Laboring in Maine


Corn factory workers, Alfred, 1892

Corn factory workers, Alfred, 1892
Item 9782   info
Sanford-Springvale Historical Society

Workers pose in front of a corn factory in Alfred in 1892.

Ayer, Houston and Co., Portland, ca. 1893

Ayer, Houston and Co., Portland, ca. 1893
Item 6026   info
Maine Historical Society

Young women working in the factory at the Ayer, Houston Company of Portland, manufacturer of hats.

On the back of this photograph is written, "Hatshop Portland Maine. Ayer-Houston Co., Commercial St. at S. Portland bridge. Pleasantdale & Browns Hill. Women walked to work over old R.R. Bridge to Turners Is. or took train at Evans St. R.R. Crossing. Aunt Nan [Deering?] with hat on needle. Nanna in circle."

Lincoln Mill workers, Lewiston, ca. 1900

Lincoln Mill workers, Lewiston, ca. 1900
Item 7247   info
Lewiston Public Library

One of Gridley Barrows' slides on which he had written "Lincoln Mill Workers." Lincoln Mill began production around the end of 1861.

Workers at Pejepscot Paper Company, Topsham, ca. 1900

Workers at Pejepscot Paper Company, Topsham, ca. 1900
Item 10570   info
Maine Historical Society

Two workers pose at the Pejepscot Paper Company mill on the Androscoggin River in Topsham in a photograph taken about 1900.

This is the debarking room. Pulp sticks were tumbled in the background until the bark was scraped off and the cleaned wood was sent to the Pulp Room where it was ground up, and then pumped to the Wet End of the Dryer Room where it started to resemble paper.

Women employees, Sanford Mills, ca. 1910

Women employees, Sanford Mills, ca. 1910
Item 9760   info
Sanford-Springvale Historical Society

Employees checking material at the Sanford Mills, circa 1910.

J.W. Brown Canning Factory, Hartford, ca. 1890

J.W. Brown Canning Factory, Hartford, ca. 1890
Item 4230   info
Maine Historical Society

The employees at the J.W. Brown Canning Factory in Hartford display products from the factory.

Shoe factory, Auburn, 1916

Shoe factory, Auburn, 1916
Item 6996   info
Lewiston Public Library

Three men working in a shoe factory, probably in Auburn in 1916. It may be Hollis-Cushman, which primarily produced white canvas shoes.

Portland Company employees, ca. 1917

Portland Company employees, ca. 1917
Item 5781   info
Maine Historical Society

Women in the packing room at the Portland Company with wooden boxes for 108 mm howitzer shell casings for the war effort during World War I. The casings were packed two in a box and shipped out in 1917-1918.

Eastern Manufacturing Company, Brewer,  ca. 1921

Eastern Manufacturing Company, Brewer, ca. 1921
Item 14603   info
City of Brewer

Women at the Eastern Manufacturing Company sorted rags used with wood chips to make pulp during the paper making process.

Monson-Maine Slate Company mill

Monson-Maine Slate Company mill
Item 9182   info
Monson Historical Society

Inside of the slate company mill operation with several workers. Monson slate is considered to be a fine quality because of the black color.

It was used as the memorial stone for President John F. Kennedy and his two children. In August of 1994 the headstone was made of Monson slate for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York has a slate roof made from Monson slate.

The Monson-Maine Slate Co. was one of several quarries operating in Monson and this particular mill was located on Chapin Avenue. The building was sold to Moosehead Manufacturing Co. in 1947 and is currently used to manufacture furniture.

Barker, Eastern Manufacturing Company, Brewer, 1921

Barker, Eastern Manufacturing Company, Brewer, 1921
Item 14638   info
City of Brewer

The barker removes bark from logs, which then will be turned into wood chips as part of the paper-making process at the Eastern Manufacturing Company in Brewer.

Hauling potatoes, Caribou, ca. 1890

Hauling potatoes, Caribou, ca. 1890
Item 12269   info
Caribou Public Library

Group photograph of potato workers on a shipment of potatoes for the starch factory.

Husking shed, Lovell village, ca. 1890

Husking shed, Lovell village, ca. 1890
Item 6718   info
Lovell Historical Society

This is the husking shed, part of the Corn Shop, in Lovell Village, ca. 1890.

Owned and operated by James P. Baxter of Portland, this shop was located in the area behind the present-day Lovell Village garage. A hundred people were employed during the few weeks of canning season.

"The story is told that one year about 1917 Mr. Baxter flew into a rage at the sight of his tax bill, and swore that he would never process another can of corn in the Town of Lovell. He leased some land on the road to North Fryeburg and built a new cornshop of considerable size and value. When the lines were drawn, as they were periodically, he discovered that this, too, was in Lovell." Moore, Pauline W. Blueberries and Pusleyweed, the story of Lovell, Maine. Kennebunk, Me. : Star Press Inc., 1970. (82-3)

Nonesuch Farm crew, Scarborough, ca. 1900

Nonesuch Farm crew, Scarborough, ca. 1900
Item 5529   info
Maine Historical Society

The crew of the Nonesuch Farm in Scarborough, with Samuel D. Plummer on the left, with the pipe. The dog's name is Nimrod.

Loading Hay into the Cow Barn, Alfred

Loading Hay into the Cow Barn, Alfred
Item 6909   info
United Society of Shakers

At the Alfred Shaker Community are, left to right: Bill Eaton, driving oxen; Brother Stephen Gowen, on load; Brother Frank Butler (1833-1917), next to wagon.

Assisting the Brothers with the farm work at the Alfred community was Bill Eaton, a hired hand. As the number of Brethren decreased it became increasingly necessary to employ outside help.

For example, in 1872 the Sabbathday Lake community employed 18 hired men to work on the farm and in the mill. This almost doubled the male work force, as between the Church and Poland Hill Families there were 21 Brothers.

The two-wheeled cart made it easier to tip and unload.

Smith Farm, New Limerick, ca. 1925

Smith Farm, New Limerick, ca. 1925
Item 11813   info
Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum

Potatoes being harvested on the Smith Farm in New Limerick.

Potato pickers, Caribou, ca. 1930

Potato pickers, Caribou, ca. 1930
Item 13194   info
Caribou Public Library

After the potato digger extracted the potatoes from the ground, potato pickers gather the crop into baskets, then dump them into barrels.

A picker is paid by the barrel. Pickers place a numbered ticket on each of their barrels for identification. At the end of the day, pickers' tickets are counted and they are paid accordingly.

Longshoremen's Benevolent Society, Portland, ca. 1894

Longshoremen's Benevolent Society, Portland, ca. 1894
Item 4192   info
Maine Historical Society

The Longshoremen's Benevolent Society float in a parade on Cumberland Avenue between Preble and Brown Streets in Portland, circa 1880.

Titcomb shipyard, Kennebunk Landing, ca. 1855

Titcomb shipyard, Kennebunk Landing, ca. 1855
Item 10717   info
Brick Store Museum

The Titcomb shipyard on the Kennebunk River in the Kennebunk Landing section of town was the last functioning yard at The Landing.

This late photograph of the yard and some of its workers was made from a daguerreotype thought to date from the 1850s. It is a rare view of a yard at The Landing, which was the earliest and most prolific location for shipbuilding on the Kennebunk River (from 1790 to about 1860).

The shipyard's office building is on the left. Shipbuilding timbers, including a "ship's knee" lie on the ground in the foreground.

Miller Family Smokehouse, Lubec

Miller Family Smokehouse, Lubec
Item 9150   info
Lubec Historical Society

The Miller family smoked herring business, owned by Michael Miller, was located in the Brownville section of Lubec, just east of the present-day FDR Bridge to Campobello Island.

At left is James Benner Sr. The woman probably is Josephine Benner, wife of James. Second from the right probably is Michael Miller.

Herring were hand-processed, then hung on wooden sticks called stringers and placed on racks outside to dry as shown here. Then, high in rows inside the smokehouse, a smoldering fire attended day and night smoked the herring, subsequently packed in wooden boxes for shipment.

At one time, as many as thirty smokehouses operated up and down the shoreline of Lubec. Note that the right edge of the photograph shows low tide.

Filling fish cans, Portland, 1934

Filling fish cans, Portland, 1934
Item 11194   info
Maine Historical Society

Women at the Burnham & Morrill plant in Portland fill cans with fish flakes.

Loggers, Maine woods, ca. 1900

Loggers, Maine woods, ca. 1900
Item 8428   info
Patten Lumbermen's Museum

Men on a logging drive about 1900. The exact location is unknown.

Bateau and men clearing a center jam, ca. 1900

Bateau and men clearing a center jam, ca. 1900
Item 8528   info
Patten Lumbermen's Museum

Bateau and men clearing a center jam on a logging drive.

Lumber yard in Lewiston,  ca. 1900

Lumber yard in Lewiston, ca. 1900
Item 6941   info
Lewiston Public Library

Lumber yard in Lewiston with a partial view of a sign advertising space in a building formerly known as B. Peck, which was a fancy dry goods store on Lisbon Street and then moved to Main Street.

Monson Slate Quarry Hoist

Monson Slate Quarry Hoist
Item 9180   info
Monson Historical Society

Five slate quarry workers in a wooden hoist box ready to be taken into the quarry to work. This site was owned by the Monson-Maine Slate Co. which operated from 1880-1943 .

Stonecutters, Deer Isle, ca. 1930

Stonecutters, Deer Isle, ca. 1930
Item 6127   info
Maine Historical Society

Granite quarrying was an important industry in Maine. Granite was quarried and shipped south to Boston and New York for use in large building projects.

This quarry is on Deer Isle off the coast of Maine in Hancock County.

Canal workers, Lewiston, ca. 1880

Canal workers, Lewiston, ca. 1880
Item 7075   info
Lewiston Public Library

The canal system provided power to the mills in Lewiston.

These workers may have been performing maintenance to the canals, which were originally dug largely by Irish immigrants.

Moving pipe, William H. Perry Co., Portland, ca. 1909

Moving pipe, William H. Perry Co., Portland, ca. 1909
Item 10662   info
Maine Historical Society

Workers move a large section of pipe at the William H. Perry Co., dealers in scrap steel and iron, about 1909. W.H. Lane was manager of the company.

Main Street sewer construction, Biddeford, 1914 - 1915

Main Street sewer construction, Biddeford, 1914 - 1915
Item 7442   info
McArthur Public Library

Workers stand in front of sewer construction on Main Street in Biddeford in 1914 - 1915.

Secretary of State's office, Augusta, ca. 1913

Secretary of State's office, Augusta, ca. 1913
Item 10784   info
Maine Historical Society

Workers are shown in the Secretary of State's Office, Augusta, about 1913. A sign on the wall says "Engrossing Bureau."

Blocks of ice, Sebago Lake, ca. 1920

Blocks of ice, Sebago Lake, ca. 1920
Item 13738   info
Maine Historical Society

Three workers pose with blocks of ice on Sebago Lake in about 1920. Charles S. Watkins operated an ice-cutting business in the area.

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