Manchester: The Mills and the Immigrant Experience

Images of America: New Hampshire

by Gary Samson

This fascinating and moving book brings to life the industrial and immigrant experience which gave birth to Manchester in the nineteenth century and continued to shape the city's destiny well into the twentieth century. More than a hundred years ago, thousands of immigrants from Europe and Canada were drawn to the mills of Manchester by the promise of a better life. In stirring photographs and text, Manchester: The Mill and the Immigrant Experience examines the aspirations, the struggles, and the everyday adventures of Manchester's immigrant families. Reaffirming the power of photography to move and inform us, Manchester: The Mills and the Immigrant Experience creates a vivid picture of life during nearly a century of rapid industrial change. We join the bustle of Elm and Hanover Streets in the 1880s, witness children working at the mighty Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, enter a Greek coffeehouse in the early 1900s, get caught up in the bitter labor strikes of the 1920s, and meet unusual local figures such as the Hermit of Mosquito Pond.

Genres: History

130 pages, Hardcover

First published November 4, 2000

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the photographs in the little book were wonderful, the writing left much to be desired. The author is a photographer, not a historian in the traditional sense, and it greatly shows. His writing wanders from topic to topic, often without a thesis at all. At one point he spends and entire chapter discussing the life of an early photographer in Manchester. While the photographer was an immigrant he had very little to do with the mills, and thus the chapter seems completely out of place in the book.

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonderful. I grew up in Manchester, my grandmother worked at the amoskeag mills and I heard the stories...my background is french canadian. I am the first non bilingual generation in my family. I had my 2nd job and my first full time job at a shoe shop.

[Matthew Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick history of Manchester with lots of pictures! I learned a lot, and even found a picture of my family's grocery store in the 1800s. Definitely worth picking up.