Factories and products

Several factors are converging throughout the Industrial Era that will change America forever. Steam, iron, coal, railroads, land and immigrant labor are combining to increase manufacturing output, based on the factory.

The map shows manufacturing activity in 1870. By this time, New England is moving away from farming, and factories are now common in every city. Many still run on waterpower, but steam engines are taking over.

Manufacturing has become so important that the Census Bureau begins collecting detailed information about factories. The 1870 Census is a treasure trove of data on employees, sales, expenses, and even power systems. 
Steam vs waterpower, 1870 map

  Industrial America
ORANGE highlighting on the map indicates steam-powered manufacturing activity. Small BLUE dots are water-powered mills. Manufacturing has now expanded from its original base to cover the entire Northern belt of states. Waterpower (small BLUE dots) is still important in rural areas, especially in the South, which lost most of its manufacturing base during the Civil War.

Factories, 1870

  Smokestacks Everywhere
New factories are now routinely powered by steam engines. Many factories have steam engines in the basement, while others generate steam pressure in a completely separate building, using pipes to transmit the steam to machinery located elsewhere on the site. Waterpower (small BLUE dots) is still important in rural areas, especially in the South, which lost most of its manufacturing base during the Civil War


Waterpower, 1870 map

  Rural Power
Waterwheels are still in wide use in 1870, especially in rural areas, and don't require any fuel. Water-powered mills (BLUE dots on map) are surprisingly widespread, even in coastal areas where the land is mostly flat. Often, low dams are constructed across minor streams to make a mill pond, which creates a reservoir to power the mill during periods of low water flow. Most rural mills are either sawmills or grist mills, which use grindstones to slowly turn grain into flour.