to West Canal Street It comprises a twenty by five bay main block with projecting center bays attached engine room and dye house with the typical louvred slat roof lights Raw wool would be weighed and sorted according to a variety of classifications and sent on for opening willowing and pickering Wool fibers would be spread into smooth open layers cut into slices and cleared of large pieces of vegetative matter It would be sent for cleaning or scouring in large vats containing a solution of water soap and carbonate of potash and then dried Scouring did not remove all vegetative particles In a carbonizing process the wool passed through bowls or troughs containing a solution of sulfuric acid or aluminum chloride where the remaining burrs were burnt off 6 Timber dam Edit A lattice work of timber was built across the river in a manner that was common in New England timber crib dams what is interesting is the infilling This was a very early example of the use of concrete It is here that the Chase Mills Hydro electric project will be situated 8 9 Current use EditThe Hydropower Reform Coalition has used the water channels to power a 7 4MW Turbo Generator 10 Some of the buildings have been converted into loft apartments See also EditNational Register of Historic Places listings in Chittenden County VermontReferences Edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service March 13 2009 a b c d e f g h i Hugh Boyd amp Roger Brevoort 1978 NRHP nomination for Winooski Falls Mill District National Park Service Retrieved December 13 2016 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint uses authors parameter link with photos from 1978 Thomas Visser amp Reid Larson 1993 NRHP nomination for Winooski Falls Mill District 1993 increase National Park Service Retrieved December 13 2016 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint uses authors parameter link with photos from 1986 The Lewis Hine Project retrieved October 15 2009 The American Quarterly Lewis Hine From Social to Interpretive Photographer by Peter Seixas a b National Register of Historic Places Carbonizing Plant PDF nepreservation com Retrieved September 11 2017 Fibre amp Fabric A Record of American Textile Industries in the Cotton and Woolen Trade September 11 2017 Retrieved September 11 2017 via Google Books Chase Mills Hydro electric project lowimpacthydro org Historic Map Works Residential Genealogy historicmapworks com Retrieved September 11 2017 Chace Mill Hydropower Reform Coalition hydroreform org Retrieved September 11 2017 External links EditWoolen Mill Apartments Historic American Engineering Record HAER No VT 23 A Burlington Woolen Mill Company Dam Winooski River West of Bridge carrying U S Route 2 amp 7 Burlington Chittenden County VT 10 photos 12 data pages 2 photo caption pages Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Winooski Falls Mill District amp oldid 1111164535, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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