Historic Hallowell

Terrill Smith, Tyler Veilleux & Aiden Watson

The building was the Cotton Mill at 1885; however, it later closed and was sold to the Kennebec Realty Company in 1903. Seventeen years later, in 1920, Marston and Brooks Company, who produced shoes, moved in. Between 1903 and 1920, the O’Brien Electrophone Company occupied one floor. In 1929, it became the Jarnes Hamburger Shoe Company, and then in 1932, it was the Nelson-Weiner Shoe Company. Later on, it was the Hy-Style Shoe Company. Lastly, in 1979, it became a house for the elderly and remains that to this day.

In April 1890, the Cotton Mill was shut down, three years after changing the name to Kennebec River Mills. In December of 1895, a violent storm ripped off a section of the roof of the Cotton Mill. It left a lot of damage such as roofs coming off, debris hitting buildings, and leaks. The Cotton Mill sold the machinery to a mill in Georgia. In 1903, the Cotton Mill was sold to Kennebec Realty Company.

The Cotton Mill moved out of the building in 1903 when it was sold to the Kennebec Reality Company. O’Brien Electrophone Company moved in and took only one floor of the building. They stayed for five years and invented the car horn. After the O’Brien Electrophone Company moved out, the Johnson Shoe Factory moved in and took all four floors of the building. The value of the building at that time increased. The building, now the Cotton Mill Apartments, is located at 2 Academy Street, Hallowell, ME.

The O’Brien Electrophone Company was organized in Hallowell in 1905 and occupied one of the brick buildings belonging to the Kennebec Reality Company. With O’Brien as president, Joseph Williamson Byron and Boyd Bowditch Mower were the directors of the company. The electrophone was the invention of Mr. O’Brien, an expert electrician, and involved "the application of electricity in producing sound and was adapted to whistles, sirens, and general electric signals." Mr. O’Brien declared the electrophone a success with a great demand for them.

The Johnson Shoe Factory was started in 1887 by the Johnson twins, William C. Johnson and Richardson M. Johnson. The regular building was made of wood with a brick foundation. The building had parts built onto it in 1894, expanding it all the way to the railroad tracks. The factory, which made ladies shoes of many styles, was very successful and was a creator of jobs in Hallowell. In later years, it became Jarnes Hamburger Company in 1929. In 1932, it was used by the Nelson-Weiner Shoe Company. In 1935, it was Hy-style Shoe Company.

From 1940 to 1962, The Hallowell Shoe Company was run by Samuel Kleven. This company was Hallowell’s only remaining industry in 1961. In 1962, the Hallowell Shoe Company became a subsidiary of Desco Company in New York. In 1964, a night shift was added from 5pm to 10pm. Later that year, new machinery was installed to make better shoes. In March of 1966, the factory was moved to a different plant (currently Hannaford) on Whitten Road. In 1974, the shoe factory closed all together. The cause of the closure was bad quality shoes that could have ruined all of Desco.

Years later, Jon Lund announced that the old Cotton Mill site was going to be made into an elderly housing place with fifty-two apartments. On August 31, 1978, Timothy Hasset, director for development of Maine Housing Authority, said that the construction of the new apartments would begin around November 1st and would be done approximately in May, 1980.