The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-05-25
FIRST CLOTH MILL ON THE PEN0BSCOT.
oIdtown Lumbernen Exchange the
PIckpole for the Spindle.
Eleven Scots from caIashieIs, and
what They have Done.
honesty, Pluck and Perseverance Re-
warded in Maine.
Correspondence Of the Press.l

Correspondence of the Press.1
BANGOR, May, 1888.
The 0ldtown of old times was famous for
its saw-mills and its lumbermen. The Pc
nobscot, flowing around many islands, Of
fered uurivalled facilities for mills and for
storing and handling logs Establishments
like the great Veazie mills made Oldtown
busy place and gave it prosperity and rep
utation. But the lumber business on the
Penobscot has attained, in all probability, its
highest development; and the business men
who are interested in the welfare of Eastern
Maine are Cooking to new industries, es-
pecially to textile manufactures, to keep at
home the young men of the Penobscet towns.
For several years General Charles Hamlin
and his associates in the Bodwell Water
Power company and the 0ldtown Wooden
company have been laboring to establish the
first textile factory Oh the Penobscot river; ;
the reward of their labors will be the Old
town Wooden Mill, which win be running
this fall.
This new mill is to occupy the privilege
formerly occupied by the great block of mills
known as the Veazie mills, which, before
they were burned about dozen years ago,
were among the largest and finest mills ON
the Penobscot. They were seven hundred
feet in length, and forty million feet of long
lumber, with nearly as much short lumber,
passed through them annually. Their water
power was one of the best In New England.
A ledge OF slate and pOrphyry formed nat
ural dam, the numerous wiDdings of the Pc
nobscot among. the islands above moderated
the the force OF the freshets, and it has been
observed that the river there is singularly
free from anchor ice. But in all the years
since the burning of the VeaZie mills this
power has been. running to waste, until it
came into possession of the Bodwell Water
Power company. On the east, or Milford
side OF the Penobscot, this company own
about thousand acres of land, adjoining
the river. The high bank on this side will
enable the construction Of a canal by which
the power can be distributed for long dis
lance along the river to the cotton mills
which are expected to rise here. On the
Oldtown side the company owns all that
Veazie and Dwinal owned, about three hun
dred acres. 1t is on this side that the new
wooden mill is going up.
Already the small amount of dam needed
on sthe falls, the canal and the retaining
wall, or river foundation wall, have been
built By December it is expected that an
eight set mill, three hundred and twenty
nine feet long and sixty feet wide, equipped
with the best modern machinery and employ
ing two hundred and fifty or three hundred
people,. will be turning out mems and
women's fancy woolens,-tha first cloth ever
manufactured in Penobscot River factory.
The mill and its equipments will cost one
hundred thousand dollars; it has been
planned by the best mill architect in New
England and the machinery is Of the newest
and best forms. III. j. Libby & Co., of
Portland are to handle the product; and
Thomas w. Beattie, at present superintend
intendent. Mr.. Beattie belongs to family
and race that have cut a big figure in the
field Of textile industry in Maine, and are
worthy OF notice In connection with the new
Industry on the Penobscot
Mr.. Beattie is nephew of Archibald
Linn, OF Hartland, and of Thomas Walker.
of Warren, two men who are among the hest
known Of the Scotchmen who have made
such a success of wooden manufacturing in
Maine. There are twelve Of these Scofch-
men In all; all of them came to this country
poor boys; and all Of them are among the
wealthiest men in Maine. 1t is singular
fact that eleven Of these twelve came from
one place, Galashiels The exceptional
twelfth Is Archibald Linn, OF Hartland; but
in everything but the place of his birth he
was like the rest; he came to this country as
poor as they; and he was as rich as they in
the thorough knowledge of his trade, and in
habits of honesty, industry and economy
The names of these twelve Scotchmen have
been well known for years in Maine. There
are the two Dobsons at Pittsfeld, Robert, the
father. and William, his son, and Gordon
the ether son-might be added, though he
could hardly have been more than boy
when he left Scotland; ID. Walker, also Of
Pitts6eld; A. Linn, of Hartland; Lewis An
derson, Of Skowhegan; d. r. Campbell and
hhrGus o. Campbell, lat Sangersville; John II.
POLLOCK at Guilford; Thomas Walker at War
Ien, and his son, James Walker, at WEIGH
sdiie' IN oxford; +. j. Goodspeed, of Madi-
son ana James Bathgate at Oakland. Twen-
" years ago the elder Dobson went to Pitts
held with the lew thousand dollars he had
saved by working at his trade in this conn
try, and put up small wooden mill. He va.
obliged to work with borrowed capitaI some
of it borrowed under expensive condiiti Ioso
but he has kept at work ever since He he,
had two commission houses fail on his hands
and suffered great loss in the Boston fire.
but is worth thousands to-day, and has one
Of the best mills In Maine. This year he has
added seventy-five feet to his mill. At Hart
land Archibald Linn manufactures line of