Ramsbottom Grant Arms Hotel in Market Place was the home of William and Daniel Grant, 19th century industrialists closely associated with the rise of the town and reputed to be the inspiration for the Cheeryble brothers in "Nicholas Nickleby" by Charles Dickens. The Grants' employees were paid in tokens that had to be redeemed at a public house owned by the company. The landlord converted the tokens into cash, but only after deducting threepence per person, which had to be spent on beer, a variation on the truck system. A network of roads and railways routed through Ramsbottom allowed for a
USS Dickens (APA-161) one to Pearl Harbor, to bring home returning veterans until 4 March when she sailed for the east coast. Arriving at Norfolk 23 March, "Dickens" was decommissioned there 21 May 1946 and returned to the Maritime Commission the same day. Ex-"Dickens" was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in James River, Virginia. Between 22 July and 14 October 1955 she was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet for a Repair Program, GAA- South Atlantic SS, and returned. Ex-"Dickens" was sold for $310,989 to Luria Brothers & Co., Inc. for scrapping on 7 May 1974. At 1300 EDT, on 18 June