Industrial Red Beach, ME in the 1880s

As you travel east out of Calais, Maine and follow Route 1 along the banks of the St. Croix River towards the Bay of Fundy, you will pass through a quiet, picturesque countryside which is typical of down east Maine. About 10 miles out of Calais you will come to an intersection where Shattuck Road “Ts” into Route 1 and goes off to the south up into the hill side and farm lands. The river side is grown up with trees and underbrush to the extent the river is not visible. This is Red Beach. There are no street lights, no commercial buildings, no post office, not even a gas station. It is hard to believe that a little over one hundred years ago this was an active bustling community with three main industries which in turn generated many other auxiliary businesses to support them. Even the main road through the residential area of Red Beach has been cut off and bypassed by Route one and is now called St. Croix Drive. This road in the late 1800s contained many of the homes of the Lane, Mingo and Young families. Some are still standing and in use and some no longer exist.

In the 1800s the vicinity around Red Beach had much to offer as an industrial site. It had a deep water harbor so that sailing vessels could access it from the Atlantic coast by way of the St. Croix River which is navigable up to the rapids at Calais. It had a good source of water power from the streams flowing from the lakes up on the hills and many of the necessary raw materials were nearby. This water power source had been used by early settlers since the 1600s.

The first of the major industries started in the late 1840s. This was the Red Beach Plaster Company. It was organized in 1846 to produce the construction material plaster. The firm would import hydrated Calcium Sulfate, known as gypsum, which was mined from quarries in Windsor, Nova Scotia and Hillsboro, New Brunswick. Once in the Plaster Mill it was gradually reduced in size through several steps and finally ground into a fine powder. This powder was then calcined to remove most of the water of hydration. The powder was then packaged into wooden barrels. This material frequently called plaster of Paris was then used by the construction companies along the eastern coast of the United States. It had many uses including mortar, wall and ceiling coverings and decorative moldings. According to R. W. Johnson in his article in the September 1980 issue of Maine Life, he states, "The original venture was capitalized at $10,000 in 1850, employed 20 workers earning $300 a year while manufacturing products worth $17,400. Production included 9000 barrels of plaster, 9000 barrels for shipping and 5000 wooden caskets. By 1880 the firm was importing 10,000 tons of gypsum, called “plast rock”, annually. The demand increased to 400 barrels a day of product and required a shipping fleet of over a hundred vessels to transport materials and product."

In the 1880s a new product was manufactured by the plaster company, fertilizer. Again, quoting Johnson’s article, "Bone phosphate could be produced from the animal bones purchased from the farmers. These were then ground and mixed with bone charcoal which was purchased from New York City. This was mixed with fish pouderette and mineral phosphate from South Carolina. It was then treated with sulfuric acid, dried to a powder and packaged. The production reached 2000 tons of bone phosphate annually."

In 1875 the second industry was formed, initially as a subsidiary of the Plaster Mill, but by 1877 The Maine Red Granite Company was incorporated. The company owned three quarries located on the property of the Plaster Mill. The main quarry was located ¾ of a mile west of Red Beach. The Beaver Lake black granite quarry was developed in 1885 and the Shattuck Mountain quarry opened in 1890.

This lead to the formation of the third industry, The Maine Red Granite Polishing Works. The stones were rough cut at the quarry and delivered to the polishing works by horse and oxen drawn sleds.

The rough cut pillars were sawed into slabs and then shaped and ground to highly polished finish. Some of the products were beautiful columns, pilasters, tombstones and stands, bases and other ornamental pieces. The polishing works was reportedly the best equipped in New England. Granite was even shipped in from other parts of the country to be finished in Red Beach. The Maine Red Granite Company utilized the shipping docks and harbor of the Plaster Mill in Red Beach Cove.

Many important buildings were built with Red Beach granite. Some of these include the Francis Scott Key Monument in Frederick, Maryland, the county building and post office in Lima, Ohio: the courthouse in Marquette, Michigan: the Museum of Natural History in New York City; Baptist Churches in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Newport News, Virginia; and plant cases on the terrace around the United States Capital Building in Washington and many more.

After the turn of the century the industries in Red Beach began to decline. Wallboard became the construction material of choice and the need for plaster diminished. Concrete replace much of the use for granite blocks. The industries began to fail financially and in 1926 a huge fire was the final blow to the companies. The plaster mill company store, the bridge, the wharf and post office were all destroyed. The business was never rebuilt.

During its prime years these companies provided employment for the whole town of Red Beach which included the family members of Clement Lane, Willard Lane and Michael Mingo. Some were employed as stone cutters, some worked in the plaster mill and several were coopers and made shipping barrels. With its failure the industrial town of Red Beach ceased to exist. Many family members were forced to seek employment outside of Red Beach. Some moved permanently out of the area and others worked in other parts of New England during the winter months and returned to their homes in Maine for the summer. With the completion of Route 1 the old road along the shore was bypassed and it is just a quiet residential area today.

Although many references were used for this article a significant part came from the article written by R. W. Johnson in September 1980 issue of Maine Life.

August 1, 2003