Mill Workers (1800’s)

 West Boylston was a mill town in the 19th century. Several mills lined the Quinapoxet River: Cowee’s Mill, Clarendon Mills, and Rice’s Mill, to name a few. The mills, of course, no longer stand, and their foundations rest at the bottom of the Wachusett Reservoir. Below are photographs of some mill workers. Both photographs depict the workers and families at different mills. The smaller group represents workers from Rice’s Mill, while the other photograph unfortunately came without information of specific mill. We must remember the people whose jobs–and lives–were displaced as a result of the incoming reservoir and the collapse of the town’s industry.