Mill — David MacAulay

This illustrated look at nineteenth-century New England architecture was named a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.
 
This book, from the award-winning author of The Way Things Work, takes readers of all ages on a journey through a fictional mill town called Wicksbridge. With words and pictures, David Macaulay reveals fascinating details about the planning, construction, and operation of the mills -- and gives us a powerful sense of the day-to-day lives of Americans in this era.
 
“His imaginary mills in an imaginary town in Rhode Island, and the generations of people who built and ran them, come to life.” -- The New York Times