Save the Mill

The Belknap Mill is the oldest textile mill in the United States. It has gone through many changes over the years, and currently is looking for financial solutions to keep it going. It is a beautiful building and the grounds around it are very attractive.
I have taken many photos of this area over the last few years, and it always makes me think of how lucky we are to have it in our area.
Below is the timeline, taken from the Belknap Mill website.


Milestones: The Belknap Mill 1811 to the Present
1811 The Meredith Cotton & Woolen Mfg. Co. builds a wooden mill in what is now downtown Laconia. The structure is one of many small mills along the Winnipesaukee River.
1823 The wooden mill burns down. The Avery Factory Co. replaces it with a brick building, known today as the Belknap Mill.
1828 The Belknap Mill is in full operation. It is the latest design in mass production, a copy of a mill in Waltham, Massachusetts, said to be the factory that "launched the Industrial Revolution in America." Today the Belknap Mill is the only remaining example of that early phase.
1861 Due to production demands of the Civil War, the Belknap Mill is one of the first mills in the United States to convert from weaving to knitting. Owners Robert Bailey and Kimball Gleason, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, buy circular knitting machines to manufacture seamless hosiery and bags.
1918 Responding to production demands of World War I, owner J. P. Morin adds a hydroelectric power plant, costing $100,000, to power lights and machines in the buildings of the Belknap Mills Corporation and in other parts of the city.
1957 Belknap Mills Corporation merges with Sulloway Mill in Franklin, New Hampshire.
1968 The City of Laconia adopts an Urban Renewal plan.
1969 Belknap Industries moves out of the Belknap Mill.
1970 The Save the Mills Society is incorporated to protect the Busiel and Belknap Mills. LIFE Magazine covers the story. The National Trust awards the Society the nation's first grant for industrial preservation. The Belknap Mill hosts an art exhibit and the first annual bell ringing ceremony.
1971 The Mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Yankee Magazine chronicles the story. The Society organizes art classes for students and a concert.
1974 The Society becomes the legal owner of the Belknap Mill.
1976 The Belknap Mill is designated as NH Meetinghouse by Governor Hugh Galen.
1977 The Society changes its name and mission to preserve the Belknap Mill and provide cultural programs and community services.
1991 The Society interviews 130 mill workers. The Mill receives an Excellence in Management Award as one of the top three New Hampshire non-profits.
1994 The Society receives an award from the American Association for State & Local History for the nation's first permanent exhibit on industrial knitting.
1997 The Society works with the City of Laconia and the Laconia Rotary Club to open Riverside Rotary Park.
1998 The Mill is one of three museums in the United States to receive the National Award for Museum Service, awarded at the White House. The Society receives an award from the American Association for State & Local History for its education programs.
1999 The Belknap Mill is designated by the White House Millennium Committee as a Save America's Treasures Project.
2002 The design of the Belknap Mill's cupola is registered as a trademark.
2007 The Belknap Mill begins significant upgrades to the Power House Museum story boards.
2013 The Belknap Mill adopts a new logo which reflects its position as the heart of Downtown Laconia's cultural activities and reenforces its committment to its mission. A new fine arts gallery is opened on the first floor.
Accessibility
The Belknap Mill has an elevator serving all four floors.