MANCHESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Manchester, Center of Historic Architecture

Historic Places
Susan Barlow

Bon Ami – “Hasn’t Scratched Yet”

Compiled by Jim Hall from various sources noted below Excerpted from: “The History of Manchester, Connecticut” by Mathias Spiess and Percy Bidwell, 1924 The Orford Soap Company. The most widely known of Manchester’s products, with the exception of the Cheney silks, is Bon Ami (“Good Friend”), the cleanser manufactured by

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Historic People
Susan Barlow

Hazel Lutz And Her Dream

Reprinted with permission Hazel Lutz envisioned a museum only for children, where they could learn and play, and not be told “Don’t Touch.” Her dream came true in 1953, when Manchester’s PTA Council decided to sponsor a museum named in her honor. They listened to her idea of a place

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Historic Places
Susan Barlow

The Cheney Silk Mills

THE CHENEY SILK MILLS By Susan Barlow, Manchester Historical Society Beginning in 1838, Cheney Brothers built the silk mills that made Manchester famous and drew workers from throughout the United States and Europe. During the second Industrial Revolution (1860-1890), the Cheney business prospered, and eventually became the largest silk manufacturer

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