Maine Memory Network

Rene W. Boisvert, founder of Biddeford Textile, Biddeford, ca. 1997

Contributed by: Biddeford Mills Museum Date: 1997 Location: Biddeford Media: Digital photograph

Textile mill workers, ca. 1900

Contributed by: Lewiston Public Library Date: circa 1900 Location: Lewiston Media: Phototransparency

Biddeford, Saco and the Textile Industry

The largest textile factory in the country reached seven stories up on the banks of the Saco River in 1825, ushering in more than a century of making cloth in Biddeford and Saco. Along with the industry came larger populations and commercial, retail, social, and cultural growth.

In Time and Eternity: Shakers in the Industrial Age

"In Time and Eternity: Maine Shakers in the Industrial Age 1872-1918" is a series of images that depict in detail the Shakers in Maine during a little explored time period of expansion and change.

Biddeford History & Heritage Project - VI. The deluge of industrial expansion & immigration (1865-1900) - Page 1 of 2

"From "Romance of Pepperell" (1921) X The textile manufacture industry, however, was the largest employer and the heart of the local economy."

Biddeford History & Heritage Project - VI. The deluge of industrial expansion & immigration (1865-1900) - Page 2 of 2

"… were drawn to the area to work in the huge textile mills, many became entrepreneurs in their own right and opened small businesses up and down Main…"

Rug Hooking Project with a Story
by Marilyn Weymouth Seguin

My grandmother taught me the Maine craft of rug hooking when I was a child.

My career working at Pepperell Mills in the Vellux Division
by David Bishop

My 35 years working in the Vellux blanket division of Pepperell Mills, Biddeford.