[1] Nashua was one of several towns that was established along the Merrimack River to take advantage of water power in the early days of the Industrial Revolution.
[5] The Nashua Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1823 on the initiative of Daniel Abbot.
[9] They hired Asher Benjamin to design the mills, including churches and a grid of streets.
[12] After the canal was complete, the company built more mill buildings and hired more labor, likely helping the town's population rise from 1,142 to 2,417 in the years 1820-1830.
In 1947, Textron liquidated the mill, throwing some 2,000 people out of work when the city had a population of about 25,000.