Along and around the Androscoggin River, people have been known for industrious innovation for literally hundreds of years. Making things is just kind of our thing, and we have no intention of slowing down. In fact, the manufacturing sector in Maine has grown more than 10% in the last five years, more than double the national rate of growth. With all our history, the region, particularly the city of Auburn, remains at the center of it all. Not long ago, people in the Lewiston Auburn area made this the second largest shoe manufacturer in the world, with over 8,000 workers in the factories right after World War I. Today, Quoddy and Rancourt & Co. in Lewiston carry on the tradition. Rancourt’s shoes have actually made four Olympic Opening Ceremony appearances. Last year for Paris, it was a white suede buck that needed regular dusting during the manufacturing process to keep it pristine. Panolam Surface Systems makes laminate surfaces for many industries, but is a favorite material of bowling alleys—about 95% of bowling surfaces worldwide are made at their factory in Auburn.

Several Auburn-based companies have international profiles as well: Panolam Surface Systems produces 95% of the world’s bowling alley surfaces, Tambrands manufactures every single tampon sold by Proctor & Gamble, and Auburn Manufacturing, which makes advanced, heat-resistant textiles, was visited by President Biden in 2023 to recognize their leadership in several areas.
Before shoes, it was textiles. In the 19th century, Bates Manufacturing Company was one of the largest textile makers in New England. While we might think of industrial weaving as an old technology, its basic methods can be found in modern computing. In the mid-20th century, IBM executives who were developing their own computing technology visited the local mills to study the punch card programming used in looms. 
Today, Maine Heritage Weavers uses the same equipment to create heirloom quality bed linens, while the old Bates Mill Complex is home to breweries, restaurants, banks, medial services and the Maine MILL, a museum where you can learn so much more about all of this history.

Another creative, local treasure is Bourgeouis Guitars, beloved by the country and folk music world—artists like Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs, Sierra Hull, Bryan Sutton and more have used their showstopping guitars and mandolins for four decades. They manufacture on a smaller, hand-built scale, making about 400 beautiful instruments a year. Innovative thinkers have long called the region home. Oren Cheney was an abolitionist who helped free enslaved people through the Underground Railroad and also helped found the Maine State Seminary in 1855, which eventually grew into Bates College. The forward-thinking institution accepted women from the beginning and graduated its first Black alum nearly 100 years before the Civil Rights Act passed.

Labadie’s Bakery in Lewiston is the originator of the whoopie pie and ships them all over the countryThe spirit of growth through inclusion can be seen throughout the region today, especially in our food systems. People in Androscoggin County love to eat (especially the official Maine treat: an original whoopie pie from Labadie’s Bakery, baked since 1925), and they’re committed to making sure everyone has enough.

There are more than 1,000 farms in Androscoggin County. (Innovator fact: Willow Pond Farm in Sabattus was the first in the state to offer CSA shares in 1989.) Some are partners with the Good Shepherd Food Bank, which supports more than 140,000 Maine residents a year through a highly organized network of collection and distribution. Its flagship warehouse is in Auburn.

Meanwhile, Liberation Farms in Wales is a one-of-a-kind collective farm operated by the Somali Bantu Community Association. Farmers at Liberation Farms organize in Iskashito groups, a traditional Somali method of cooperative growing where they share land and the profits of their combined work. The farm is just one arm of the SBCA, an organization involved in the region’s economic growth since 2005.

Whether you already live in Androscoggin County or have plans to move, remember that dreamers, doers and makers have built communities and thrived here for a long time. Discover LA Maine and see how you can make a great life for yourself in this growing region.

To discover more about the LA Region, click here.

Original article published by the Sun Journal on January 17, 2025.