Built 1868 (1868) Opened 1868 Architectural style Italianate architecture | NRHP Reference # 74000192 Area 3 ha Added to NRHP 17 September 1974 | |
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Location 1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Topsham, Maine People also search for Pejepscot Historical Society | ||
The Pejepscot Paper Company is a historic mill building located off U.S. 201 in Topsham, Maine, on the banks of the Androscoggin River, across from the town of Brunswick. Built in 1868, the building is the oldest surviving paper mill in the state. The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1974. The building has been restored since the fire that took out the wooden building closest to Main St (Route 201) which the original foundation is now the parking lot and can still be seen, and is now a mixed-use commercial property, housing the Sea Dog Brewing Company among other tenants.
Description and history
The Pejepscot Paper Company Mill stands on a point projecting southward into the Androscoggin River, just east of the bridge carrying US 201 between Topsham and Brunswick. It is a large three-story brick building, with a gambrel roof and a granite foundation. The short end facing the river is eight bays wide, each bay consisting of a recessed panel housing windows set in segmented-arch openings and topped by decorative arches. Near the center of the building, a five story square tower rises to a shallow-pitch pyramidal roof.
The mill was constructed in 1868 and was originally known as the Topsham Paper Mill. Its owners were hampered by a relatively poor location, and by legal problems with patent holders, and their venture failed. The property was auctioned in 1874, and reopened under new ownership as the Bowdoin Paper Manufacturing Company. Its owners expanded rapidly, and an empire that included as many as ten mills collapsed due to overextension in 1887.
In 1998 the mill was included on the National Trust for Historic Preservation list of most endangered sites. It was later restored and currently houses the Sea Dog Brewing Company and a number of small businesses.