History of the Mayo & Son Woolen Mill (Foxcroft Mill)

The Mayo & Son Woolen Mill, later known as the American Woolen Company Foxcroft Mill, sits on East Main Street in downtown Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. The mill complex stands on the west side of the Piscataquis River and includes seven historic buildings and three additional structures.

Industrial activity on the site began in 1822, but the earliest surviving piece—a foundation—comes from the 1844 mill built by James Mayo and his partners. Over the next 100 years, the mill changed owners several times and expanded until all the existing buildings had been constructed by 1941.

For many decades, the mill was a major employer in the region. It produced woolen cloth that was first hauled by cart, and later by truck, to the nearest railroad depot.

The mill complex includes:

• Two early wood-frame storage buildings, one from around 1879 with Italianate design features, and another built before 1882.

• A large 1908 concrete mill, notable for being one of Maine’s earliest examples of concrete used as a structural building material.

• A 1941 storage and shipping building, constructed on the foundations of Mayo’s original 1844 mill, which was torn down to make space for it.

The woolen mill closed in 1953. Afterward, Moosehead Manufacturing used the property for wood and furniture production until the company shut down in 2007.

In 2012, the entire complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places.