I’ve heard of a saw mill. I’ve heard of a grist mill. But I never heard of a «fulling mill» until I read about it on this marker. I learned that a fulling mill was an old process that beat and submerged textiles in water to shrink the fabric and make it denser and higher in quality. Located on a village green more or less where Main Street hits Railroad Street this is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. There is text one just one side, and the reverse side is a sad looking surface of white streaked blue. The marker dates to 1972 and is in a deteriorated condition of fading and streaking. The full inscription reads: Canaan The Town of Canaan, established in 1738, is known as Falls Village because of the Great Falls of the Housatonic where a power company dam was built in 1912 – 13. Early industrial prominence resulted from a saw mill and grist mill built at the Falls in 1741, an iron works in 1743, and a fulling mill in 1747. This region’s iron ore, limestone, and forestry were important to America during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. The Housatonic, meaning«place beyond the mountains» in the Indian language, forms the western boundary of Canaan, which was divided in 1858 into two towns, Canaan and North Canaan. Erected by the Town of Canaan The Falls Village — Canaan Historical Society and the Connecticut Historical Commission in 1972
