Do you know the natural ways to power mills and industry?

Harnessing natural forces to power important activities in daily life has been crucial to humans for thousands of years.

Wind power is the oldest example of this; the first images of boats driven by wind come from Ancient Egypt some 5000 years ago (although it is likely that such vessels existed before this date). Wind was later adapted to drive water and grain mills in the Near East, China, and Europe. However, wind power has some limitations—it’s not steady or controllable.

Water power, diverted from rivers and channeled through water mills, was a more reliable source of energy and became common throughout the world. Approximately 2000 years ago, the Greeks, Romans, and Chinese were some of the earliest people to adapt the idea of using water power captured by a water wheel for grinding grains, making iron, and sawing wood. In Amesbury, the water of the Powow River was harnessed by some of the very first European settlers in the 1650s. The river allowed many industries—spinning, weaving, and hat making—to grow in the city.

However, like wind power, water power has some limits. One of those limits, the size of the river or stream, allowed Amesbury to flourish for a time. But it meant that truly large- scale mills, such as developed further up the Merrimack River in Lowell and Lawrence, were never possible here. Instead, Amesbury residents developed a great variety of industries, such as carriage making and hat making, along with textiles, that operated on smaller scales.

Learn more about water power by visiting the Powow River in Amesbury's Upper Millyard and using this activity guide - Explore Amesbury: ABC’s of the Powow River.