Article
ID: CBB724685716

Meeting the Challenge of a Renewable Energy Resource: Small-Scale Milling and Manufacturing in Southern New England (2010)

unapi
Dams Water power Sawmills Industrial archaeology Water resource management Crafts and craftspeople 19th century New England (U.S.)

Site surveys and hydrological analysis show the success individuals and small partnerships had in southern New England using waterpower resources without the aid of professional engineering services through the nineteenth century. This study examines seven Connecticut milling and small-scale manufactunng sites and the remains of eighteen iron-smelting blast furnaces blown with waterpower, using hydrological data to reconstruct operating parameters. Through 1830, blast furnace operators assured continuity of operation by locating on large rivers or at the outlets of lakes that served as reservoirs. Once these sites were occupied, operators of later furnaces made do with less reliable water privileges. Many grist and sawmill proprietors devised complex management systems based on drawdown and recharge of pond or reservoir storage, scheduled different kinds of work seasonally and constructed sophisticated systems of races and distributing ponds. They made agreements with others to share, manage, and distribute water resources. Some added manufacturing to more fully utilize the power potential of their privileges. Their vernacular engineering and hydrological expertise added technical talent throughout the region's villages and small towns, facilitating a diverse economy of agriculture and manufacturing.

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Citation URI
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Authors & Contributors
Theodore Penn
John S. Wilson
Jackson, Donald C.
Robert L. Johnson
Patricia O'Reilly
David A. Poirier
Journals
IA. The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology
History of Technology
Publishers
Washington State University
University Press of Kansas
University of Pittsburgh Press
The MIT Press
Concepts
Industrial archaeology
Water power
Dams
Sawmills
Water resource management
Millwrights
People
Eastwood, John S.
Time Periods
19th century
20th century
20th century, early
20th century, late
Places
United States
New England (U.S.)
Canada
Pacific Northwest (North America)
Massachusetts (U.S.)
Haciena Buena Vista
Institutions
Robbins
U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record
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