David Macaulay: Building A Mill Town
The gallery exhibit ended on April 2nd. If you missed it, you can still view the online exhibit!
The Heritage Winooski Mill Museum is pleased to present a selection of David Macaulay’s original illustrations of mill town landscapes and waterpower technology from his book MILL (1983). Pages from the authors sketch book show his process for researching and developing both the storyline and images for the fictional mill town of Wicksbridge. Through his detailed studies of the mechanics and architecture of real historic mills, Macaulay's illustrations brings us on a journey through time to gain a deeper understanding of how New England mill towns evolved. As you look through the exhibit, you may notice some similarities to the Champlain Mill and other mill structures in the Winooski mill district and Vermont.
David Macaulay is an internationally known author, Caldecott award winning illustrator, and MacArthur fellow. He has written and illustrated 33 books the best known of which have been translated into almost two dozen languages. Many of his books have the common theme of explaining the things that shape our lives in a clear and precise way. One of his most beloved publications is The Way Things Work (1988) and the updated version The Way Things Work Now (2008). For Mill (1983), Macaulay took inspiration from the beautiful simplicity of the mill buildings surrounding him where he lived in Rhode Island. To develop the story, he spent over a year researching mill technology and architecture at the Slater Mill and other New England locations. In 2001, Macaulay revisited his research by hosting Mill Times, an animated PBS special which explains the rise and fall of New England textile manufacturing. Macaulay’s interest in mill history led him to serve as a board member of the Slater Mill in Rhode Island for 8 years. In 2006 Macaulay and his family moved to Norwich, Vermont where he continues to produce books that ’explain’ things.
David Macaulay: BUILDING A MILL TOWN is part of 2020 Vision:Reflecting on a World-Changing Year, a statewide exhibition initiative of the Vermont Curators Group and supported in part by the Vermont Humanities Council.
