Introduction
by Christopher M. Beam
The acquisition of the Franklin Company records by the Lewiston Public Library is the culmination of an effort that began several years ago. After returning to Maine in 1988, I expressed an interest in finding out what documents on the history of Lewiston and Auburn were available. James S. Leamon of the Bates College Department of History, the author of an account of Lewiston’s early years, described the central role of the Franklin Company in the development of the Twin Cities and mentioned that the company’s extant records were voluminous and rich but in private hands.
The impact of the Franklin Company on the social and economic life of Lewiston and Auburn cannot be overemphasized. At one time the company owned most of the real estate in downtown Lewiston — that is, the area bordered by Main Street, Campus Avenue, Sabattus Street, and East Avenue to the Androscoggin River. Its holdings also included the Continental and Lincoln mills, substantial sections of downtown Auburn, the water supply to the both communities, and the right of access to the Androscoggin River. The dominant position the company held in the 19th and early 20th centuries meant that its records now contain important and at times unique information on local history. This fact gave rise to several unsuccessful attempts to move the records into the public domain.
With the formation of the Lewiston Bicentennial Committee in 1991, another effort began in earnest. At one of its first meetings, committee members suggested that I explore ways to make the records available for public use. Soon after, I met with their current owner, Stanley Sclar, in the office of Franklin Enterprises to discuss a possible acquisition by the City of Lewiston. Mr. Sclar was willing to donate the papers once an appraisal of their historical and monetary value was completed. Under an agreement between Mr. Sclar and the City, Peter J. Parker of the Inlook Group in New Hampshire was recruited to conduct this review. In his Inventory and Appraisal, which is reproduced in the next section of this finding aid, Mr. Parker gathered crucial information on the history of the company and the complex organization of the collection, compiled a detailed inventory of the records, and assessed their value. A complete copy of his report is on file at the Lewiston Public Library.
At the same time, Richard A. Speer, director of the Lewiston Public Library, indicated that the library was prepared to accept the collection once a renovation and expansion program was completed in early 1997. The records would be made available on a non-circulating basis in the Lewiston History Room. The legal transfer of the records to the City took place November 21, 1995, under a “Bill of Sale” and the materials themselves were moved to the Lewiston Armory for temporary storage.
Because the library did not have a trained archival staff, The Edmund S. Muskie Archives at Bates College offered to process the collection and hold it until its transfer to the library. The Archives hired Kimberly I. McGuffie, a senior from Deer Isle, through the community service component of the work study program to work on the collection. Ms. McGuffie spent the summer of 1996 performing a number of essential archival tasks: flattening folded materials, removing metal paper clips and other physically damaging items, separating non-textual and oversize items from the textual files, placing the records in acid-free folders and boxes, checking their contents of the collection with Mr. Parker’s initial inventory, and taking notes on the contents and organization of the collection. The inventory and her notes are the basis of the Guide.
One result of this project is this finding aid. Its purpose is to provide essential information about the records: their provenance and conditions of administration; their organization; and a list of each volume, map, and folder in the collection. It should be emphasized that it is not a catalog of every item in the collection; hence, without reference to the collection itself, it does not permit users to locate individual documents.
As a professional archivist and citizen of Lewiston, I am pleased to have played a part in transferring the Franklin Company collection to the City and preparing them for public access. As I hope the Guide will make clear, the acquisition of the Franklin Company records by the Lewiston Public Library will enable the Lewiston-Auburn community to preserve an important part of its documentary heritage and gain a better sense of its past.