BARKER MILL

The Barker Mill was, for a long time Auburn's one major venture in the textile industry. It was the enterprise that gave the New Auburn section of town its own identity and its first start as a business center. It was started in 1870 on land next to the Little Androscoggin River away from the other mills located in Lewiston on the bigger Androscoggin river. The acquirement of the land included the right to build a power dam, a five story mill, and the opportunity to create many homes to be sold to the number of people who were at the time flocking to the area. The damn was completed in 1872; the mill in 1873; and was named “Barker Mill” in honor of C.I. Barker, a prominent textile executive who became its first directing agent in 1874.The mill engaged in the manufacturing of cotton shirts and sheets and produced four million yards of goods. It continued as a textile mill until 1928 when eventually it became a ware house for the shoe industry.