After the Indian Wars and until the American
Revolution of 1776, Dunstable was mostly a farming
community. Corn and Vegetables were grown on the
Merrimack/Nashua River intervale. Hay and Orchards
were prevalent on the southern side.
Merchants and travelers from outside of town from
the north and south used Nashua as a thoroughfare
thereby creating a hospitality and entertainment
economy. Many taverns and hotels were built along
The Great Road (Main Street) such as Tylers Tavern
which provided necessary comfort and service.
Daniel Abbot moved to the upper community of
Dunstable in 1802. Abbot is a Harvard graduate who
soon after opened a law practice here. Abbot
quickly became a civic leader who then proceeded
to rename Dunstable to "Nashua Village" in a
speech given on July 4th in 1803.
Right about the same time, Josiah Griswold Graves,
MD became the first physician in town. He became
very popular because he had an exceptional ability
in diagnosing ailments of his patients.
Nashua was heading towards a full scale industrial
makeover. During the 1820's, Abott, along with the
Greeley brothers, Daniel Webster and some
Massachusetts Industrial Investors formed a
coalition to create the first textile mills in
Dunstable powering Nashua's Industrial Revolution.
Abott had been watching his Harvard counterparts
in Massachusetts and knew Dunstable had the water
power to begin the Waltham-Lowell venture. He
moved forward to begin the industry that would
become the socio-economic scene dominating the
1830's - 1860's.
Robert Owen, resident of New Lanark, Scotland is
credited with creation of the infant structure of
our city. The basis of his landmark design
includes the layout of the streets, the mills and
their basic architecture, and most importantly;
social planning which included how the employees
would be treated.
Two men, Nathaniel Appleton and Patrick Tracy
Jackson, traveled to New Lanark and studied the
designs of Owen. The Owen design made it all the
way to Nashua from Scotland; consisting of a mill,
worker housing, a school, and a church, all run by
the originating mill company. This combined with
the mastermind of Francis Cabot Lowell and the
energy of Daniel Abbot began the enterprise of
Nashua's economic future.
Francis Cabot Lowell, Harvard graduate and math
major, traveled to England with the express
interest of studying the textile designs of the
James Archright Power Loom and creating it's
mirror here in the United States. His extended
vacation included touring the industries where the
loom existed and in essence, formulated the
designs in his mind. An extreme form of piracy in
that day as the patent for the machine and
exporting the technology was expressly prohibited.
His textile looms were better than their English
predecessors and his fabrics soon found their way
into world commerce.
Francis Cabot Lowell - Nathaniel Appleton
The first large company created was the Nashua
Manufacturing Company in 1823. Nashua
Manufacturing was the first in New Hampshire
completed in the full scale Waltham-Lowell design.
The Waltham-Lowell design, including especially
the church, met the demands of the New England
farmer father as a "socially and morally
acceptable" place of employment for their
daughters, as they made up the majority of the
mill workforce.
For 30 years, tens of thousands of young, single
women migrated to the Waltham-Lowell mills and
revolutionized women's labor in America, and the
world, right here in Nashua!
Mill Girls
Daniel Abbot was a great and powerful force
fueling the creation of Nashua's Mills. His
passion for growth and success empowered the
people to achieve their greatest, evident even
today. Daniel Abbot, coined 'the Father of Nashua'
is due to his many contributions to its rich
heritage.
Nashua was and continues to be the New Hampshire
cradle of technological culture. The design and
creation is a progressive sophisticated model of
technical and social innovation.
Daniel Abbot
Other prime manufacture in this new mill town
included ironworks, shirting, linens, shoes, wood
products, and coated paper. Nashua's position on
the Merrimack River made it easily accessible for
consumers and suppliers off the Atlantic Ocean.
The opening of the Middlesex Canal in 1803 also
contributed to the ease of water transport. The
Nashua River became a riverfront mercantile
village offering more trade then than what you can
find in all of Nashua today.
During this busy time, a wooden covered toll
bridge enabled passage over the Merrimack for
travel to and from Hudson. Before the bridge, the
only way across the river was by ferry. Three
ferries, Cummings; at the mouth of the Nashua
River, Hills; in the North end, and Littles; at
the south side of Nashua gave access to and from
Nashua and Hudson.
Taylor Falls Bridge
Continue to nH 1830 - 1900
