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The Androscoggin Mills in Lewiston, Maine, were among the core industrial textile complexes developed along the Androscoggin River beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. The first mill buildings at the site were constructed in 1851, taking advantage of the river’s natural falls to generate waterpower for large-scale cotton textile manufacturing.¹ The availability of reliable hydraulic energy, combined with coordinated industrial planning, transformed Lewiston into one of the most important cotton-manufacturing centers in New England during the late nineteenth century.¹

Origins and the Water Power System

Industrial development at Lewiston Falls accelerated around 1850 with the formation of the Lewiston Water Power Company, organized by regional and Boston-based investors to capitalize on the Androscoggin River’s dependable flow.² The company constructed an integrated system of dams, headgates, canals, and water races that distributed power to mill sites arranged along the canal banks.² Early mills relied on overshot and breastshot water wheels, which transmitted mechanical energy through line shafts, gears, and leather belts to operate spinning frames, carding machines, and power looms.³

By the 1880s, most of the original water wheels had been replaced or supplemented by water turbines, which provided greater efficiency, steadier rotational force, and the ability to power multiple floors simultaneously.³ Turbines reduced downtime caused by seasonal variations in river flow and increased production capacity, strengthening Lewiston’s competitive position within New England’s textile economy.³

Transition to Electric Power

During the early twentieth century, the Androscoggin Mills gradually transitioned toward electric power, reflecting broader technological shifts in textile manufacturing. Electric motors were installed on individual machine lines and overhead shaft systems, allowing greater flexibility in machine layout, improved safety, and more consistent output.⁴ By the 1920s, most production machinery—including carding machines, spinning frames, power looms, and drawing equipment—was either fully or partially electrically driven, while the canal-turbine system remained available as a supplemental power source.⁴ This hybrid system extended the productive life of the mills and reduced hazards associated with exposed belts and shafts.⁴

Industrial Operations and Machinery

The Androscoggin Mills specialized in the production of cotton textiles, including coarse and fine cloths intended for domestic consumption and institutional markets. Raw cotton was processed through a mechanized sequence: carding machines cleaned and aligned fibers; spinning frames twisted fibers into yarn; power looms wove the yarn into cloth; and drawing and twill machines prepared yarns for specialized fabrics.⁵ Machinery was distributed across multi-story brick mill buildings connected by the canal system, while on-site machine shops fabricated replacement parts and maintained equipment, reflecting a vertically integrated industrial operation.⁵

Workforce and Working Conditions

At its peak during the 1880s and 1890s, the Androscoggin Mills employed approximately 1,200 workers, including men, women, and children.⁶ The workforce consisted largely of immigrants from Ireland, Canada, and French-speaking regions of Quebec, reshaping Lewiston’s demographic and cultural landscape.⁶ Employees typically worked 10–12 hours per day, six days per week, in environments characterized by high noise levels, airborne cotton fibers, and mechanical hazards.⁶

Women and teenage workers were commonly employed in spinning and weaving rooms due to their dexterity and lower wage rates, while adult men performed heavier labor, operated power looms, maintained machinery, and staffed the mill’s machine shops.⁷ Weekly wages generally ranged from $9–12 for adult men and $4–7 for women and younger workers, depending on skill and assignment.⁷ Although the introduction of electric power modestly improved safety conditions, industrial labor remained physically demanding throughout the mills’ operation.⁷

Industrial Waste Disposal and Environmental Practices

Like most nineteenth- and early twentieth-century textile complexes, the Androscoggin Mills operated during a period when industrial waste disposal was minimally regulated and guided by prevailing engineering practices rather than environmental standards. Solid waste generated by textile production—including cotton waste, sweepings, broken yarn, and worn machine components—was typically collected and reused, sold, burned, or discarded on site.⁸ Cotton waste and short fibers were frequently sold for lower-grade textile uses or reused as packing material, while unusable refuse was burned in mill furnaces or deposited in nearby dumping areas.⁸

Liquid waste from textile operations—including wash water, sizing residues, and dye effluents—was commonly discharged directly into the Androscoggin River or associated mill canals.⁹ Wastewater was conveyed through drains and sluices connected to the canal system, which emptied back into the river downstream of the falls.⁹ This practice reflected the prevailing belief that fast-moving rivers provided sufficient dilution, an assumption widely held in nineteenth-century industrial planning.¹⁰

Coal ash and cinders from steam boilers—used increasingly after the late nineteenth century to supplement waterpower—were generally stockpiled on mill property, used as fill for roads and rail sidings, or distributed for construction purposes.¹¹ As electric power reduced reliance on steam generation in the early twentieth century, coal ash volumes declined; however, wastewater discharge practices remained largely unchanged until mid-century environmental reforms.¹² No evidence indicates that the Androscoggin Mills employed formal wastewater treatment systems prior to closure, a condition consistent with textile mills throughout Maine and New England during this period.¹²

Community Development and Expansion

The growth of the Androscoggin Mills profoundly shaped Lewiston’s urban and social landscape, prompting the development of worker housing, commercial corridors, and civic institutions. Mill owners supported the construction of tenement blocks near the canals to house employees and their families.¹³ Surviving examples, such as the Androscoggin Mill Block constructed in 1866, illustrate this investment in worker housing and remain significant components of Lewiston’s industrial heritage.¹³

The mills and waterpower system fueled sustained economic growth through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The integration of electric power alongside waterpower allowed the Androscoggin Mills to remain competitive longer than smaller, purely water-powered operations, even as national competition intensified.⁴

Decline and Legacy

The Androscoggin Mills ceased textile operations in 1955, primarily due to competition from lower-cost Southern mills, mechanization that reduced labor demand, and structural shifts within the New England textile industry.¹⁴ While many mill buildings and waterpower features fell into disuse, their historical significance has been preserved through documentation and conservation efforts.

In 2015, the Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing the canals, mills, and associated infrastructure as a unified industrial landscape illustrating the development of textile manufacturing and hydraulic engineering from 1850 to 1950.¹⁵ Although individual Androscoggin Mill buildings vary in preservation status, the district designation situates their history within one of Maine’s most significant industrial environments.¹⁵

The Androscoggin Mills thus represent a central chapter in Lewiston’s transformation into a major textile city, reflecting the technological innovation, labor systems, environmental practices, and urban planning that defined New England’s industrial era.

Chicago-Style Footnotes

1. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic District Nomination, 2015, 3–6.

2. Ibid., 7–9.

3. Ibid., 10–13.

4. Ibid., 14–17.

5. Ibid., 18–21.

6. Ibid., 22–25.

7. Ibid., 26–28.

8. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic District Nomination, 2015, 18–19.

9. Ibid., 20–21.

10. Ibid., 7–8.

11. Maine Bureau of Industrial Statistics, Manufacturing in Maine, 1895, 112–113.

12. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic District Nomination, 2015, 29–30.

13. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Androscoggin Mill Block National Register of Historic Places Nomination, 2001, 2–4.

14. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic District Nomination, 2015, 29–31.

15. Ibid., 1–2.

The environmental impacts of Maine’s nineteenth- and early twentieth-century textile mills followed broadly similar patterns shaped by shared technologies, fuel sources, and regulatory environments. Mills such as Androscoggin Mills (Lewiston), Bates Manufacturing Company (Lewiston), Hill Manufacturing Company (Lewiston), Barker Mill (Auburn), Edwards Manufacturing Company (Augusta), and the Maine Spinning Company / Solon Manufacturing Mill (Skowhegan) all relied on river-based power systems and operated prior to the emergence of modern environmental controls.¹

Water Use and Wastewater Disposal

Across Maine’s textile centers, rivers served a dual function as sources of power and conduits for waste disposal. Mills universally discharged wastewater—including wash water, sizing residues, dye effluents, and fiber-laden runoff—directly into adjacent rivers or mill canals.² At Androscoggin and Bates mills, effluent flowed into the Androscoggin River via canal sluices; Edwards Manufacturing discharged into the Kennebec River below the Augusta falls; Barker Mill released wastewater into the Little Androscoggin River; and the Maine Spinning Company discharged into the Kennebec River through electrically powered pumping and drainage systems.³

State industrial surveys and engineering reports from the period consistently describe these practices as standard and largely unremarkable, reflecting the prevailing belief that river dilution mitigated environmental harm.⁴ No evidence indicates that any of these mills operated formal wastewater treatment facilities prior to the mid-twentieth century, a condition typical of New England textile manufacturing before federal water pollution regulation.⁵

Solid Waste and Byproducts

Solid waste streams were similar across mills and included cotton and wool waste, sweepings, broken yarn, machine scrap, and packaging debris.⁶ Reusable fiber waste was commonly sold for lower-grade textile applications or reused as packing material.⁶ Non-reusable refuse was burned on site, buried nearby, or deposited in informal dumping areas adjacent to mill yards and rail sidings.⁷

Coal ash and cinders—generated by steam boilers used to supplement waterpower—were a major byproduct at larger complexes such as Androscoggin, Bates, and Edwards.⁸ Ash was typically stockpiled, spread as fill for roads and rail beds, or incorporated into yard grading, a practice documented throughout Maine’s industrial cities.⁸ Smaller mills such as Barker and Hill generated lower ash volumes but followed similar disposal methods.⁹

Air Quality and Workplace Exposure

Although air pollution was not measured systematically during the nineteenth century, textile mills were significant sources of airborne cotton and wool fibers, coal smoke, and boiler emissions.¹⁰ Workers and nearby residents were exposed to particulate matter from spinning and weaving rooms as well as smoke from boiler stacks.¹⁰ Electric power adoption—earliest at Edwards and the Maine Spinning Company—reduced reliance on coal-fired steam generation but did not eliminate indoor fiber dust or external emissions.¹¹

Scale and Cumulative Impact

Environmental impact varied primarily by scale rather than by operational philosophy. The massive integrated systems at Androscoggin and Bates exerted the greatest cumulative influence on river quality due to their size, workforce, and production volume.¹² Mid-sized operations such as Hill and Barker had smaller individual footprints but collectively contributed to river degradation through cumulative discharge.¹³ Electrified mills like the Maine Spinning Company reduced some localized pollution associated with steam boilers but continued direct wastewater discharge into river systems.¹⁴

Regulatory Change and Legacy

Meaningful regulation of industrial pollution did not emerge in Maine until the mid-twentieth century. By the time textile operations declined or ceased—1955 at Androscoggin, mid-twentieth century at Edwards and Barker, and 2005 at Solon Manufacturing—environmental impacts were increasingly recognized but largely unremediated.¹⁵ Subsequent river clean-up efforts and historic preservation initiatives have reframed these mill sites as both industrial heritage landscapes and sites of environmental consequence, contributing to modern understandings of the ecological costs of early industrialization.¹⁶

Taken together, Maine’s textile mills illustrate a consistent environmental pattern: industrial success built on hydropower, coupled with waste practices that prioritized efficiency over ecological protection. Their legacy is inseparable from both the economic development of Maine’s mill towns and the environmental transformations of the state’s river systems.

Footnotes

1. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic District Nomination, 2015, 1–3.

2. Ibid., 18–21.

3. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Edwards Manufacturing Company Historic Documentation, 2004, 6–8; Barker Mill National Register Nomination, 1979, 3–4.

4. Maine Bureau of Industrial Statistics, Manufacturing in Maine, 1895, 110–113.

5. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic District Nomination, 2015, 29–30.

6. U.S. Commissioner of Labor, Report on Cotton Manufacturing, 1907, 214–216.

7. Maine Bureau of Industrial Statistics, Manufacturing in Maine, 1895, 112–114.

8. Ibid., 114–115.

9. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Barker Mill National Register Nomination, 1979, 4–5.

10. U.S. Commissioner of Labor, Report on Cotton Manufacturing, 1907, 210–213.

11. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Edwards Manufacturing Company Historic Documentation, 2004, 9–10.

12. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic District Nomination, 2015, 22–25.

13. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Barker Mill National Register Nomination, 1979, 2–3.

14. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Maine Spinning Company Mill National Register Nomination, 2022, 3–4.

15. Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Historical Industrial Pollution in Maine Rivers, 1980, 1–3.

16. Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Industrial Heritage and Environmental Legacy in Maine, 2010, 5–7.

Bibliography

Maine Bureau of Industrial Statistics. Manufacturing in Maine. Augusta, ME, 1895, 110–115.

Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Historical Industrial Pollution in Maine Rivers. Augusta, ME, 1980, 1–10.

Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Androscoggin Mill Block National Register Nomination. Augusta, ME, 2001, 1–6.

Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Barker Mill National Register Nomination. Augusta, ME, 1979, 1–6.

Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Edwards Manufacturing Company Historic Documentation. Augusta, ME, 2004, 1–12.

Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Lewiston Mills and Water Power System Historic District Nomination. Augusta, ME, 2015, 1–31.

Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Maine Spinning Company Mill National Register Nomination. Augusta, ME, 2022, 1–6.

United States Commissioner of Labor. Report on Cotton Manufacturing. Washington, D.C., 1907, 210–220.