Organization of the Collection
The Franklin Company collection is organized into six segments, each representing an individual enterprise. The largest segments are the operating records of the Lewiston Water Power Company (LWPC), which was established in 1845, and the Franklin Company itself, which was founded in 1854 and absorbed the assets of the LWPC. The other segments in this collection contain much smaller series of records created by the combined Lewiston Water Power and Franklin companies, the Androscoggin and Kennebec Rail Road Company, the Great Androscoggin Falls Milldam, Locks and Canal Company, the Lewiston Falls Bank, and the Union Water Power Company, whose holdings were acquired by the Franklin Company in the mid-19th century. Within each segment, the records are divided between bound volumes and unbound textual records and, in the case of the Franklin Company, maps. Each listing of the textual records is preceded by a container list.
The collection is made up of bound ledgers, account books, letter-press books, desk diaries, correspondence, bills and receipts, legal opinions and documents, maps, surveys, and related documents created, collected, or retained by the Lewiston agents for the company or sent to Lewiston by the company’s officers, particularly its treasurers, whose offices were located in Boston.
In all, the collection contains approximately 31,000 items and takes up 45 linear feet of shelf space.