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Westport Island History Committee

Celebrates its people and heritage

Sawmill, Westport Island, 1946

Contributed by Westport Island History Committee
MMN Item 99473 Item Details
Sawmill, Westport Island, 1946
MMN Item 99473 Zoom

Description

Edwin Cromwell (1908-2001) owned and operated this sawmill on the east side of the Main Road on Westport Island. The sawmill was a family business worked by Edwin's brothers, children and extended family in the 1940's and 1950's; he called it Thick and Thin Lumber.

The logs were cut at the sawmill, hauled across the road, and stacked to dry in the fields on the west side of the Main Road. Pictured on the right in this photo is Edwin's brother, Herbert Cromwell Sr., with Richard Placilla (left).

When Edwin closed the mill, it was sold to someone in Mechanic Falls. Later, a family member wanted a sawmill and he answered an ad in Uncle Henry's. Ironically, he discovered it was Edwin's old mill. "Edwin's" sawmill came back to Westport, where it operated on a small scale for many years.

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