Maine Memory Network

Contributed by Westport Island History Committee

Description

Edwin Cromwell (1908-2001) owned and operated this sawmill on the east side of the Main Road on Westport Island. The sawmill was a family business worked by Edwin's brothers, children and extended family in the 1940s and 1950s; he called it Thick and Thin Lumber.

The logs were cut at the sawmill, hauled across the road, and stacked to dry in the fields on the west side of the Main Road. Pictured on the right in this photo is Edwin's brother, Herbert Cromwell Sr., with Richard Placilla (left).

When Edwin closed the mill, it was sold to someone in Mechanic Falls. Later, a family member wanted a sawmill and he answered an ad in Uncle Henry's. Ironically, he discovered it was Edwin's old mill. "Edwin's" sawmill came back to Westport, where it operated on a small scale for many years.

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About This Item

• Title: Sawmill, Westport Island, 1946
• Creator: Cromwell
• Creation Date: 1946
• Subject Date: 1946
• Location: Westport Island, Lincoln County, ME
• Media: Photographic print
• Dimensions: 12.85 cm x 17.75 cm
• Local Code: CromEdw.Photo.3.1946
• Collection: Edwin Cromwell Family Collection
• Object Type: Image

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Cross Reference Searches

Standardized Subject Headings

• Loggers
• Sawmills--Maine--Westport Island
• Lumber industry--Maine--Westport Island
• Westport Island (Me.)
• Machinery

People

• Cromwell, Edwin R
• Cromwell, Herbert
• Placilla, Richard L

Other Keywords

• Logging
• Logs
• Lumberjacks
• Pulp
• Timber industry
• Wood

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For more information about this item, contact:

Westport Island History Committee
6 Fowles Point Road, Westport Island, ME 04578
(207) 882-8477
Website

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