The economic structure of local communities and regions is a basic ingredient of community history. One aspect of this, agriculture, has been treated in chapters 4 and 5. This chapter and the next are concerned with source materials for the history of manufacturing, mining, commerce, and communications.

INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS

Topics which could be considered in the local history of manufacturing and business activity are legion. Fundamental is the analysis of the economic characteristics of the community concerned – the main kinds of industries and businesses and changes in their relative importance over time, embracing the growth of specialization, diversification, decline, or disappearance of certain sectors, and so on. It may be pertinent here to take into account the impact of external influences – technological change, influx of population, transportation improvements, growth of centers of consumption, expansion of banking and credit facilities, and the general fortunes of the national or regional economy.

Aspects of the main industries and trades in a community which may need investigation include the numbers of firms involved, the types of goods produced or sold, methods of manufacture, processes and machinery, use of power, and the scale of production. In addition it may well be significant to look into the organization of establishments (single entrepreneurs, family businesses, partnerships, larger companies), including management techniques, sources of capital, relations with banks, use of credit, markets for produce, and sources of raw materials.