(Photo Courtesy of City of Lewiston Website)

Lewiston was established as a Mill town in the late 1800's.  The picture of Bates Mill (above) is representational of the mills in the surrounding area.  As the demands for production increased, so too did the demand for employees.  This demand, along with the establishment of the railways in Maine, allowed for French-Canadians to find work in Lewiston.  According to Barry Rodrique, Assistant Professor of Arts and Humanities Scholar at the Lewiston-Auburn College and the Franco American Heritage Collection, French-Canadians did not have the intentions of moving down to Lewiston, at least not at first.  However, over time, the French-Canadians did decide to settle in Lewiston with the large majority of them settling in a single neighborhood.  A neighborhood called Little Canada.

When I set out to research cities and immigration, it was not hard to find a focus here in Maine.  Upon visiting the Bates Mill Complex with Alan Turgeon and taking a walking tour of Lewiston with Lincoln Jeffers, it was obvious to me that Lewiston's growth and decline is due largely to the opening and closing of the mills.  The city's current efforts to revitalize and redevelop the downtown are attempts to create jobs and bring people back to live in a seemingly deserted city. Among the largest group of people affected by the closing of the mills is the Franco-American community. 

The Franco-Americans had come to work in the mills in the late 1800's and settled in a nearby neighborhood called Little Canada.  The Franco-Americans established their own close knit neighborhood on the banks of the Androscoggin River which enabled them to keep their heritage and their culture.  Unfortunately, over time the neighborhood has seen drastic changes in the landscape.  Businesses that once flourished within the Franco-American community no longer exist, but for a few that remain in business today like FX Marcotte, The Corner Variety Store, Labadie's Bakery and LaCasse's Bakery.

               (FX Marcotte established in 1883)                      (Labadie's Bakery established in 1934)

Lewiston, incorporated as a town in 1795 was later referred to as a Mill town in the late 1800's.  As the demands for production increased, so too did the demand for employees.  This demand, along with the establishment of the railways in Maine, allowed for French-Canadians to find work in Lewiston.  According to Barry Rodrique, Assistant Professor of Arts and Humanities Scholar at the Lewiston-Auburn College and the Franco American Heritage Collection, French-Canadians did not have the intentions of moving down to Lewiston, at least not at first (Rodrigue, 2003).  However, over time, the French-Canadians did decide to settle in Lewiston with the large majority of them settling in a single neighborhood.  A neighborhood called Little Canada.

Little Canada sits on the banks of the Androscoggin River just over the Lewiston-Auburn Bridge.  Little Canada is comprised of River Street and half of Oxford Street though most people consider Lincoln, Cedar, and Chestnut Streets to be the extended neighborhood.  Within Little Canada are numerous apartment buildings, three and four stories high.  The streets are narrow and winding through Little Canada and can only be traveled through one way.  Due to the large amount of apartment buildings in Little Canada, the area is so dense that many people refer to it as a firetrap.

Though many Franco-American have moved out of the neighborhood, Little Canada still exists in the minds of those who once lived there.  Abandoned buildings and vacant lots that cover the landscape today have replaced the stores, shops, restaurants, boutiques and other businesses that once existed in Little Canada.  That is, except for a handful of businesses like FX Marcotte, Labadie’s Bakery, LaCasse Bakery and the Corner Variety Store that is operated by second and third generation Franco-Americans.  In many aspects the neighborhood appears deserted.  During the Industrial Era, when all the mills were up and running the streets were crowded with men, women and children. Labadie’s bakery, established in 1934, located on Lincoln Street, said that many elderly ladies that visit the bakery tell stories of how they remembered the neighborhood and the shops and boutiques that once lined the streets.  (Proctor, 2003).  Many of the elders also recall how they used to frequent the bakery when they lived in the neighborhood and that is why they return today.  Little Canada, once a thriving neighborhood, today faces changes and challenges with an uncertain future.

When I set out to research cities and immigration, it was not hard to find a focus here in Maine.  Upon visiting the Bates Mill Complex with Alan Turgeon and taking a walking tour of Lewiston with Lincoln Jeffers, it was obvious to me that Lewiston's growth and decline is due largely to the opening and closing of the mills (Jeffers and Turgeon, 2003).  The city's current efforts to revitalize and redevelop the downtown are attempts to create jobs and bring people back to live in a seemingly deserted city. Among the largest group of people affected by the closing of the mills was the Franco-American community.