Historic maps from the American Textile History Museum and a related panel discussion are the highlights of “Industry, Wealth, and Labor: Mapping New England’s Textile Industry,” the upcoming exhibit at Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education at USM.
Several guest speakers will be in the spotlight at an opening reception from 4-7:30 p.m. Nov. 17, including Jane Ward and Clare Sheridan of the Textile History Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts; David Bishop, a former employee of Pepperell Mills in Biddeford and board member of the Biddeford Mills Museum; and Federal Cultural Resources manager Peter Michaud. Co-curator Ron Grim will moderate the panel discussion, which will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
The exhibition was inspired by the map library’s recent acquisition of textile mill insurance plans and historic maps from the Lowell museum. The exhibit addresses the geography and demographics of New England’s cotton textile industry from the early 19th century until the middle of the 20th century. The display focuses on Lowell and Lawrence, Massachusetts, where the textile industry originated, and Biddeford, Saco and Lewiston.
“Industry, Wealth, and Labor: Mapping New England’s Textile Industry” features a samples of industrial plans, contemporary maps, detailed city plans, urban real estate, fire insurance plans and themed maps. The combined components of the exhibit provide a broader context for understanding the development of the pivotal industry, which was essential to the urbanization and industrialization of the region along with its population growth, diversification and labor unions.
Grim is the emeritus curator of maps at the Norman B. Leventhal map and education center at the Boston Public Library. The exhibit co-curator is Roberta Ransley-Matteau, a cataloguer for the Osher Map Library and Smith Center.
This opening reception is free and open to the public; the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education is located on the University of Southern Maine campus at 314 Forest Ave. in Portland. For more on the exhibit, click here.
