Saco History

 

The lower Saco River was a center of native American activity in both prehistoric times and during the late Sixteenth and the Seventeenth Centuries.  By the early Seventeenth Century, the safe harbor and abundant natural resources had attracted early European visitors.  The history of Saco changed in the early Eighteenth Century when William Pepperell purchased 5,000 acres and timber rights on the east side of the Saco River.  The milling of lumber developed as a major industry of the community.  In 1718, the principal roads of the community, Main Street and the Portland, Buxton and Ferry Roads were laid out.

 

With the establishment of the Saco Iron Works in 1811, the Industrial Revolution arrived in Saco.  In 1826 a seven-story cotton mill was constructed followed by additional mills in both Saco and Biddeford.  By 1850 the sister cities of Saco and Biddeford had become leaders of the new Industrial Age, making and marketing textiles.  During the Nineteenth Century, Saco acquired much of the urban form that remains today as the hallmark of the community.  Much of this rich stock of building remains in the downtown today, and has been protected by an historic preservation ordinance since 1991.

 

Saco and Biddeford’s role as a major textile-manufacturing center continued to grow during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  By the turn of the century, Saco’s population had grown to over 6,000, while Biddeford had over 16,000 residents.  In the early years of the Twentieth Century, Saco and Biddeford continued to grow slowly, while maintaining their roles as manufacturing centers.

 

Following the Second World War, Saco underwent a second major transformation.  The closing of the York Mills in 1958 brought the textile-manufacturing era to a close.  Some 8,000 jobs were lost between 1948 and 1960.  In 1987 the City’s role as a “mill town” disappeared with the virtual abandonment of Factory Island as an employer center.  This meant the loss of thousands of customers for the downtown.

 

The increase in private automobiles brought further decentralization of the City’s residential neighborhoods.  During the 1980’s and 1990’s a commercial development along Route One accelerated, and efforts to revitalize Factory Island as a mixed-use development were begun. Residential development continued both as multi-family housing in the core, and increasingly, as scattered low density housing across the City.

 

The City began in the 1960’s and continues today to develop its Industrial Park to replace the jobs lost with the collapse of the region’s traditional industries.  As the economic relationship between Saco and the Portland Metropolitan Area grew, Saco’s proximity to the employment and retail centers of Greater Portland began to influence the pattern of residential and commercial development.

 

Since 1970 Saco residents have looked to South Portland’s super-regional mall, just 13 miles away, and associated retailers for many of their needs and for employment.  More recently in the 1990’s,  “big box” retailers provide stiff competition just a few miles away in Biddeford’s Route 111 corridor.