Historic Harrisville

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A Double Celebration: Historic Harrisville and Harrisville Designs Turn Forty by Pamela White Nearly everyone who lives in or near Harrisville knows the Colony family, owners and operators of Cheshire Mills over several generations until its closing in 1970. In addition to eldest son, John J. (Chick) Colony III, many members of the family still live here and are part of the fabric of the community, although Chick may be the one who is most in the public eye. Tall, with a friendly look-you-in-the-eye gaze, he can be seen most days walking with a relaxed purposeful gait between his home and the Harrisville Designs office or to the General Store for lunch, or around the waterways and mill buildings. Some people wear a lot of hats. Chick wears at least three, but they each would bear the word "Harrisville" on the metaphorical brim. Read the rest of "A Double Celebration" In the Shadow of Cheshire Mills by Ron Trudelle, Kadakit St.

Buildings for Lease Historic Harrisville currently has two historic buildings available for lease. The Harris Storehouse is 2,880 square feet of office or commercial space. The Sorting and Picker House is 3,900 square feet of office or commercial space which, until recently, housed a mail order business. Both buildings are well-suited for internet-based and mail order businesses, offices, or commercial use. In the recently renovated Mill No. 1, there are 4,200 square feet available for office or light industrial use. more...

In the fall of 2010, Historic Harrisville marked the 40th anniversary of the closing of Cheshire Mills. I couldn't make the meeting but I heard a lot of people who worked in the mill talked about their experiences there. Though I never worked in the mill, it was a big part of my life growing up in town.

My story starts around 1920 when my grandmother Anna (Memere) Trudelle came to work at the mill in Harrisville. She emigrated from Canada some years before and first worked at the sprawling Amoskeag mill in Manchester. After a few years, Memere got tired of the big city life and moved to the quiet of Harrisville to raise her family. She ended up buying a former mill tenement at the end of Kadakit Street, close to Mill #6. This is where my wife and I now live.

Read the rest of "In the Shadow of Cheshire Mills"

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A Cheshire Mills Boarding House Story

Karen Tolman, 2011

In the mid 1970's, a few years after the Cheshire Mills had closed its doors for good, I spent some time working in the Cheshire Mills Boarding House. Originally home to between fifteen and thirty-five mill workers, the building was gradually being rehabbed and rented out by its new owner. That new owner, Historic Harrisville, is now approaching its 40th anniversary.

It was during an economic downturn when gas prices were sky high that I commuted from our home in Nelson to Harrisville Village a two-mile trek on a very efficient, fair-weather and bright orange, Honda 90 motorbike. A homemade plywood seat for our preschooler, Tom, had been bolted onto the back; and onto the front, a wicker basket to carry sundries had been lashed.

Read the rest of "A Cheshire Mills Boarding House Story"

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Mill #6 Has a New Roof

by Karen Tolman

Most of us living in this New England climate have long adhered to the notion of capturing the warmth from the sun through our dark-shingled roofs. This great solar collector helps warm our homes in the wintertime - like a giant quilt thrown over us to give comfort.

But, we've all recently heard that US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is suggesting otherwise. He recently mandated that white roofs be installed on all Energy Department buildings whenever it's practical and cost-effective to do so.

The theory goes that light colors reflect sunlight back up into the atmosphere and help cool the planet. In fact, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says that if all the world's roofs and pavement used cool materials, the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions would be equivalent to taking the world's 600 million cars off the road for 18 years!

Historic Harrisville, Inc. (HHI), as true to its environmental concerns as to its historic concerns, has stepped up to the plate to help address global issues in its own backyard. As specified by architect Richard Monahon, Mill #6 now has a new white roof -10,250 square feet of JM TPO (Johns Manville Thermoplastic Polyolefin). It's a large flat roof that you can't see unless you climb up onto it or fly over it. But it's there just the same.

According to the Cheshire Mills Historic Structures Report, prepared in 2001 by HHI's Executive Director, Linda Willett, Mill No #6, which stands on the east side of the millpond, was constructed in 1922 and was a significant

"part of the continuous development and use of the … site for woolen manufacturing over the course of nearly 120 years of operation. The building's large size, utilitarian industrial design, steel casement and other early twentieth century details stand in marked contrast to the more domestic scale of the complex's earlier mill buildings and the small scale of the early and mid-nineteenth century buildings for which Harrisville has been designated a National Historic Landmark District."

While Mill #6's architectural details may still "stand in marked contrast" to the other mill buildings, its new white roof is a giant local step toward a widespread effort to address global warming. And, knowing that cumulative participation adds up to a greater good, we should all be proud.

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Harrisville General Store

Just like the general stores of old, the Harrisville General Store has two purposes: to serve the needs of the community and to function as a meeting place. Focused on working with local producers, vendors, and farmers, the store is a place where things happen.

"The people who come in create a wonderful energy -- community-building happens here -- this is a place that just binds people together," says Laura Carden, who has managed the store since December 2008 (remember the ice storm?).

They serve great coffee, high quality take-out food offerings that change daily, affordable and ready-made sandwiches, WiFi, newspapers, beer and wine, and grocery items. So meet a friend for lunch. Enjoy M'lue's baked goods. Convenience shop as often as possible. Remind yourself that having the store enriches the community tenfold.

by Pamela White