The Bates Mill is a textile factory company founded in 1850 and located at 35 Canal Street in

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...

. The mill served as Maine's largest employer through the 1860s, and early profits from the mill provided much of the initial capital for nearby

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

. Currently, the mill buildings are home to several new businesses, apartments, and a small museum. Maine Governor John Hubbard signed the incorporation act on August 16, 1850 and Mill #1 was completed in 1852. Bates built the mill in Lewiston due to its location at Lewiston Falls, which initially provided power to the mill.

History

Benjamin Bates, a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

entrepreneur, founded the

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

in 1850 with several co-investors in the Bates Manufacturing Company. Maine Governor John Hubbard signed the incorporation act on August 16, 1850 and Mill #1 was completed in 1852. Bates built the mill in Lewiston due to its location at Lewiston Falls, which initially provided power to the mill. The Mill was operated by

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a wa ...

from the

Androscoggin River The Androscoggin River (Abenaki: ''Aləssíkαntekʷ'') is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ...

, and combined power

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

and

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

s. The Mill produced textiles until the 21st century. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the factory produced textiles for the Union Army with southern cotton it had stockpiled prior to the War. Thousands of immigrants from Canada and Europe immigrated to Lewiston to gain employment at the mills. The mill complex, as the

Bates Mill Historic District Bates may refer to: Places * Bates, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bates, Illinois. an unincorporated community in Sangamon County * Bates, Michigan, a community in Grand Traverse County * Bates, New York, a hamlet in the town of Ellingt ...

, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2010.

Today

Currently, the rehabilitated Bates Mill Complex is the site of Baxter Brewing Co., TD Bank, Androscoggin Savings Bank offices and The Symquest Group, Fishbones Casual Fine Dining Restaurant, Davinchi's Italian Restaurant, Grand Rounds, Northeast Bank, Bates Mill Dermatology, Community Health Options, Cross Insurance and

Museum L-A Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor (Maine MILL) is located in the Bates Mill Historic District, in Lewiston, Androscoggin County, Maine.Cowan Mill Cowan Mill (also known as the Aurora Mill or Cowan Woolen Company Mill) was a historic mill at Island Mill Street in Lewiston, Maine. The 4-story Greek Revival mill was built in 1850 on the site of Lewiston's first textile mill Textile Man ...

which was completely destroyed by fire. Building No. 5, a weaving shed, was designed by Albert Kahn and placed in service in 1914. The structure was owned by the city of

, was vacant for several years, and was slated for demolition as recently as 2009, until its rebirth as a technology center in 2017 when healthcare technology company

Grand Rounds Grand rounds are a methodology of medical education and inpatient care, consisting of presenting the medical problems and treatment of a particular patient to an audience consisting of doctors, pharmacists, residents, and medical students. It wa ...

leased 22,00 square feet in Bates Mill No. 6 to establish an east coast center employing up to 200 Maine residents. On January 5, 2011, The Lofts at Bates Mill was awarded $5.2 million in low-income housing tax credits by the Maine State Housing Authority to convert Building No. 2 into 48 mixed-income apartments. The $9.2 million project includes 33 subsidized apartments and 15 market-rate apartments. Construction began 2011 and the apartments were completed late in 2012.

References

External links

Bates Mill HistoryOfficial Museum L-A: The Story of Work and Community in Lewiston-Auburn websiteBates Mill Store
* {{textile museums Textile mills in Maine Buildings and structures in Lewiston, Maine Bates College Textile museums in the United States Companies based in Lewiston, Maine History of the textile industry Historic American Engineering Record in Maine Historic districts in Maine Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Lewiston, Maine Manufacturing companies established in 1850 1850 establishments in Maine Defunct manufacturing companies based in Maine

History

Today

See also

References

External links