Mills and canal in c. 1915

The Bates Mill is a textile factory company founded in 1850 at 35 Canal Street in Lewiston, Maine. The mill served as Maine's largest employer through the 1960s, and early profits from the mill provided much of the initial capital for Bates College. Currently, the mill buildings are home to several businesses and a small museum.

[edit] History

Benjamin E. Bates, founder of the Bates Mill and nearby Bates College

Benjamin E. Bates, a Boston entrepreneur, founded the textile mill in 1854 with several co-investors in the Bates Manufacturing Company. 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 from the Androscoggin River, and combined power spinning and weaving on looms. The Mill produced textiles until the 21st century. During the American Civil War, 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. In 1992, the City of Lewiston took possession of the Bates Mill Complex after years of unpaid taxes. In 2001 voters eventually decided in a referendum to sell the Complex to Platz Associates, private developers. Platz refurbished the buildings and sold all but two of them.

[edit] Today

Currently, the rehabilitated Bates Mill Complex is the site of TD-Banknorth (People's Heritage Bank) and Androscoggin Savings Bank offices, several restaurants, and Museum L-A: The Story of Work and Community in Lewiston-Auburn.

On July 15, 2009, Bates Mill Building No. 5 briefly caught on fire from embers from the nearby Cowan Mill which was completely destroyed by fire. Building No.5, a 356,000 square foot weaving shed, was designed by Albert Kahn and placed in service in 1914. The structure is currently owned by the city of Lewiston, Maine, has been vacant for several years, and is slated for demolition (as of Fall, 2009).^[1]

[edit] See also

• Bates College
• Museum L-A

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bates Mill Store
• Bates Mill History
• Bates Woolen Mill EPA Funding information
• Museum L-A: The Story of Work and Community in Lewiston-Auburn

v • d • e Textile Museums Museums and collections: Bates Mill · Bielsko-Biała Museum · Helmshore · Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery · Calico Museum of Textiles · Chojun Textile & Quilt Art Museum · Cooper-Hewitt · Cotton Museum · Ethnographic Museum (Belgrade) · Fashion and Textile Museum · Fashion Museum, Bath  · International Quilt Study Center · Lowell National Historical Park · Mission Mill Museum · Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture · Museum of the Romanian Peasant · Museum of Work and Culture · Museum L-A · National Museum of Costume · San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles · Shelburne Museum · Textile Museum · Textile Museum of Canada · Victoria and Albert Museum · Wigan Pier · Windham Textile and History Museum · Wollaton Hall