ACM Industrial Survey Team: Photo Sleuthing Fun
Nothing energizes members of the Amesbury Carriage Museum’s Industrial Survey Team more than an old photograph needing identification. Figuring out the location of an old Amesbury scene requires an understanding of how the town is laid out, not just as it is today, but also as it was years ago. Luckily, many survey team member have just this understanding, acquired from hours of looking over maps, photographs and history texts.
Recently, a couple of old photos in the ACM’s David Pritchard Collection sparked a flurry of research and discussion. The photos have no notes to indicate their locations, although one has a date and was obviously taken during the 1936 flood that put much of the low-lying areas of Amesbury under feet of water. The second is a tiny diner or lunch wagon named Mullen’s Lunch.
The photos below were finally identified by Industrial Survey Team members Mike Harrold and John Mayer. But we won’t spoil the suspense just yet. Have fun and see if you’re able to determine the locations of these mystery photos. (Some hints are provided.) When you’ve made a guess or given up, open the linked documents to see the locations and the clever analyses needed to find them.
This downtown Amesbury photo from the flood of 1936 doesn’t offer much to go on, and the high water obscures the small river flowing from left to right adjacent to the five-story building in the center. That building and all the other buildings, except for the one on the right edge (now a popular restaurant) and the low building on the left, are gone, as are all the buildings and the smokestack visible in the distance. Give up? See Mike Harrold’s detective work for the location.
Mullen’s lunch wagon was only a stone’s throw from Amesbury’s Market Square, and a one-story retail building now stands at this site. The tallest building with the pitched roof in the center-background still exists, but the top two floors were removed years ago. The Powow River flows between that building and the brick buildings directly behind the lunch wagon. To solve the mystery, view John Mayer’s analysis.
If you enjoy the challenge of solving mysteries related to Amesbury’s history, consider joining the ACM Industrial Survey Team. There’s still so much to uncover! To find out more, contact ACM.