Historic Hallowell

Tayler Gagnon, Annie McKee, Mikayla Merrill, and Mari Smith

In the late 1800s to mid 1900s, Hallowell was abundant with factories. One of the most successful factories was called the Johnson Brothers Shoe Factory. Though it was a very productive factory, all good things come to a close. This is all about the timeline of the Johnson Brothers Shoe Factory.

The Johnson Shoe Factory was a large part of history in Hallowell.  Since the Jarnes-Hamburger Factory shut down, the shoe factory easily took it's place. It all started when two brothers got together and started the business. It was founded in 1887 by the twin Johnson brothers, William C. Johnson and Richardson M. Johnson. Richardson Johnson opened his first factory in Lynn, Massachusetts. When they moved to Hallowell, his brother joined him to establish the shoe company. The building was made of wood with a brick foundation. Charles Weiner became the president of this establishment, and David Haskell was the treasurer. These men were both well experienced in the shoe industry business.

The people behind one of the leading factories in Hallowell were twin brothers, William C.  and Richardson M. Johnson.  They were born to Stephen Carlton and Julianna Metcalf Johnson, a highly respected farming family, on March 27th, 1851, in Appleton, Maine.  They attended local schools in Appleton, but Richardson Johnson had to give up school early to make a living by farming and later manufacturing shoes.  In 1880, he was married to Carrie Winter, daughter of Capt. Levy and Abbie Murphy Winter, in Lynn, Massachusetts, where the Winters resided. Throughout their marriage, Richardson and Carrie Johnson raised four children: W.H. Johnson, Lotta M. Johnson, Carrie E. Johnson, and Lillie Johnson.

In the Johnson Shoe Factory, the employees were very productive. There were night shifts with fifty employees working from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Monday through Friday. The factory made 10,000 to 12,000 pairs of boots and 7,000 to 8,000 pairs of shoes with thirty to forty people, which was amazing at the time.  In July 1964, new machinery was installed, which made shoemaking faster and easier.  As a result, there were 300 people employed. The factory's weekly payroll was $6,000, which was probably because they raised $1,600,000 making ladies shoes! The resources they used to make the shoes were 2,000 leather sides, seventy five dozens of calf skins, three to four tons of split leather, and ten to twelve tons of sole leather. They had to buy some raw material too, which cost $1,000,000 additionally. With shoes today, they have more style and patterns. In the 1960's, there were just white and tan shoes manufactured. See the difference between technology in the past and today?

Why did the Johnson Shoe Factory close in April of 1927?  After all, it had been such a successful business for over forty years, a leading producer of shoes for ladies, had employed 450 workers, and made over 2.5 million dollars a year. Why close its doors? The Johnson Shoe Factory was the third business shut down in Hallowell, Maine. On a Wednesday at 1:30 pm in 1927, the Johnson Shoe Factory workers were informed that the company was closing and were forced to leave immediately.  Gawlelko told the Johnson Shoe Factory workers that their workmanship “wasn’t up to quality.” Frank Eisentein, the Vice President of DESCO, stated that, “None of us wanted to see the ship go down, but we can not, and will not, stand for mediocrity.” Thus, the Johnson business was closed in April of 1927, and the building was occupied by the Kennebec Shoe Company from 1934 to 1953.  Once they moved out, the abandoned building was torn down in May, 1955, and a skating rink took its place.

Cotton Mill and Johnson Shoes Citations