Maine Memory Network

Advertisement for Lady Pepperell sheets, Biddeford, ca. 1926

Contributed by: Biddeford Mills Museum Date: circa 1926 Location: Biddeford Media: Ink on paper

Pepperell Mills finishing room, Biddeford, ca. 1925

Contributed by: Biddeford Mills Museum Date: circa 1925 Location: Biddeford Media: Photograph

McArthur House, Portland, 1912-1913

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1912–1913 Location: Portland Client: Robert McArthur Architect: John Calvin Stevens and John Howard Stevens Architects

Miss Lena McArthur house, Biddeford, 1922-1925

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1922–1925 Location: Biddeford Client: Lena G. McArthur Architect: John Calvin Stevens and John Howard Stevens Architects

Making Paper, Making Maine

Paper has shaped Maine's economy, molded individual and community identities, and impacted the environment throughout Maine. When Hugh Chisholm opened the Otis Falls Pulp Company in Jay in 1888, the mill was one of the most modern paper-making facilities in the country, and was connected to national and global markets. For the next century, Maine was an international leader in the manufacture of pulp and paper.

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.

Biddeford History & Heritage Project - The Civil War/Reconstruction Era as Experienced in Biddeford & Saco - Page 5 of 17

"Saco Water Power Company of York Manufacturing, built the Laconia Mills on the Biddeford side of the river in 1844, then started Pepperell…"

Biddeford History & Heritage Project - The Civil War/Reconstruction Era as Experienced in Biddeford & Saco - Page 7 of 17

"… Biddeford, 1875McArthur Public Library The Pepperell Mill in Biddeford was the life blood for the small city during the 1800’s and early 1900’s as…"

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.

Everything we did was new and exciting in the Vellux division
by Maurice Paquette

If you applied yourself you could do anything at Pepperell Mills.