James Burton had built cotton mills on both sides of the Hindsford Brook including Lodge Mill. Dan Lane Spinning and Doubling Mills were built in the 1840s and lasted until the 1950s. Howe Bridge Spinning Mills, the largest complex in Atherton was started in 1868 and the last mill built in 1919. It closed as a textile factory in early 1999. Mills built in the 20th century were Laburnum Mills in 1905 (closed 1980), and Ena Mill in 1908 which closed in 1999. The Ena Mill, now converted for other uses, is a Grade II listed building. Governance Atherton is an electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. The ward elects three councillors to the 75-member metropolitan borough council, Wigan's local authority. As of 2019 Councillors in all three local wards are part of the Independent Network. Historically, Atherton was in the Hundred of West Derby, a judicial division of southwest Lancashire. Atherton was one of the six townships or vills that made up the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Leigh. The townships existed before the parish. The manor of Atherton was held by the Atherton family from the de Botelers, whose chief manor was at Warrington. Under the terms of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 the townships were part of the Leigh Poor Law Union which was established on 26 January 1837 comprising an area covering the whole of the ancient parish of Leigh and part of Winwick. Workhouses existed in Pennington, Culcheth, Tyldesley, Lowton and Hag Fold in Atherton, but the Leigh Union workhouse at Atherleigh replaced them in the 1850s. In 1863 the Local Government Act 1858 was adopted for the township, meaning it was governed by a local board of health, a type of regulatory body responsible for standards of hygiene and sanitation in the township. In 1894 part of the township was added to Leigh Urban District; the remainder became Atherton Urban District. The urban district was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, when the area became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, a local government district of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. There has been much protest to the local government arrangements, with a significant proportion of Atherton residents having a stronger affinity to nearby bordering areas of Bolton and Salford, than Wigan itself. This is seen in the local councillor representation of 3 independent councillors for Atherton