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阿莫斯克亞格(Amoskeag)工廠
地方性遺產
什麼是「公司鎮」(company
town)？假使您不確定，位於曼徹斯特市的阿莫斯克亞格製造公司(Amoskeag
Manufacturing Company)將是一個很好的例子。
20世紀初，阿莫斯克亞格製造公司是世上最大的棉布製造商。它僱用了鎮上大部分的居民，因而擁有左右鎮上事務的力量，甚至在進行市鎮規劃時，它也扮演了一個舉足輕重的角色。假如沒有取得阿莫斯克亞格公司的許可，則任何一家製造公司都別想在新罕布夏州立廠，因為它擁有大部分的工業用地。
一開始，阿莫斯克亞格的工廠內只有年輕的女性工作者。但內戰過後，它也開始僱用男性及許多的外來移民。這個工廠為這個城市帶來了巨大的財富，但這個興隆的景氣並沒有持續不斷。
第一次世界大戰後，許多紡織工廠都座落在南方，因靠近棉花田，且工資較為低廉。到最後，阿莫斯克亞格公司為了避免倒閉，只好跟著降低工資，但卻引發了1922年的罷工事件。公司重新開業後，勢力已不如以前那般強大。1935年，它終於正式結束營業並為該鎮及鎮上居民帶來了經濟的災難。
What's a "company town"? In case you're not sure, the story of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire, is a good example of one.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was the largest maker of cotton cloth in the world. It employed most of the town's people and became so powerful that it even played a big role in city planning. No other manufacturing companies could think about locating in New Hampshire without Amoskeag's permission, because it owned most of the land available for industry.
At first, only young women worked at the Amoskeag mills. After the Civil War, men were also hired, as were many immigrants. The mill brought great prosperity to the city. But that prosperity did not last forever.
After the First World War, many textile mills were located in the South, which was closer to the cotton farms and where wages were lower. Eventually, the Amoskeag Company had to lower wages to stay in business, causing the workers to strike in 1922. The company reopened, but it was not as strong as before. In 1935, it closed forever, bringing economic disaster to the town and its people.
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