Project: The Evolving Legacy of New England Mills

Hallmark Institute of Photography
November 29-30

Hallmark Institute students discover the history of Turners Falls as a mill town

The Village of Turners Falls, located on the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts, was developed as a planned industrial community in the late 1800s. It was significant in Native American History because it was one of the few places in the region where northern tribes and southern agricultural people gathered to fish, trade, worship, socialize, and share their cultures.

Home to Hallmark Institute, Turners Falls played a significant part of the Industrial Revolution in this region thanks to water powered mills built alongside New England rivers and a vision for a "planned industrial community" by Alvah Crocker in the mid 1800s. As time went on and industrial production moved to southern states and eventually overseas, countless mills closed and put the region into a declining economic spiral. Today, new industry has sprouted along the riverbanks and the village itself. However, the legacy of the region remains in the minds of those who live here to be the mills and the prosperity they brought to the region more than 100 years ago.

The students at Hallmark wanted to capture the essence of that legacy with a progressive look at the mills in the region. They focused their cameras on several aspects of the milling industry, from active manufacturers such as Southworth Company and Erving Paper Mill, to the vacant and abandoned mills that time forgot. They also looked at mills that were converted to artist's lofts, shops, and condos and new construction on what was once the site of the John Russell Cutlery, manufacturers of the famous Green River and "Bowie" knives. What they captured was a chronological look at how the mills - and the region - were transformed over time and how the transformation reflects the character of the people who live in this region today.

The students returned to the digital lab where Julieanne was anxiously waiting to see what the students had photographed and help them import their pictures into Lightroom for editing and processing and ultimately the critique session.

The students did a fabulous job creating a compelling picture story - both individually and collectively - that share with us through their eyes the history and legacy of Turners Falls.