Nature Is Reclaiming This One Abandoned Maine Spot And It's Actually Amazing
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Michelle
Author
On the banks of the roaring Androscoggin sits Bates Mill #5, one part of a hulking brick textile factory that was once the backbone of the Lewiston economy. Sadly, like many of the mills that dot Maine’s landscape, this once bustling building has gone quiet, left to be reclaimed by the elements.
Founded in 1850 by Benjamin E. Bates, the Bates Mill was Maine's largest employer through the 1960s. Early profits from the mill, earned in part from producing textiles for the Union Army during the Civil War, provided much of he capital used in the founding of nearby Bates College.
Located along Lewiston Falls, the factory was almost entirely powered by the Androscoggin's rushing waters.
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Opened in 1914, Building #5, a cavernous 356,000-square-foot weaving shed, was designed by Albert Kahn, the foremost American industrial architect of his day.
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Among the rust and splintered floorboards, artifacts of an industry gone still remain. Here, discarded canisters reveal cotton still waiting to be woven into fine Maine textiles.
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Massive looms still hold decades-old fibers, as if the mill's employees are just on break.
This industrial scale used to weight cotton by the ton, but now it sits empty, collecting dust.
Maintenance has been nonexistent for years, as evidenced by all the dust and debris, including this neat vintage refrigerator.
Building #5 has been slated to face the wrecking ball since 2009, but the recent redevelopment of the Bates Mill has locals calling on the city to rescue the long-neglected space. With tenants like Baxter Brewing and TD Bank moving in, the future of this forgotten mill is finally looking brighter.
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And finally, a picture-perfect vintage postcard showing the mill town in its heyday, circa 1915.
Do you live near any of Maine’s former mills? Let us know what your mill town was famous for!
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