Report

Report by John Pickering, Joseph Ropes, and John W. Treadwell. The Committee appointed by the town of Salem in 1825 to investigate the practicability and expediency of establishing cotton and other manufactures in Salem presents a detailed plan for creating a local industrial power using water power from the North River. The document describes the surveys and engineering work carried out by a noted engineer, with subsequent arrangements for landowner agreements along the North River and Collins’ Cove to secure rights and privileges. It includes an Act of Incorporation creating THE SALEM MILL DAM CORPORATION and outlines the costs of dam construction, the planned Full Basin and Receiving Basin, and the projected mill powers (ranging from about 32 to 66 powers depending on dam configurations). The Report discusses potential benefits to Salem’s economy, obstacles encountered, and arguments in favor of water power over steam power. It concludes that establishing manufactories is practicable and expedient and outlines next steps toward incorporation and development.