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    Great Works on Cathance Stream.

    Photograph
    A cement dam stands where T.W. Allan's "Great Works" mill sawed out long lumber, shingles and lath through much of the 19th century. After the Washington County Railroad opened in 1898, a nearby siding carried pulpwood and other products to market. The area is now a protected Wildlife Management area owned and managed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

    Theophilus W. Allan, started lumber operations in 1821, a business that continued in his family for fifty-two years. The Allan mill was located at the Great Works in Edmunds. It began as a small undershot wheel for manufacturing shingles. Shortly after it was in running order, an old settler peered through one of the small windows and exclaimed "It's great works you're doing here, I guess!" The name "Great Works" stuck. The devastating Saxby Gale of October, 1869, dealt a heavy loss to T.W. Allan and Son who had recently purchased for $16,000 a fine lot of Timberland form the estate of John Kilby. It was considered to be worth no more than $3,000 after the destructive winds. In 1871, the Allans shipped 668,000 feet of long lumber; 1,500,000 laths; 250,000 shingles; and had 250,000 feet of long lumber ready for shipping. The Allans maintained a wharf, located on the Edmund side of the Dennys River, to serve as a loading and discharging site and storage area for their own ships as well as others.

    Photos for Map

    T.W. Allan and Son Saw Mill at Great Works on Cathance Stream, Edmunds, Maine.; Detail of mill buildings owned by T.W. Allan and Son at the Great Works on Cathance Stream, from the Colby Atlas of Washington County, published in 1881.
    Great Works Conservation Signage Great Works Dam; A cement dam stands where T.W. Allan's Great Works Fish Ladder Great Works Fish Ladder Great Works Pond Great Works Stream