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History

The cities share a historical heritage. For centuries in pre-American history, the dramatic falls of the Saco River, near where it now crosses Main Street, attracted summer visits from the native people for seasonal fishing and hunting.

Islands in the Saco River separate the two towns where you will find acres of red-brick mill buildings. These mills once housed industries employing thousands of immigrant workers. The influx of immigrants from Europe and Quebec added cultural diversity to the area’s other assets.

The 19th century brought modern industrial capital development to the area. Corporations established in the area included a nail factory, many cotton milling factories, cotton mills, machine shops, iron foundries and cigar factories. With the development of massive cotton mills on the western falls of the river, the sister cities of Biddeford and Saco became leaders of manufacturing in the industrial age.

Despite setbacks during the Civil War, the Panic of 1873, and the Crash of 1929, the area’s people and industries prospered for most of the next hundred years.

Saco has eight properties that are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They include The Way-Way General Store; Jacobs Houses and Store; A.B. Seavey House; Saco High School; Saco City Hall; Joseph Deering House; Thacher Goodale House; and Grant Farm. Biddeford’s historic places include the Biddeford City Hall and City Theater.

The Biddeford Historical Society and the Franco-American Genealogical Society of York County are housed in the McArthur Library in Biddeford. The Historical Society is the secondary depository for the early records of the City of Biddeford and has records from 1628 to 1932. There is also a collection of memorabilia, personal diaries and scrapbooks. All the vital statistics of Old Saco and the Town of Biddeford have been transcribed and are available for research upon request.

Books providing excellent details of local history include “Sand, Spindles & Steeples” by Roy Fairfield; “Cities On The Saco” by Jacques Downs; and “Saco, Then and Now” by Peter N. Scontras.

Visit the following:

• Biddeford Historical Society at McArthur Library, 270 Main Street, Biddeford. www.mcarthur.lib.me.us.

• Old Orchard Beach Historical Society at Harmon Museum, Portland Avenue, Old Orchard Beach.

• Saco Museum and the Dyer Library is located at 371 Main Street, Saco. www.dyerlibrarysacomuseum.org.

• Seashore Trolley Museum, 195 Log Cabin Road, Kennebunk. www.trolleymuseum.org.

Mystery Stones

Excavation of the land at Saco’s Amtrak Station parking lot uncovered several large round stone wheels. The local weekly newspaper, Biddeford-Saco-Old Orchard Beach Courier, ran a story in July 2003 requesting readers to submit their theories about what the stones were used for. Some of the holes in the middle of the stones are square while others are round. They are too soft of a stone and without a circular pattern to have been grindstones. The area where the stones were buried once housed textile mills and a leather tannery. The city put the stones around the station parking lot landscape. For now, the stones are still a mystery. If you think you know what the stones were once used for, contact Peter Morelli at pmorelli@sacomaine.org.

Curses

The Saco River is lazy at times; sleepy in the winter when the water freezes; playful other times; and sometimes cruel and vengeful. Everyone locally knows of the Legend of the Curse of the Saco River. In the summer of 1675, rowdy sailors from an English ship rowed up the river and came across an Indian woman who was paddling a canoe with her baby. The sailors taunted her, asking if it was true that Indian children could swim at birth. They attacked her and tossed the baby in the river. The mother, who was also pregnant, dove in to save the child. They both died. Enraged, her husband, an Indian chief, vowed revenge. He went down to the river and commanded it to take the lives of three people every year. In many years, the river has complied.