Collection + Exhibits
Object of the Month
Get a glimpse of the past with highlighted artifacts from the museum’s collection.
With more than 10,00 artifacts in our collection, there’s a lot to learn about. Come along with us as we unearth one item a month and take a deep dive into its use, significance, and any community stories connected to its history, meaning, or purpose.
From archival photographs to awards, manufacturing tools and inventions to locally made holiday ornaments from a once renown manufacturer—get a glimpse into the past, right now.
January 2025: Bates Mill Pattern
Our object this month is a design from our collection which will be featuring in our upcoming exhibit Pattern & Process: Industry and the Individual. The exhibit showcases dozens of designs from the Bates Mill during its operation, as well as various pieces created by artists located here in Maine. This print pictured is just one of many that will be available for public viewing, with the designs ranging from florals and stripes to racecars. The show opens February 6th — drop in and check out all the never-before-displayed designs and stay for our guided tours of the machines used to turn them from designs to products!
Did you miss a past Object of The Month?
We’ve gone through a treasure trove of items from our collection over the years. Scroll through and see what you may have missed.
January 2023: Murphy’s Fur Coat
This month the museum is highlighting a Murphy’s fur coat. Murphy’s was a fur business started by T.J. Murphy in 1873 that had two locations in Lewiston: one on Ash street and one on Lisbon street. They became nationally known for their high quality and their direct...
December 2022: Bates Bedspread Snowman
To celebrate the holiday season, our December object of the month is this festive bedspread disguised as a snowman. Almost all of the bedspreads in our collection remain in their original condition, but this one was given new life, dressed up for the holidays, and...
November 2022: War Ration Booklet
With Veteran’s Day approaching later this month, our object of the month is a ration booklet held in our collection. As with many areas of life, the textile, brick, and shoemaking industries of the Androscoggin region felt the effects of WWII. For example, many mills...
October 2022: Bates Manufacturing Company Medal for Valued Service
This medal was awarded to the Bates Manufacturing Company in 1951 for 100 years of valued service. The Jordan Marsh Company bestowed this medal to the mills, “commemorating our New England centennial associates whose integrity of character and preservation of American...
September 2022: Mill Workers
In honor of Labor Day this month, the museum would like to recognize and honor the hard work and dedication of the mill workers of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These three undated photographs show mill workers at different parts of the textile making...
August 2022: Morin Brick Workers
This is a photograph from the 1930s of Morin Brick Workers. The son of French Canadian immigrants, John Morin and his family founded Morin Brick Co. in 1912. Using the clay-like soil of the Androscoggin region, Morin Brick made bricks that were used in the...
July 2022: American Bobbin Co. Panoramic Photograph
This photograph was taken in October 1947, outside of the company’s office on 47 Whipple Street in Lewiston. American Bobbin Co. started in 1945, when it absorbed the name and assets of a Rhode Island corporation that had functioned since 1920. The company was a part...
June 2022: Cotton
This month we are featuring cotton: the product from which most textiles originate. In honor of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved peoples in the United States, we’d like to acknowledge the dark history associated with cotton, and thus...
May 2022: Valuation of Machinery Booklet
Museum L-A’s May Object of the Month is the York Manufacturing Company's Valuation of Machinery booklet from 1853 to 1892. Built on Saco Island in 1831, the York Manufacturing company milled cotton goods, operating with 1,000 workers by 1839. It’s predecessor was the...
Help preserve Maine MILL artifacts
Antique and vintage items need a lot of maintenance to prolong their lifetime. Help us to preserve and care for these historical items and representations of our community’s history by donating today.