A Brief History of Biddeford

Book excerpt: Captain Richard Vines founded Winter Harbor in 1616. The small coastal village, now known as Biddeford, is the largest city in York County, with more than twenty-one thousand" residents. During the nineteenth century, the city experienced a boom from the textile industry when textile magnate Samuel Batchelder established Pepperell Manufacturing Company, which rapidly became an international brand. The city suffered when textile manufacturing moved south in the mid-twentieth century, abandoning its expansive infrastructure along the Saco River. In 2004, Mayor Wallace Nutting organized local residents in a revitalization effort for the downtown area, and developers renovated historic mill buildings into residential and commercial space. Join author and lifelong Biddeford resident Emma Bouthillette as she revisits the city's early history and explores its recent rebirth.