1950's Manufacturing Industry

Same Situation, Different Consequences

Manufacturing was the driving force of the New England economy until its collapse in the 1950’s. Maine, much like the rest of New England was one of the first regions in the United States to develop manufacturing due to its abundance of fast flowing rivers. Mill towns were established and situated along the river banks. Along with the established mills the population and the economy of Maine began to thrive experiencing a great boom. After World War Two, critical factors evolved that caused Maine’s industry to struggle with the negative fiscal effects of deindustrialization. The 1950’s were particularly harsh on textile manufacturing. One example of this was during the period between 1948 and 1965 where

I found that the Towns of Biddeford and Saco were an interesting example of this historical dilemma. Saco, Maine was one of the first towns in the region to develop as an industrial town as its first factory was built in 1811. In 1826 the largest cotton mill in the United States was built with seven floors. The town was the site for multiple textile mills, especially companies like the Pepperell Manufacturing Company and the Bates Manufacturing Company known as the largest milling complex in the Country with more than 9000 employees. The town’s location along the path of the Saco river provided many opportunities for the town as both an industrial center and a place that could easily ship merchandise. As time went on the factories continued to grow and so did the small community of Biddeford - Saco into an urban area. Mills were a common theme for the Biddeford - Saco region which also supported a strong tourist industry being near Old Orchard Beach. The development of railways, and later roadways, advanced the tourism industry. The two towns went through their greatest growth during World War Two as a large demand on textiles were needed to clothe the large number of troops being trained and equipped for the war. This development was very important for the towns so much

They offered certain things like cutting wages and reduction on their tax bill. The actions were not successful and industry in the region went into stagnation once major mills like Bates and Pepperell closed their doors. Once foreign competition began to start affecting industry in the United States, Biddeford and Saco were no exceptions. The departure of industry from the town was hard on the population for the two towns, and much of the population began to move to larger towns like Portland and Lewiston where surviving mills continued production. The movement of population was so great in the region that over the span of nine years from 1950 to 1959 union membership for the Bates Mill in that local went from a high of 1,175 to an all-time low of 2 in 1959. The same applied to the Saco-Lowell Manufactory as it went from its highest population in 1953 where union membership was 2,591 to its lowest of 331 in 1959. This phenomenal change in attendance only helped portray how quickly the industry in Biddeford and Saco fell into disrepair. Many efforts by corporations to recover their struggling mill industry were unsuccessful. Economic growth declined, and solutions for the town’s survival were painfully debated. The towns soon tried to establish other types of industry to help fill the void that was made from the textile mill’s departure. The arrival of shoe companies helped some communities during this