Industrial History Center
Back in September 2023, I had a history adventure in Amesbury, MA and neighboring Portsmouth, NH. During my first three major stops, I visited Historic New England’s Rocky Hill Meeting House, Lowell’s Boat Shop, and a Mary Baker Eddy Historic House. For my fourth major stop, I visited the Industrial History Center operated by the Amesbury Carriage House Museum. This mini museum in the historic millyard of downtown Amesbury featured information about the town’s manufacturing history. Paved paths located nearby had signage explaining features of the yard, including factory buildings and water power.
The Industrial History Center is housed in one of the eight, 19th century red brick textile mill buildings making up the Millyard. This area is known as the Amesbury and Salisbury Mills Village Historic District, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985. Water-powered mills were not new to the area when these were constructed between 1825 and 1872. Early English colonist William Osgood built his sawmill in 1641, while in 1708, the first textile mill was built. The textile industry lasted until 1914, the same years as the outbreak of World War I. The owners leased the properties collectively from that time until 1962, and then sold each building. Not until 1980 was the area redeveloped for residential and commercial use, a common way to repurpose these huge, solidly constructed buildings.
Signage around the millyard explained the history of the buildings along with featuring the work of local cartoonist Al Capp, who lived from 1909 to 1979. His most popular comic, the widely syndicated satirical strip Li’l Abner, featured a community of poor Southerners who spoke in heavy accents. While no longer considered politically correct, Capp’s work was praised in its day, and he collaborated with non-profit and civil rights organization to create educational comics. Along with creating these public service giveaways, Capp advocated for disabilities rights, as he had lost his left leg in a trolley car accident at age nine.
Inside the museum were mini exhibits in two fairly small rooms. A permanent exhibit featured tools used in Amesbury and Salisbury mills along with products created at these mills, including carriage parts and hats. A special exhibit featured posters about early bicycles from the bicycle craze of the 1890s, when three shops in Amesbury built and sold bicycles. Signage was plentiful and well-written, and one room even had chairs, a rarity in museums.
Industrial History Center is open from mid-April through Mid-December, Thursday through Saturday, 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. Plenty of free parking is available on nearby streets and lots. Both the center and paved trails are accessible to those using wheelchairs and with limited mobility! Additionally, the building has a fun public bathroom painted bright red. This is a brief stop to refresh yourself while traveling and learn a little bit about local labor history.
Abby Epplett’s Rating System
Experience: 6/10
Accessibility: 9/10