Merrimack Hall was once the center of the social activities for the Merrimack Mill Village. Merrimack Hall housed a gymnasium, two community rooms, the company store, a café and a barbershop.
Before the space program came to Huntsville, the textile mills were where most residents worked. Merrimack Mill was the first textile mill in Huntsville and at one time, the largest mill in the Southeastern United States. When Merrimack Mill Company opened its textile mill on July 9, 1900 it employed 750 workers. A second mill was constructed in 1903, employing over 1,100 workers.
Throughout its history, Merrimack Hall provided cultural, social and recreational activities to the residents of the Mill Village. Community Fairs were held in the gymnasium on a regular basis, movies were shown in one of the meeting rooms two nights a week, basketball was played at least four nights a week in the gymnasium and many organizations used Merrimack Hall for their meetings and events.
One of the meeting rooms was designated for the young people of the village. The Teen Canteen, as this room was called, was the central gathering spot for Merrimack Village’s teenagers. Dances were held in Merrimack Hall on a monthly basis, along with special events such as Halloween Carnivals, Spring Flings and others.
After nearly 100 years of operation, it was announced in 1989 that the Huntsville Manufacturing Company (formerly Merrimack Mill Company) would close its plant and the mills were demolished in 1992. Today, 297 mill village houses and Merrimack Hall are all that remain of this important piece of Huntsville’s history.
Scheduled to open in the Spring of 2007, Merrimack Hall will present educational programs for performers of all ages and skill levels, and will offer a daily open class schedule, master classes, after school enrichment programs, individual private instruction, artists-in-residence, special guest artists, summer performing arts camps and weekend performing arts intensives.
Merrimack Hall may be utilized by a wide variety of individuals and groups, making it an important resource for the cultural environment in Huntsville, as well as a tribute to it’s prominent place in Huntsville history.
Merrimack Mill Village & Merrimack Hall Photos
More Articles
Free Huntsville Newsletter
