Helmshore owes its development to a damp climate that was ideally suited to the development of the wool, cotton and linen industries. During the early part of the Industrial Revolution, from the 1790s on, small mills were built on the river valleys, such as Alden Valley where there are still ruins, close to the farming areas – indeed most mill-owners were also farmers. But by the latter half of the 19th century these mills became redundant and industry expanded enormously as mill owners such as the Turner family built terraced dwellings to house the workforce necessary to run their cotton mills close to the roads and railways. During this period "Helmshore" gradually superseded "Musbury" as the main name for the community.