Timeline

The town of Derryfield was incorporated. Its population was made up of Scots-Irish and English settlers. The town hall was on Mammoth Road.

A partnership called the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company acquired the textile mill. The company built two more mills and established Amoskeag Village.

The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company became a stock corporation. It acquired land on the east side of the Merrimack River, and began constructing canals and mill buildings.

The first cotton textile mill began operating in the mill yard, constructed for the Stark Manufacturing Company. Over the next decades the Amoskeag will build mills for other corporations as well as for itself.

The first water-powered spinning mill began operating on the west side of Amoskeag Falls.

Manchester built a new town hall at Elm and Market streets. It was destroyed by fire in 1844 and was replaced with the current structure in 1845.

The town charter was signed at the tavern.

The City’s first meeting house was constructed in this location, officially marking the City center until the center was relocated in 1841. The Amoskeag Dam was constructed. Subsequently, upper and lower canals were constructed to power the textile manufacturing machinery with hydroelectric power.

The name of Derryfield was changed to Manchester in honor of the Samuel Blodget, the builder of a transportation canal at Amoskeag Falls. He had believed that the swift water at the Falls could one day power a great industrial city.

The Amoskeag built the first dam across the Merrimack River at Amoskeag Falls.

The Amoskeag began implementing its vision for the new City of Manchester. This is one of the earliest large-scale urban planning projects in the United States.

The City of Manchester was incorporated.

Manchester expanded to the west side of the Merrimack river by annexing Amoskeag Village (then part of Goffstown) and Piscataquog Village (then part of Bedford).

Cloth production had reached a level that made Amoskeag Manufacturing Company a global name in textile production.

The Amoskeag built a third, taller dam across the river and a hydroelectric plant on its west bank to supply electricity to the mill yard.

The Great Depression began, which would have a severe impact on Manchester—though federally funded work and construction projects helped pull the City through.

Mall development resulted in disinvestment in downtown, particularly along Elm Street, as shoppers patronized the retailers and restaurants in the mall.

After years of decline, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company declared bankruptcy, intending to reorganize.

As the City faced the decline of manufacturing, it embarked on a multi-year initiative to transform the Amoskeag Millyard—prepping it use by light industry, offices, restaurants, classrooms, and outdoor recreation. The downtown and the Amoskeag Millyard begin to see reinvestment to include modern office space, restaurant, housing, and entertainment options.

The Amoskeag built a new dam across the Merrimack known as the “arch dam” and made improvements to its water power delivery system. During this decade coal-fired steam power was introduced in the mill yard. Right before the start of World War II Manchester’s small municipal airport was transformed into a U.S. Army air base, Grenier Field. The base and warrelated manufacturing stimulated the local economy during the war.

The 17,000 workers of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company and the Stark Manufacturing Company were on strike for nine months. This marked the beginning of a steady decline in the City’s textile industry.

The Merrimack River flooded in March during the Great Flood of 1936, causing devastation, including the destruction of the McGregor Bridge. The flood resulted in a $2.5 million loss to the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company’s physical plant. A new locally owned corporation, Amoskeag Industries, acquired the Amoskeag’s assets and began bringing new industries into the mill yard.

A master plan was created for the City, focusing on the physical development of the community. Emphasis was placed on land use, infrastructure, neighborhoods, and quality of life.

The City embarked on Plan Manchester, the process to update the 2009 master plan.