The first water-powered woolen mill in North America was built in 1791 along the Collyer Brook in what is now Gray, Maine. It was difficult to do so because woolen companies in England prohibited the colonies from producing goods, and the woolen guilds also kept their wool-making technology a jealously-guarded secret. Samuel Mayall smuggled plans for machinery out of England in bales of cloth that were meant for trade with Indians. When the woolen guilds in England learned of this, they tried to kill him at least twice, unsuccessfully. The Mayall mill stayed in operation and grew into a large complex that stayed in business until 1902.
Once established, many towns in Maine
followed suit, including Dexter, Corinna, Camden,
Kezar Falls,
Pittsfield, Phillips, Freedom
Falls, Winthrop,
Oakland,
Sangerville, etc. Many of these towns
had several woolen mills operating at once.
Thus, Maine
became known for the finest and best wool in the nation. Sadly, by the 1970s nearly all of Maine’s woolen mills had
closed and gone overseas in search of low-cost labor. Wool quality has suffered accordingly.
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| Sheep relax on the frozen ground, warm and protected by their wool. |
But every cloud has its silver lining, and the people of Maine are hardworking
and clever. The entrepreneurial spirit
is still quite alive, and small textile industries are making a come back. They’re not huge companies but are instead
cottage industries using not only the fiber from sheep but from alpacas and
goats as well. There are spinning groups
cropping up everywhere teaching and enjoying the art of spinning yarn by hand,
and I have done a little spinning myself.
It’s an oddly absorbing task that is relaxing and productive at the same
time. What to do with the yarn once
spun? Knitting and crocheting have
become popular again; the old becomes new. I have crocheted
most of my life, and many of the gifts I give are crocheted items.
I look at many of the old industries in Maine, and I often think sadly of how the
mighty have fallen. Yet when I see the
new cottage industries appearing everywhere and people learning old skills and
making them new again with today’s materials, I know why Maine has always been and will always be
free and independent. People often come
to Maine to
find themselves, thinking they will relax in the woods and take it easy. They soon learn that independence comes at a
dear price, but it is well worth every cent.
Reinventing yourself is a Maine
tradition that has never gone out of style.
