Toured the Historic Biddeford Mills, Part 2: Work Conditions, Old Trolley Line, Famous Blanket!

Today's local blog is the 2nd one about an historic mill! We took a tour of the historic Biddeford textile mills in Biddeford, Maine. This part will uncover uncomfortable conditions, a now extinct trolley, and a famous type of blanket developed here. 

(Photo: Biddeford Mill. Credit: R.G.)

WHAT WAS MADE THERE? The textile mills in Biddeford, Maine produced a variety of goods, including: linens, blankets, towels, sheeting. One specific fabric is called the "Drill fabric."  The Pepperell "drill" fabric was a strong cotton that was popular in China.  The Biddeford Textile Company makes dyed blanket shells and conventional blankets.

WHO BUILT THE FIRST MILLS? Francis Cabot Lowell of Newburyport, Mass. He established his first mill in Waltham, Mass. in 1813. In 1820, he built the first mill in Biddeford. In 1844,  Samuel Batchelder acquired the  defunct cotton mill on the banks of the Saco River in Biddeford, ME, and named it Pepperell Mill.

(Image: This is a lithograph from Graham's Magazine, 1846. The company was a cotton textile mill that operated in Biddeford, Maine from 1849–1949. The mill produced linens, blankets, and towels, and many of its products were shipped to Asian countries. Credit: MaineMemory.Net) 

WHO WAS THE MILL NAMED FOR? The Pepperell Manufacturing Company was named after Sir William Pepperrell of Kittery, Maine. He was a merchant, a British officer and served as a colonial governor of Massachusetts. He was Maine's most prolific and infamous slave owner. Why Batchelder named it for him is a mystery.

(Photo: Room in Building 10 of the Mill, the Blanket Division.Credit: R.G.) 

(Photo:Pepperell Manufacturing Company, cotton textile mill at the Saco River falls in Biddeford for 100 years from 1849-1949.   Pepperell made sheeting and blankets many of which were shipped to Asian countries.  Credit: Collections of Dyer Library/Saco Museum ) 

INTOLERABLE CONDITIONS IN THE MILL - During the tour, we learned that the rooms for loom were kept very hot, between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity. Think New Orleans in the summertime. The reason for the high heat and humidity was to keep the threads supple. It was also VERY LOUD in the mills with hundreds of looms running at the same time. 

(Image: Vellux Original Blanket, Full/Queen, Wedgewood Blue. Credit: Amazon)

WHAT WAS THE FAMOUS TYPE OF BLANKET CREATED HERE? Vellux is America's most trusted blanket brand. In 1967 the Vellux Original Blanket was created at the Biddeford Mills. The name derives from "vel" for velvet, and "lux" from the Latin for light. The blanket material consists of two layers of a dual density foam melted onto a central membrane and covered with nylon 'flock', requiring no weaving at all.

BENEFITS TO LOCALS - Workers had an in-house doctor, and they also  benefitted by education/classes. 

Women who worked there took home $3.50 a week, and often made so much money at the time, they paid for relatives to attend Harvard University. Because there were several small fires in the mills on a daily basis, many were trained as firefighters, too, and helped town firefighters in other instances. 

(Photo: This photograph was taken in 1954 of a woman weaver at the Pepperell Mills.   Credit: MaineMemory.Net)

RAILROAD TO BIDDEFORD/SACO - From July 4, 1888 to July 5, 1939, the Biddeford and Saco Railroad operated street trolleys that made the hour-long trip from Biddeford to Old Orchard Beach every hour from 9am to 9pm. to take workers to the mills. These 12-row, open-air cars accommodated up to 60 passengers. You can visit the No. 31 car from this bygone era at the Seashore Trolley Museum in nearby Arundel.  The trolleys are no longer there. 

(Photo: Part of the mills. Credit: R.G.)

DECLINE OF THE MILLS AND REBIRTH  -  When production started to decline in the 1960s, many of the sprawling mill buildings that spanned the river in Biddeford and its sister city, Saco, were vacated.  The massive structures that were once essential parts of Biddeford’s economic engine fell into disrepair and became eyesores. The spirit of revitalization made its way to Biddeford in 2015. After years of planning and construction, the first apartments at The Lincoln Lofts opened for leasing in 2021.