October 15, 2024

1 STEM at the Millyard Museum: the Science of a Dress

2 2024 Manchester Holiday Ornament

3 2025 Historic Preservation Award Nominations

4 Millyard Museum Presents Two New Children's Books

5 Now on Exhibit: Who Wore It? The Forensics of a Dress

6 Witch of Weston Tower

7 YMCA Food Pantry Collection

8 Manchester Trivia Questions

STEM at the Millyard Museum: the Science of a Dress

Saturday, November 2, 2024

11:00 a.m.

Millyard Museum

Do you ever wonder where your clothes come from? Modern technology makes fashion fast and easy, but that wasn’t always the case….

Please join us on Saturday November 2nd, for an interactive, family friendly STEM based program for all ages focusing on the science of fabric and clothing production from the 1700s to present. The program pairs an interactive, visual presentation with hands-on activities fit for all ages. We will dive into such topics as weaving, the science of silk, the secrets of dyeing fabric, the composition of fabrics throughout history, and how historians analyze how people wore garments.

There will a short presentation followed by hands-on activities and refreshments.

COST: Adults included with Regular Admission. Children 5-18: $5.00

Pre-registration is required. Call or e-mail today to reserve your spot! (603) 622-7531 / history@manchesterhistoric.org

2024 Manchester Holiday Ornament

The Manchester Historic Association is pleased to announce this year’s holiday ornament featuring the Mill Girl statue at Mill Girl Plaza.

The ornament features a colorized depiction of the statue that honors the legacy of the young women who served as the first textile workers of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, beginning in the late 1830s. The statue was designed by sculptor Antoinette Schultze and dedicated in 1988. Just last year, the Mill Girl Statue was re-positioned in a more prominent location closer to Commercial Street as part of a revitalization of Mill Girl Plaza.

Each year the Manchester Historic Association produces an original, limited edition brass-plated ornament that celebrates Manchester’s history. These unique, detailed ornaments are handcrafted in the United States and make perfect Christmas tree decorations or gifts for the holidays and for many other occasions. Each comes in a decorative box.

These ornaments are available for $28.00 in the Millyard Museum Shop as well as at the MHA Research Center. The 2024 ornaments, as well as a limited number of ornaments from past years, can also be purchased online.

2025 Historic Preservation Award Nominations



The Historic Preservation Committee is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Historic Preservation Awards.  

The Historic Preservation Awards program recognizes and supports the efforts of individuals, businesses and organizations who have made significant contributions to the preservation of buildings, neighborhoods, traditions and other historic resources in the Queen City.

Over 30 years, more than 250 recipients have been recognized for a wide variety of preservation efforts in 40 different categories. The annual event is the MHA's largest fundraiser to support its non-profit mission of collecting, preserving and sharing the history of Manchester.

If you are interested in nominating a person, organization or business for a Historic Preservation Award, please complete the HPA 2025 Nomination Form by December 7.

The 33rd Annual Historic Preservation Awards will be held on May 20, 2025 at the Matarese Commons at the Derryfield School. Further details will be announced in the coming months.

Millyard Museum Presents Two Children's Books

The MHA is proud to present two new children’s books about the Millyard. Friends young and old will follow the adventures of Dewy, the water droplet about to embark on an Industrial Revolution water power journey and Bolly, a cotton boll, on his way to the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company to become world famous cotton fabric.

Both original books can be found exclusively at the Millyard Museum gift shop!

Now on Exhibit:

"Who Wore It? The Forensics of a Dress"

ONLY A FEW WEEKS LEFT!

This special exhibit features 200 years of dresses worn by amazing women from Manchester’s past. These matriarchs of Manchester lived incredible lives as entrepreneurs, philanthropists, doctors, teachers, activists, New Hampshire First Ladies, and homemakers.

Generously donated by loved ones and lovingly preserved by the Manchester Historic Association, these dresses tell the stories of the vibrant women who wore them. Bearing witness to the happiest and saddest moments in the lives of their owners, these dresses witnessed both unspeakable joy and unbearable pain and every emotion in-between.

As you travel though the history of fashion and evolution of design and fabrication, we ask that you imagine the memories these gowns might hold. Motherhood, careers, and the simple tasks of everyday life become immortal through every worn hem and altered seam.

On exhibit through November 2, 2024 

YMCA Food Pantry Collection

This fall, we are partnering with YMCA of Downtown Manchester and hosting a food pantry collection box at the Millyard Museum. Please consider dropping off non-perishable food items to help fight food insecurity in the Greater Manchester area.

The box is available during the museum's open hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm. Thank you!

Last Month's Trivia Question:

In the early days of Derryfield/Manchester, the Town Pound gave stray cattle and other animals a place to be held until bail could be provided by the owner. Over time, the structure crumbled and the wall was removed, but the 1841 door to the Old Town Pound remains. Where in Manchester can it be found?

ANSWER: Derryfield Park near Reservoir Ave. and Hillside Middle School.

The Molly Stark Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution restored and marked the pound in 1916.

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This Month's Trivia Question: Arms Park along the Merrimack River in the Millyard (and Arms Street) is named for the former Arms Textile Manufacturing Company located on that site. Where did the name “ARMS” come from?

The answer will appear in the next newsletter.