surviving the forties

Woolen Mills dam and race, date unknown

No record exists of the amount paid by Marchant for the mill, but undoubtedly it was much less than the $90,000 at which it was valued only two years previously. Since Jones' share was sold at public auction and at a time disadvantageous to him, one cannot estimate the total cost from the sum he received. But whatever the price, the frequency with which ownership had changed hands since 1840 leads one to suspect that the Factory was having a difficult time surviving the forties.--Harry Poindexter