1811 – Saco Iron Works is established by Col. Thomas Cutts on Factory Island.

1825 – Saco Manufacturing Co. incorporates, buying property of Saco Iron Works and producing cotton textiles in Saco.

1831 – York Manufacturing Co. organized, acquiring property of Saco Manufacturing Co.

1837 – Samuel Batchelder incorporates Saco Water Power Co., from which grew the Saco Water Power Machine Shops (later the Saco-Lowell Shops), Laconia Co. and Pepperell Manufacturing Co.

1839 -– York Manufacturing transfers property and manufacture to Saco Water Power Co. York continued producing cotton textiles in Saco until 1946.

1841 – The Water Power Co. builds a large machine shop on the Biddeford side of the Saco River, the first building of what would become the Saco-Lowell Shops. Also this year, Batchelder incorporates Biddeford’s first cotton manufacturing company, named Laconia after the area of New Hampshire where he was born.

1842 – The first steam railroad to pass through Biddeford is completed. The Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad carried passengers from Biddeford to Boston in five hours.

1844– Batchelder incorporates the Pepperell Manufacturing Co., naming it for Sir William Pepperell, a famous Maine merchant and soldier. 

1845 – Mills No. 1 and No. 2 of the Laconia Co. begin operation, the first time cotton is manufactured in Biddeford.

1847 – The third Laconia mill building is constructed and the company begins to ship items as far away as the South Pacific. Also built this year are Biddeford’s first post office and bank.

1848 – The Water Power Co. begins construction of the first Pepperell Mills. Also, the town’s first high school is built at the corner of Washington and Jefferson streets. The school bell was the first bell in town other than the mill bell at the Laconia Co.

1849 – The Water Power Co. employs 600 men.

1850 – Pepperell’s Mill No. 1 begins operating in late October.

1852 – This year marks the beginning of the “China Trade” for Pepperell Manufacturing Co.

1853 – Lincoln Street Mill goes into production, utilizing 8 million square feet of floor space and power derived from the Saco River. 

1854 – On the night of July 10, gas was turned on in Biddeford for lighting for the first time. “The brilliance of the stores, illuminated by this new light, was a public sensation,” according to Dane Yorke, author of “A History and Stories of Biddeford.”

1866 – Laconia and Pepperell together produce more than 21 million yards of cloth.

1867 – Saco Water Power Co. is acquired by Laconia and Pepperell.

1896 – A clock tower and bell are added to the Lincoln Street Mill. The tower was removed in 2007.

1911 – Laconia Co. and Saco Water Power Co. close.

1912 – Saco-Pettee Co. whose parent company was Saco Water Power Co., becomes the Saco-Lowell Shops.

1930 – York Manufacturing is sold to New England Industries, becoming the York Division of Bates Manufacturing Co.

1958 – York Division and Saco-Lowell on Factory Island close in Biddeford and Saco. The closing of York meant the loss of 1,200 jobs and an annual payroll of $4 million.

1965 –  WestPoint joins forces with Pepperell Manufacturing, creating the fourth largest textile company in the country.

1969 – Lincoln Street Mill closes.

1985 – The last industries on Factory Island – Saco Tanning and Nike – close.

2009 – WestPoint Home is set to close in August.