Bates Mill

Mills and canal in c. 1915

The Bates Mill is a textile factory company founded in 1850 and located at 35 Canal Street in Lewiston, Maine. 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. 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, founder of the Bates Mill and nearby Bates College

Benjamin Bates, a Boston entrepreneur, founded the textile mill 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 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.

The mill complex, as the Bates Mill Historic District, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places 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, 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 (33,100 m²) 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]

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

See also

• Bates College
• Museum L-A
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Androscoggin County, Maine

References

External links

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bates Mill.

Municipalities and communities of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States
County seat: Auburn
Cities	Auburn Lewiston
Towns	Durham Greene Leeds Lisbon Livermore Falls Livermore Mechanic Falls Minot Poland Sabattus Turner Wales
CDPs	Lisbon Falls Livermore Falls Mechanic Falls

Textile museums
North America	American Textile History Museum Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum Augusta Canal Discovery Center at Enterprise Mill Belknap Mill Museum Boott Mills Brigham City Museum-Gallery Cooper-Hewitt Costume Museum of Canada Cotton Museum Embroidery Museum and Resource Center The Fabric Workshop and Museum Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum Hat and Fragrance Textile Gallery International Quilt Study Center Kansas City Garment District Museum Lowell National Historical Park Marie Webster House Metropolitan Museum of Art Mission Mill Museum The Museum at FIT Museum L-A Museum of Work and Culture National Quilt Museum Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles Slater Mill Historic Site Stillwater Mill Southeastern Quilt & Textile Museum Textile Museum (Washington, D.C.) Textile Museum of Canada Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and State Historic Site Western Reserve Historical Society Wile Carding Mill Willamette Heritage Center Windham Textile and History Museum
Central America	Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Textiles and Clothing
Europe	Bielsko-Biała Museum Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery Bocholt textile museum Central Museum of Textiles, Łódź Centre National du Costume de Scene Costume Museum (Kastoria) Devonshire Collection of Period Costume Ethnographic Museum (Belgrade) Fashion and Textile Museum Fashion Museum, Bath Galleria del Costume Helmshore Mills Textile Museum Killerton Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs de Lyon Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture Museum of Jewellery in the Silver Way Museum of the History of the Greek Costume Museum of the Romanian Peasant Museo del Traje National Museum of Costume National Museum of Costume and Fashion Nordwolle Factory Museum Nottingham Industrial Museum Prato textile museum Quarry Bank Mill Queen Street Textile Museum Textilfabrik Cromford Victoria and Albert Museum Wigan Pier
Asia	Azerbaijan Carpet Museum Bhutan Textile Museum Bsous Silk Museum Calico Museum of Textiles Carpet Museum of Iran Chojun Textile & Quilt Art Museum Kurdish Textile Museum Lok Virsa Museum National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum National Textile Museum Sanskriti Textile Museum Textile Museum (Jakarta) Yokohama Silk Museum
Related topics	Textile museum Design museum Shoe museum