The Company Town: Architecture and Society in the Early Industrial Age / Edition 1

by John Garner

Overview

Built by industrialists whose early businesses contributed to the escalation of the Industrial Revolution, company towns flourished in countries that embraced capitalism and open-market trading. In many instances, the company town came to symbolize the wrecking of the environment, especially in places associated with extractive industries such as mining and lumber milling. Some resident industrialists, however, took a genuine interest in the welfare of their work forces, and in a number of instances hired architects to provide a model environment. Overtaken by time, these towns were either abandoned or caught up in suburban growth. The most thorough-going and only international assessment of the company town, this collection of essays by specialists and authorities of each region offers a balanced account of architectural and social history and provides a better understanding of the architectural and urban experiences of the early industrial age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195070279
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/01/1992
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.31(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.82(d)
Lexile:	1460L (what's this?)

About the Author

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Table of Contents

	Introduction	3
I	Company Towns in Europe and Scandinavia
1.	Merthyr Tydfil and Early Ironworks in South Wales	17
2.	Noisiel-sur-Marne and the Ville Industrielle in France	43
3.	The Company Town in Scandinavia	75
II	Company Towns in North and South America
4.	Early New England Mill Towns of the Piscataqua River Valley	111
5.	Earle S. Draper and the Company Town in the American South	139
6.	Company Towns in the Western United States	173
7.	Company Towns of Chile and Argentina	207
	Bibliography	233
	Index	243

Editorial Reviews

"Students concerned with the relation of industry to planning will have a field day reading it."—Choice

"This book is distinguished by a uniformly clear and well-written text along with good photographs and plans."—Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"This fine book not only does justice to the topic of company towns but also suggests how much more we need to learn and synthesize....The book includes an invaluable company town bibliography for each of the regions covered in its chapters..."—Industrial Archeology

From the Publisher