The first mill built in Old Harrys Town (This was the first name for this part of the world, becoming Tyngstown in 1735, rechristened Derryfield in 1751 and finally settling on the name Manchester in 1810) was back in 1805, by Benjamin Prichard.
The Amoskeag manufacturing company was formed in 1831.In its heyday it operated 23,000 looms, employing some 17,000 people and shipped almost five million yards of cloth every week.
As well as being a manufacturer of cloth the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company also produced products as diverse as locomotives and fire engines; as well as muskets during the American Civil War.
Unfortunately the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was a victim of the recession in the 1920's and the Great Depression in the late 20's and 30's. The company was finally closed on Christmas Eve, 1935.
The link to denim of course is that a certain Loeb Strauss purchased cloth from Amoskeag and sold it on to a Nevada tailor by the name of Jacob Youphes, with which to make waist overalls. Levi Strauss and Co. were the most famous of Amoskeags denim customers but undoubtedly they were not alone. In the present day a brand has come into existence that celebrates the heritage and history of Amoskeag. Drawing its inspiration from, and using actual denim cloth from Amoskeag as research; in order to reproduce a cloth as close as possible to the original.
Amoskeag XX have produced some stunning pieces in their collection that draw on this rich history. Their attention to detail on thread choice, stitching detail and trims is very impressive.
You will also notice that the denim has a much lighter, brighter and richer hue in colour to what we would see with current selvedge raw denim. Some say, and I believe them, is that this is due to the natural vegetable dye that was used at this time from the Amoskeag area. The Levi's Vintage Clothing 1st Blue Jean is another reproduction from this era which also has this same cloth colour (below picture does not do the colour justice, it's lighter and brighter when viewed in person).
If you get a chance you can also check out the Amoskeag XX products at their store on Orchard Street, New York. Or on their website:http://amoskeagxx.com/