Pejepscot Paper Company

The Pejepscot Paper Company mill building is a historic paper mill located off U.S. 201 in Topsham, Maine, on the banks of the Androscoggin River, adjacent from Brunswick Falls and the Frank J. Wood Bridge. Built in 1868, the building is one of the oldest surviving paper mills in the state of Maine. The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1974, and is now a mixed-use commercial property, housing the Sea Dog Brewing Company.

Pejepscot Paper Company
View from Brunswick ca. 2021
Pulp
Alternative names
  • Topham Paper-Mill
  • Bowdoin Mill
Paper machine
Current statusStanding, usage changed
Architectural styleItalianate
Structural systemGranite, Brick & wood
Location1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Topsham, Maine
Current tenantsSea Dog Brewing Company
Coordinates43°55′18″N 69°57′53″W
Construction
Built1868 (1868)
Employees
  • 75 (1878)
  • 13 (1985)
Floor count3
Other dimensions
  • 225 feet (69 m) Long
  • 65 feet (20 m) Wide
CostUS$80,000 (1874)
Pejepscot Paper Company
NRHP reference No.74000192[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 17, 1974

Design

The Pejepscot Paper Company mill building is a historic paper mill that stands on a point projecting southward into the Androscoggin River, just east of the Frank J. Wood Bridge carrying U.S. Route 201 between Topsham and Brunswick, Maine. It is a large three storey brick building, with a gambrel roof and a granite foundation. The short end facing the river is eight bays wide, each bay consisting of a recessed panel housing windows set in segmental arch openings and topped by decorative arches. Near the center of the building, a five-story square tower rises to a shallow-pitch pyramidal roof.[2] The building is 250 feet (76 m) long, and 65 feet (20 m) wide.[3]

History

From 1868 (1868) to 1985 (1985), three different mills have operated in the Pejepscot Paper Company mill building. Currently it is used as office and retail space.

Paper Mill Building Owners
Name Start Date End Date Years Active
Topsham Paper Company 186818746
H.&A.W. Parsons 187418751
Bowdoin Paper Manufacturing Company 1875188712
Pejepscot Paper Company 1887198593
Fore River Company 1998Present

The mill was built in the year 1868 and is an instance of Maine's 19th century wood pulp mills. It was under the management of Sanford A. Perkins for the Topsham Paper Company, and Samuel R. Jackson was the president of the corporation.[3][2]

The Topsham Paper Company utilized grinders from the machine shop of the Bath Iron Works and grew rapidly from when they started out in the basement of a sawmill run by Charles D. Brown and E. B. Dentstm. The success of this early venture caused Brown and Denison to branch out with other mills. Overexpansion and trouble with investors culminated in the company going out of business.[2]

The Topsham Paper Company was purchased at auction by W.H.&A.W. Parsons on September 16, 1874, for US$80,000. The following year, February 19, 1875, W.H.&A.W. Parsons was incorporated into the Bowdoin Paper Manufacturing Company, with a capital not to exceed US$150,000. The mill contained, at that time, one Fourdrinier machine, four roll engines, one patent Jordan engine, one rotary, and two tub bleachers.[3][2]

In 1887 the Pejepscot Paper Company bought the mill and doubled the equipment. The mill then contained two Fourdrinier machines, nine roll engines, two patent engines, two rotary and two tub bleachers. by 1878 the company was producing 5 short tons (4.5 t) of paper daily. The company fitted a machine shop, with wood and iron working machinery necessary for the mill repairs, and for the manufacture of any new machinery needed in the business. They employed forty-five males and thirty females, manufacturing book and wood newspaper.[3][2]

By 1985, when the company closed its doors, they had only 13 employees. By this time the building was used as a paper finishing facility where paper rolls were converted into sheets for construction paper, art paper and paper for business forms.[4]

From 1985 (1985) to 1986 (1986) the Hearst Company used the mill to store paper, but from 1986 until 1998 the building was vacant. In 1998 the Fore River Company out of Portland, Maine bought the building, renovated it for office space, and leased the old mill to the Sea Dog Brewing Company, who in turn, added a patio overlooking the Androscoggin River.[5]

On September 17, 1974, the Pejepscot Paper Company was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.[1]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System – (#74000192)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Shettleworth Jr., Earle G. (December 1973). "NRHP Nomination". National Park Service. pp. 2–3. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  3. Wheeler, George Augustus & Wheeler, Henry Warren (1878). History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine. Harvard Library: A. Mudge & Sons, Printers. pp. 608–609 – via Google Books. p. Inside Front Cover - Pejepscot Historical Society 2nd ed. (1974): (This book) has long been considered the authoritative text on the three towns through 1878.
  4. "Century Old Paper-Mill Closes its Doors in Topsham". Morning Sentinel. Associated Press. December 7, 1985. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  5. Kearns, Michelle (October 23, 1998). "New Owner Delights in Vision for Old Mill". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
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