(Page 8 of 17) Print Version
Log Drive, Saco River, ca. 1894
McArthur Public Library
As more businesses and industries were using the local water ways advantageously, nearly 17 sawmills were erected in Saco by 1800. The Saco River’s waterpower aided in inflating the local lumber industry. J.G. Deering Lumber Company was a significant sawmill founded by Joseph G. Deering in 1866 on Spring Island in Biddeford near Bradbury Dam. J.G. Deering was eventually renamed J.G. Deering & Son Company once Joseph G. Deering’s son Frank Cutter Deering joined the business. The Saco River Driving Company served as the wood operation and river driving subsidiary of J. G. Deering & Son.