The Hathaway site in Waterville, has been a cornerstone of the city's industrial legacy since 1865, when George Alfred secured water and property rights at Ticonic Falls, enabling the construction of a dam on the Kennebec River. In 1873, Reuben Dunn, a retired railroad executive, acquired the dam and brought in engineer Amos D. Lockwood to design a cotton mill. The first mill opened in 1876 with 33,000 spindles, followed by a second in 1882—now the Hathaway Center—which added 55,000 more. At its height, the Lockwood Cotton Mill employed nearly 1,200 people, many of whom were French-Canadian immigrants from poor, rural farms in Quebec. Entire families often worked in the mill, including children as young as twelve, laboring in tough and dangerous conditions from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, spinning, weaving, and maintaining the machinery., covered in cotton dust from the weaving process and grease from the machines. In 1911, child labor laws had raised the minimum working age. That same year, the mill processed 7 million pounds of cotton into 17 million yards of cloth and paid out $400,000 in wages. Most management was of English descent, while French-speaking workers filled lower-level jobs. Despite the harsh labor, the environment was considered relatively positive, partly because workers were allowed to speak French and often worked alongside family members. Despite reaching national recognition for its high-quality bed linens the mills ceased operations in 1955, and the equipment was subsequently sold off..

In 1956, the facility was revived by the C. F. Hathaway Company, a shirtmaker founded in Waterville in 1853. when Charles F. Hathaway purchased one acre of land on Appleton Street for $900 from Samuel Appleton. This site would serve as the location of the Hathaway Shirt Factory for over a century. Construction began on June 1, 1853, and the factory was fully operational by the end of October that same year. Workers maintained a demanding schedule, putting in 60 hours a week—Monday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a one-hour break at noon. The factory later produced uniform shirts for Union soldiers during the American Civil War. Known for high-quality shirts Ellerton Jette and Charles McCarthy purchased Hathaway in 1932 and ran the famous “man with the eye patch” advertising campaign in 1951 by David Ogilvy, the company gained national prominence for producing shirts noted for their "high quality and splendid fit." In 1911 and up to the First World War, Hathaway shirts were only offered in white for dress wear or "black and colorless" for laborers, During World War I,. the company fulfilled contracts to make khaki shirts for the U.S. Army. Like Lockwood, Hathaway employed many French-Canadian immigrants but did not hire very young workers—due to the precision required in shirt-making and Charles Hathaway’s strong religious values, often described as “religious fanaticism.” He taught Sunday school to local French Protestant children and refrain from hiring young people for their own benefit. Still, factory life was rigid: new hires trained without pay for up to five weeks, had to buy their own needles, were charged for damaged shirts, and were discouraged from speaking French. The mill closed in 2002 under Warnaco ownership.

In 2006, developer Paul Boghossian, affiliated with Colby College, purchased and redeveloped the property as the Hathaway Creative Center. The $30 million project transformed the historic mill into a mixed-use complex that today houses apartments, offices, retail shops, art studios, and healthcare providers like MaineGeneral and HealthReach. The evolution of the Hathaway and Lockwood mills mirrors the broader story of New England’s industrial rise, immigrant labor, and the ongoing revitalization of historic urban centers.