Bale breakers at the Pepperell Mills, Biddeford ca. 1925
Item 29102 info
McArthur Public Library
The story of the mills in Saco and Biddeford can be seen as stories of economic impact, of the growth of communities or of exports and markets.
But one crucial story of the mills is that of the workers who ran the machinery and who made the cloth for which the mills became known.
Once the cotton arrived at the docks, it was transported to the warehouse or storehouse. A bale of cotton was about 2.5 feet square by 5 feet long, and weighed about 500 pounds.
From the storage area the bales traveled to the Picker House.
Workers here, usually unskilled men, put the bales into "bale breakers" that tore the cotton apart and cleaned and fluffed it.
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