the statue:

Although she still stands tall and proud, we’re throwing it back on this Thursday to those who came before her. The statue of Mille the Millgirl, as she is affectionately referred to, is an icon of Manchester’s Mill past. She was dedicated on September 9, 1988 and sculpted by artist Antoinette Schultze.

Her plaque reads:

“She stands here, for thousands
of 19th century working women:

Industrial revolutionaries who broke
with the past to earn a living,
making history and creating the future

In 1880, one third of Manchester’s population, 3,385 women, worked in the textile mills of The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, situated below along the banks of the Merrimack River.”

some facts:

She is a powerful reminder of “the thousands of women who worked in [the] factories during the 19th century. The first mill girls came here from the farms and small towns of New England to…