AMOSKEAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY – NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS AND OTHER MATERIAL

AMOSKEAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY – NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS AND OTHER MATERIAL – 1929-1936 – Three Volume Archive

Compiled by Alice Atkins Rauch (1904 – 1974), wife of Henry Edward Rauch (1902 – 1994), Agent, Amoskeag Manufacturing, a textile company. Rauch, had a long career in the textile industry, and retired as chairman of Burlington Industries in 1967.

“Rauch began working for the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, a textile company, starting as a bookkeeper in 1922. He was with Amoskeag for 14 years, progressing rapidly in responsibility. In 1928 he began a seven-year stint overseeing the textile mills in Manchester, New Hampshire. During this time, he was involved in negotiations with members of the company labor union, closely involved with salary negotiations, as well as being a witness to a number of strikes, some violent, during the period 1933-1935. In 1936, he assisted with the liquidation of Amoskeag after it declared bankruptcy and was affected by a massive flood.” – Duke University archives. – With a life long interest in education he served as chairman of the Bentley College Board of Trustees and as vice-chairman of the Duke University Board of Trustees.

Founded in 1810, The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company manufactured textiles in Manchester, New Hampshire. It grew throughout the 19th century into the largest cotton textile plant in the world. At its peak, Amoskeag had 17,000 employees and around 30 buildings. The New England textile industry shifted to the Southern U.S., and on Christmas Eve, 1935, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company abruptly closed its doors and filed for bankruptcy. A serious flood in 1936 sealed the company’s fate, and the vast complex was liquidated. By 1937, half the buildings were occupied by other businesses. Today the original mills have been refurbished and renovated, and house offices, restaurants, various companies, college branches, art studios, apartments and a museum

This archive covering the last years of Amoskeag is bound in three post binders, each measuring about 11 1/2 inches by about 14 1/2 inches. Various documents and newspapers clippings have been assembled in photocopies as follows:

AMOSKEAG MFG. CO.- JULY 1929 – OCT. 2, 1935 – 143 numbered pages plus fold-outs and additional material laid in.

AMOSKEAG MFG. CO.OCT. 1935 -NOV. 1936 – 188 numbered pages plus fold-outs and much additional material laid in, including a “Summary of Twenty Nine and One Half Years of Operation January 1, 1906 to June 30, 1935.”

MERRIMACK RIVER FLOOD OF MARCH 18-19, 1936 – PHOTOS AND OTHER AMOSKEAG & DUMAINE PHOTOS AND ARTICLES OF INTEREST – pages not completely numbered as in other volumes. As seen in images, this is the thinnest volume – possibly about 100 pages

Following are some sample pages – the image showing some ink spots on the newsprint is the only example I have seen of a bad photocopy in this archive.