Little towns that made things

In Haverhill. The town has become an arts center in recent years.

— Photo by Magicpiano

From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

While driving up and down the Upper Connecticut River Valley the other week I came through several towns – Orford and Haverhill, N.H., stand out the most – with grand houses,  beautiful churches and lovely commons. And they were all developed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries very soon after people arrived to take land long used by Native Americans! How did they afford it?

Well, because  these very entrepreneurial and energetic Yankees used the region’s natural resources  to maximum benefit – its good grass for sheep raising for the burgeoning wool trade, the wood from its forests (especially white pine to make buildings), its very arable land along the river and its water power  --- to very early on create thriving businesses. Consider that  by 1859,  when Haverhill had 2,405 inhabitants, it had 3 gristmills, 12 sawmills, a paper mill, a large tannery, a carriage manufacturer, an iron foundry, 7 shoe factories, a printing office, and several mechanic shops!  Those industries helped finance well run local schools and cultural institutions.

The lesson is that it’s good to have nearby enterprises that make things.

“The Mall,’’ in Orford, in 1907

In New England's greatest valley

Connecticut River Valley c. 1907, looking toward Orford, N.H. from Fairlee, Vt. Note the capacious open land, some of which was used by sheep farmers supplying the wool for textile mills in southern New England.