Pejepscot Paper Company: An Industrial History of a Maine Mill

Introduction

The Pejepscot Paper Mill, located on Great Island on the Androscoggin River in Topsham, Maine, is one of the oldest surviving paper-mill buildings in the state and a significant example of nineteenth-century industrial architecture. Constructed in 1868 as the Topsham Paper Company, the mill occupied a site long valued for its hydropower at Brunswick Falls. Its substantial brick and granite structure—three stories high with a gambrel roof and a central tower—reflects the Italianate industrial style common to American manufacturing buildings of the late nineteenth century.¹

Early Ownership and Expansion

The paper mill at Brunswick Falls was established in 1868 as the Topsham Paper Company, taking advantage of the powerful water resources of the Androscoggin River. During the late nineteenth century, the river valley emerged as one of Maine’s principal industrial corridors, attracting textile and paper manufacturers seeking dependable hydropower and transportation links. The Topsham Paper Company constructed a substantial brick and granite mill building on Great Island and installed early papermaking machinery, including pulp-grinding equipment and a Fourdrinier paper machine capable of producing continuous sheets of paper. These installations placed the mill among the early wood-pulp papermaking facilities in Maine at a time when the industry was expanding rapidly throughout northern New England.¹²

Despite its promising location and modern equipment, the Topsham Paper Company encountered financial difficulties within a few years. In 1874, the property was sold at auction and acquired by W. H. and A. W. Parsons, who operated the mill briefly while reorganizing its finances and evaluating its mechanical systems. Their tenure lasted only about a year but provided the necessary stabilization for the facility to be restructured under new corporate management as the Bowdoin Paper Manufacturing Company in 1875. Under Bowdoin’s direction, the mill’s operations stabilized, and the company expanded its machinery and refining equipment to meet growing demand for paper products in regional publishing and commercial markets.²³

Bowdoin management enhanced the mill’s mechanical capacity by installing additional pulp-processing equipment and refining the production system surrounding the Fourdrinier machine. The plant produced a variety of paper grades—including writing paper, book paper, and newspaper stock—distributed to printers and merchants throughout New England. These improvements reflected broader technological changes in the American paper industry during the late nineteenth century, when the shift from rag pulp to wood pulp dramatically increased production capacity and reduced costs.³ By the mid-1880s, the Topsham facility had become a stable manufacturing operation and a significant employer within the Brunswick–Topsham community.

Over more than a century, the mill passed through multiple phases of ownership, mirroring the broader development of Maine’s pulp and paper industry. The Topsham Paper Company (1868–1874) established the mill and demonstrated the viability of papermaking at Brunswick Falls. After its financial collapse, W. H. and A. W. Parsons (1874–1875) briefly managed the property before reorganizing it as the Bowdoin Paper Manufacturing Company (1875–1887), which expanded the mill’s equipment and production capacity. In 1887, the enterprise was reorganized as the Pejepscot Paper Company (1887–1985), marking the longest and most productive phase in the facility’s history. The new company doubled the mill’s equipment to two Fourdrinier machines and expanded pulp-processing capacity; by the late nineteenth century, the plant produced roughly five tons of paper per day and employed approximately seventy-five workers, including forty-five men and thirty women. Many employees were French Canadian immigrants who migrated south from Québec to work in the rapidly expanding textile and paper mills of the Androscoggin River valley. These workers and their families formed durable Franco-American communities in nearby mill towns such as Brunswick and Lewiston, where Catholic parishes, fraternal organizations, and kinship networks supported a growing industrial workforce.⁴

After the decline of smaller paper mills in the late twentieth century, manufacturing operations at the Pejepscot mill ceased in the mid-1980s. The building remained largely vacant until its purchase by the Fore River Company (1998–present), which rehabilitated the structure for mixed commercial use while preserving its historic industrial character.⁵

Industrial Operations and Machinery

The expansion of the Pejepscot mill under successive ownership coincided with rapid technological transformation in the American paper industry. By the late nineteenth century, papermaking had shifted from small craft operations using rag pulp to large mechanized mills producing paper from wood fiber. Maine, with its extensive forests and powerful rivers, became one of the leading centers of this industry. The Pejepscot facility reflected these developments through the adoption of modern machinery and integrated production systems designed to convert wood pulp into continuous sheets of finished paper.⁶

Central to the mill’s operations were Fourdrinier paper machines, which revolutionized papermaking during the nineteenth century by enabling continuous production of paper rather than individual sheets. In this process, diluted pulp—made by grinding wood into fibers and mixing it with water—was spread across a moving wire screen. As the water drained away, the fibers interlocked to form a thin mat that consolidated into a continuous sheet. The sheet then passed through a series of rollers and presses that removed additional moisture before entering heated drying cylinders.⁷ By the 1880s, the Pejepscot mill operated multiple machines of this type, producing several tons of paper per day for commercial distribution.

Supporting the Fourdrinier machines was a range of auxiliary equipment that prepared and refined the pulp prior to paper formation. Rotary screens filtered debris from the pulp slurry, while roll engines and beaters processed fibers to achieve the proper consistency for papermaking. Bleaching tubs treated the pulp chemically to produce lighter-colored papers suitable for printing and writing. After drying, the finished paper passed through calendering machines—heavy rollers that compressed and smoothed the sheet—before being cut, counted, and packaged for shipment. Together, these machines formed an integrated industrial system typical of late nineteenth-century paper mills in New England.⁸

Power was derived from both hydropower and steam, reflecting a transitional stage in industrial energy systems. The mill’s location at Brunswick Falls allowed it to harness the Androscoggin River through waterwheels and later turbines connected to line shafts distributing mechanical power throughout the building. Steam engines supplemented hydropower during low water flow or when additional force was required to operate heavy machinery. This dual system ensured continuous production despite seasonal fluctuations in river levels.⁹

Industrial production depended on a coordinated workforce responsible for operating and maintaining complex machinery. Skilled machine tenders supervised the Fourdrinier machines, adjusting pulp flow, wire speed, and pressure rollers. Other workers operated grinders, beaters, and finishing machines, while mechanics in the mill’s machine shop repaired worn parts and fabricated replacements. As in other Androscoggin River mills, a significant portion of the workforce consisted of French Canadian immigrants and their descendants, whose communities provided a steady labor supply.¹⁰

By the early twentieth century, the Pejepscot mill represented a mature example of Maine’s mechanized paper industry, combining advanced machinery with river-powered energy and skilled labor. Although smaller than later pulp-and-paper complexes, its integrated system illustrates the technological foundations upon which Maine’s paper industry developed during the late nineteenth century.¹¹

Workforce and Working Conditions

Operation of the Pejepscot Paper Company depended not only on machinery but also on a stable and skilled workforce. By the late nineteenth century, the mill employed approximately seventy-five workers, including machine tenders, pulp grinders, press operators, finishers, mechanics, and general laborers responsible for moving raw materials and finished paper. Papermaking required coordinated labor at every stage, from pulp preparation to monitoring Fourdrinier machines and finishing equipment. Skilled operators maintained precise balances of pulp consistency, machine speed, and roller pressure to produce uniform sheets.¹²

A substantial portion of the workforce consisted of French Canadian immigrants and their descendants. Economic pressures and limited farmland in Québec encouraged many to migrate south to New England, where textile and paper mills offered steady employment. At the Pejepscot mill, these workers helped form Franco-American communities supported by Catholic parishes, mutual-aid societies, and family networks.¹³

Work in the mill was physically demanding and hazardous. Machinery operated continuously, producing noise, dust, and chemical fumes from bleaching processes. Wet floors and moving equipment added safety risks. Shifts commonly extended ten to twelve hours, though employment provided relatively stable income.¹⁴

Women worked primarily in finishing departments, performing tasks such as sorting, counting, cutting, and packaging paper. They typically earned lower wages and rarely held supervisory roles, yet their labor was essential to household income. Many Franco-American families saw multiple members employed in local mills, creating family-based labor networks that supported industrial production and community stability.¹⁵

By the early twentieth century, Pejepscot’s workforce reflected broader labor patterns in Maine’s industrial economy, combining immigrant and second-generation skills with long-term community ties. Although smaller than larger pulp-and-paper complexes, the mill’s workforce demonstrates the social foundations of Maine’s paper industry.¹⁶

Twentieth-Century Operations and Decline

During the early twentieth century, the Pejepscot Paper Company operated as a modest but productive mill. While larger complexes emerged in towns such as Rumford and Millinocket, the facility maintained smaller-scale production focused on specialized paper grades and regional markets. Machinery and finishing equipment were gradually improved, but the plant remained modest in size relative to statewide industrial giants.¹⁷

Post–World War II industrial consolidation favored larger, integrated mills capable of producing higher volumes at lower costs. Pejepscot’s relatively small scale and aging equipment made it difficult to compete with modernized facilities.¹⁸

Environmental concerns also shaped the industry. The Androscoggin River had been heavily polluted, and mid-twentieth-century regulations required mills to modernize waste-treatment systems. Compliance demanded capital investment, which smaller mills such as Pejepscot often struggled to afford.¹⁹

By the late twentieth century, industrial consolidation, automation, and market competition accelerated the decline of historic paper mills in Maine. Large corporations absorbed smaller companies, centralized production, and reduced labor needs. Regular manufacturing at Pejepscot ceased in 1985. The Hearst Company used the building briefly for storage (1985–1986), after which it remained largely vacant.²⁰

Historic preservation enabled a new life for the structure. In 1998, the Fore River Company purchased and rehabilitated the mill, preserving timber beams, brick walls, and portions of interior flooring while converting it to mixed commercial use. Businesses and restaurants now occupy the building, demonstrating how nineteenth-century industrial structures can be repurposed for modern economic activity while retaining historic character.²¹

Today, the former Pejepscot Paper Company mill stands as a reminder of the industrial heritage of the Androscoggin River valley. Its history—from founding to decline and adaptive reuse—illustrates Maine’s paper industry and the communities that developed around it, preserving a tangible link to technological, economic, and social transformations.²²

Footnotes

1. Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Pejepscot Paper Company (Washington, DC: National Park Service, 1974), 3.

2. Shettleworth, Pejepscot Paper Company, 3–4.

3. D. C. Smith, History of Papermaking in the United States, 1690–1969 (New York: Lockwood Trade Journal Co., 1970), 312–314.

4. Smith, History of Papermaking in the United States, 314–317; Charles Scontras, Maine in the Industrial Age, 1860–1920 (Orono: University of Maine Bureau of Labor Education, 2006), 112–118.

5. Gerard J. Brault, The French-Canadian Heritage in New England (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1986), 78–80; Yves Roby, The Franco-Americans of New England: Dreams and Realities (Quebec: Septentrion, 2004), 45–52; Mark Paul Richard, Not a Catholic Nation: The Ku Klux Klan Confronts New England in the 1920s (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2015), 18–21; Maine Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics, Annual Report of the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics for the State of Maine (Augusta, ME, 1890), 146–147.

6. Smith, History of Papermaking in the United States, 300–318; Scontras, Maine in the Industrial Age, 120–124.

7. Smith, History of Papermaking in the United States, 305–308.

8. Smith, History of Papermaking in the United States, 308–312.

9. Shettleworth, Pejepscot Paper Company, 4–5; Candace Kanes, “Powering Pejepscot Paper Co.,” Maine Historical Society.

10. Brault, The French-Canadian Heritage in New England, 78–80; Roby, The Franco-Americans of New England, 45–52.

11. Scontras, Maine in the Industrial Age, 123–125.

12. Shettleworth, Pejepscot Paper Company, 4; Scontras, Maine in the Industrial Age, 120–123.

13. Brault, The French-Canadian Heritage in New England, 60–82; Roby, The Franco-Americans of New England, 35–52.

14. Roby, The Franco-Americans of New England, 48–52.

15. Scontras, Maine in the Industrial Age, 130–134; Richard, Not a Catholic Nation, 18–21.

16. Scontras, Maine in the Industrial Age, 124–128.

17. Scontras, Maine in the Industrial Age, 140–145; Shettleworth, Pejepscot Paper Company, 5.

18. Smith, History of Papermaking in the United States, 420–425.

19. Christopher J. M. Hall, Working the Water: The Androscoggin River and the Industrial Transformation of Maine (Orono: University of Maine Press, 2012), 210–215.

20. Shettleworth, Pejepscot Paper Company, 6.

21. Ibid., 6–7.

22. Scontras, Maine in the Industrial Age, 148–150.

Bibliography

Brault, Gerard J. The French-Canadian Heritage in New England. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1986.

Hall, Christopher J. M. Working the Water: The Androscoggin River and the Industrial Transformation of Maine. Orono: University of Maine Press, 2012.

Maine Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics. Annual Report of the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics for the State of Maine. Augusta, ME, 1890.

Richard, Mark Paul. Not a Catholic Nation: The Ku Klux Klan Confronts New England in the 1920s. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2015.

Roby, Yves. The Franco-Americans of New England: Dreams and Realities. Quebec: Septentrion, 2004.

Shettleworth, Earle G., Jr. National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Pejepscot Paper Company. Washington, DC: National Park Service, 1974.

Smith, D. C. History of Papermaking in the United States, 1690–1969. New York: Lockwood Trade Journal Co., 1970.

Scontras, Charles. Maine in the Industrial Age, 1860–1920. Orono: University of Maine Bureau of Labor Education, 2006.

Candace Kanes. “Powering Pejepscot Paper Co.” Maine Historical Society.