Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-06-17
THE wINsLOW LUMBER CO.
Their New Nil at the Mouth Of the
0Abasticook.

| Especial 10 the kennehec Journal
WArERsmLE, June is.-The new mill
Of the Winsiov Lumber Company. situated
Just across the river from this city. on the
point Of land between the kennebec and
Sebasticook, and but . few rods from
that famous relic Of the past. the old block
house, known ss Fort Halifax. is just nov
one Of the liseliest spots in all this section
| Last September the passenger As
he rode by this place in the rail-
cars, could have seen the old fort,
| which. by the way 10 about as large ~
| good sized wood shed. but no mill would
have met bis gaze. and no sign of = mill,
and but little sign of life anyway. Since
then the locality has undergone remarka-
| bic transformation. Messrs. Edward Ware
| Of Athens, and G. s. Burrill Of Fairfield,
who constitute the Winslow Lumber Co. =,
| having leased the Point, which contains six
| or seven acres and secured other land in the
| immediate vicinity for yard room, ETC., at
| once proceeded to erect . modern
| lumber mill. 1862 feet long and
| % feet vide. being two stories high, with
| monitor roof. In this mill has been placed
the latest and most approved machinery for
the manufacture of lumber from the log,
including land saw, clap board, shingle and
lath machines. planers, and other machines
for the saving of all sorts Of dimension
| stuff that the market calls for. As CON-
pared with the great quantity of lumber
| manufactured, there is but little waste a.
this mill to be sold for fuel. A.
about everything is utilized, and
put into marketable form. The machinery
is propelled by = 300-horse power steam en-.
gine, which has a monster cylinder of 22
inches diameter, while the length of stroke
| is 80 inches. fhe steam is made by two
magnificent steel boilers, with improved
setting. and the fires are fed by automatic
carriers, which convey all the sawdust and
shiDgle waste from the mill, dumping il in
a room over the furnaces, from which
| it Is thrown upon the fires under
meath through apertures in the floor.
The engine which is . magnificent piece
Of machinery, vas made at the works of
the Watertown Engine Co. in New York,
and /. now in charge of MIR. Daniel W.
Davis.
Operations were commenced in the mill
about month sgo, though all Of the ma
ehinery is not yet ruaning, and carpenters
will be kept busy all the sc sson in the erec-
ton of necessary sheds, dry kilns, and
other buildings that will be needed, max
ing platforms. and generally putting the
place in terfect order for the business
Work has already been commenced on
platform alongside the railroad track. which
will be nearly three hundred feet long and
twenty seven feet wide, at which pine cars
can be loaded at one time. An addition
of thirty five feet is also to he made at
once TO the south end Of the mill.
The GrinDell Dry system Of Automatic
Sprink'ers Is to be put into all parts of the
establishment, thus reducing the insurance
rate to the minimum. This will necessitate
the building of reservoir on the hill near
by, and this will have capacity Of $1,000
gallons. with head of 30 feet The dry
sy ste u is so called from the fact that there
is no wster in the pipes until the fusibe
plugs are melted. sfording escape for
the air in the pipes, which admits
the water from the reservoir. This
.y stem is used in places where the water
would fires re in cold weather IL allowed 10
| stand in the pipes. There is to be an
automatic arrangement by which the pump
/ is started as soon as the water commences
to run after the melting Of the plugs.
There are now about IS men engaged in
and about the mill. but quite q number of
these are carpenters. The establishment
will require. after everything is in
running order, shout the mill and
upon the boom, some sixty men.
and the yearly capacity Of the mill
will be ten million feet There are now in
the boom about three millions, and the
balance is coming down the river. These
logs were all cut on Moxie by Clark Burrill
and Ware. ~iio had in their employ about
800 men, and as many horses and oxen As
could be used to advantage. II rquired 20
drivers about 25 days to get these logs into
the main river where they were taken by
the Log Driving Company.
At the mill the band saw gets more stten-
ton from visitors than any other feature.
II is = great improvement on previous
methods of saving lumber. and every year
it is coming into use more and more in
different parts of the country. Since it has
been started At the Winslow Cos mill it
has saved. in one day of ten hoars forty
thousand feet, more th-n half Of which
was in boards; il run on two three
aud four inch plank, the pro-
proprietors say that seventy Ave thousand
feet could be cut in the same time. Be
tween four and FIVE hundred logs are taken
into this mill every day. to be transformed
into the various kinds of manufactured
lumber.
The mill va. built by Mr.. s. II. Rich
ardsor, OF Bangor, veteran in the busi-
ness, and he made q most thorough job Of
it. Itis under the general superintenience
| of Mr.. II. T. Bailey, formerly in the EN-
ploy of wm. r. Pearson & Co, Of Bangor,
| ia their mill at Great Works, and though
comparatively young man, he has had an
extended experience, and seems to be fitted
for the important position which he occu-
pies
The location Of this mill is probably not
equAlled. certainly il 10 not surpassed. for
beauty and utility. by that Of any other in
the State of Maine. and il 10 . sure thing
| that no mill of its size can beat il on pro-
| ductiou. II 10 an enterprise which will be
worth great deal TO this city and Winsiov,
| and IL 10 certainly fortunate that such men
a. the Messrs- Ware and Burrili, having
m abundance of capital and unlimited
| push, have established such IN industry
amongst US.