Windsor, Vermont: Mill Brook and Waterpower brochure

A one-sheet brochure featuring Mill Brook and Waterpower in Windsor, Vermont. From the brochure: "In the 1700s Mill Brook was a reliable source of waterpower for small industry in the rural community of Windsor. Its three falls, dropping 60 feet in three-fourths of a mile, powered grist and saw mills that provided settlers with food and lumber for building. Shops producing ironwork, shoes, leather goods, and textiles soon joined these early industries. By 1846 the Robbins & Lawrence Company had fully developed the waterpower here at the middle falls with an armory on the south bank. The company manufactured rifles and machine tools that produced interchangeable parts for a wide range of products. Machine shops and assembly buildings occupied the north bank into the early 1900s. In 1924 the National Acme Company, an automatic lathe and machine parts manufacturer, built the apartment block on the north bank to house a large labor force. Windsor resident Frank Kennedy purchased the dams and properties along Mill Brook, including the armory, in 1898 and generated electricity using waterpower and coal-fired steam from 1902 to 1926. His heirs sold the facility to Windsor Electric Company, and in 1929 it became part of Central Vermont Public Service. Electricity generation ceased in the 1930s, but the property continued to be used as a transmission substation. The American Precision Museum purchased the armory in 1965." Funding for this item was provided in part through a 2007 Preserve America grant to the Town of Windsor, Vermont (grant number 50-07-PA-3038) for the project Welcome to Windsor. The grant was administered by the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. The goals of the program include a greater shared knowledge about the nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities.

Windsor, Vermont: Mill Brook and Waterpower brochure

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