WHY THE TANNERY CLOSED DOWN

        Farming with cattle had a direct effect on Unity’s tanning industry. The presence of hides will influence the location of a tannery about twice as strongly as the location of the market. Because of the high costs of transport, and the length of time involved in the tanning process, it made economic sense that tanneries be proximate to the source of hides.  But  bark was even more important in determining where a tannery would be located than hides —by a factor of seven to two.   Given the amount of hemlock bark that the tannery used annually, it would seem as if the once abundant hemlock supply in the Unity area would have decreased rapidly. It seems that this resource depletion would be a likely cause of the death of the tanning industry in Maine.

          Other reasons existed.   The development of an artificial tanning agent in the late 1860’s made bulky bark obsolete. Transportation increased (especially rail) and costs decreased—it was cheaper to ship hides to larger, centralized tanneries.  Larger forests elsewhere were waiting to be cut for bark.

                       

               As time went on the resources needed by the tannery began to disappear and the cost of producing and exporting the leather came to be too much on the industry, making the business unprofitable. This in turn led to the downfall of the tannery on Sandy Stream.   A lesson can be learned from the tanners who once used the area and its natural resources to their benefit---you can only put so much pressure on a resource before it becomes depleted or ruined, and when the resources are gone than so is the industry that depended on it.

WHY A TANNERY? WHY HERE?

Without water, tanneries could not operate. Located upstream from Route 202, the water from Sandy Stream was used in the production processes and transportation. The tannery’s location was ideal for locals and passers-by. Its rich forests, water sources, close location to cattle/boar farms, and location on trade routes, made the tannery easily accessible by horse or by foot.

      The abundance of trees was a primary reason for the production of the tanning business and Unity was ideal. Oak, chestnut, sumac and eastern hemlock covered the surrounding forest; while hemlock served as the one most important tree species for tanning purposes.

The area was quickly recognized for its rich old growth forests, and its abundance of White Pine and Hemlock trees. Tanneries began to pop up all over the Waldo County area. Hemlock bark was one of the most important ingredients in the tanning process, therefore tanneries searched out certain locations that where next to running water, and within the vicinity of the hemlock stands.  A businessman named David Pingree from Massachusetts realized the profits that could be made by operating a tannery in the remote area, and in 1836 financed the construction of a tannery in Unity. Over the next couple of years the ownership of the tannery changed hands, but it always remained in the same location on Sandy Stream (Vickery).

In order for a leather tannery to exist, there is a particular combination of contributing factors and aspects that when brought together, constitute to make up the tanning of leather hides. Some of the basic components of a tanning industry include a flowing stream or river, preferably cold water in order to rinse and wash the hides during the tanning process. The quality of the water is also important for purification purposes. The cleaner and cooler the water the better the tanning process. Another ideal for a tannery is it to be located somewhere that it is accessible to all the other resources of the tanning operation. Another good reason the area was a perfect place for raising cattle, sheep, and pigs, which are main ingredients in the tanning process, is because of the remoteness of Unity. Here livestock can be raised on lots of open land, for a very low price, which in turn produces a greater profit for the farmer. Also the animals can be raised and slaughtered right here and then transported straight over to the tannery for processing. Rather than requiring the animals to be shipped in from somewhere else. When cattle and other animals are raised locally in a remote location and processed and transported with minimal energy then profits, time, and energy are maximized.

Another key ingredient in the tanning process is the bark which is used to tan the leather. The bark of the hemlock tree makes the best tanning agent, but other trees such as oak and ash can be used as well. The location of hemlock trees in this area played a key role in why the tannery was located here. When early settlers first discovered Unity, they found an abundance of hemlock trees all throughout the area. The stands of trees were especially thick on the top of Quaker Hill, and all along the road leading to what is now known as Albion. It was extremely important that the tannery be located fairly close to the source of the bark. During those times it was very difficult to move a very large tree or a couple of tons of tree bark to the source for processing, because all they had were horse and oxen-driven carriages.

According to Alfred Weber, an equation can be developed to show how materials and energy are used in the tanning process and what mix is necessary in order for it to succeed. Weber and his students determined the equation involving the labor used to gather the ingredients, the process it takes to produce the leather and the materials used by the tannery, the location of the supplies and cost of transport, and the labor it takes to extract the materials. One can then develop how the products and energy are used in an efficient way. The equation here will show where the tannery needs to be relative to the location of supplies, so that cost and energy does not outweigh the end profits. If the cost of transporting hides to market is the same in several cases, then hides can influence the location of a tannery twice as strongly as the market, and tree bark can influence the location of a tannery seven times as strongly. Therefore the location and orientation of a tannery is based mainly on the location of tree bark, and how accessible it is (Edgar Hoover).

HEMLOCK---THE SECRET INGREDIENT THAT MADE IT ALL WORK

          Unity would have never had a tannery on Sandy Stream if there were not an abundance of hemlock. At the time the tannery was established, Unity was mostly cleared land; under the axes of the farmers, most of the forests had disappeared like melting snow. But not the hemlock woods. If the hemlock had been equivalent to pine as a lumber source, there would have been none standing by the time tanneries came to New England. However, the available hemlock forests  in the 1820s were the one single resource that provided enough to support the tannery, pay its sizeable labor force, give farmers and loggers a new source of income, and  send Waldo County leather around the world.

            Sebago Lake formed the heart of hemlock country, a strip about sixty by two hundred miles in size. The Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) has still always been an important tree of the forest ecosystem in Maine, connected to the well-being of other species of trees and animals. It is a slow growing species  that grows in moist, shaded forests. Its roots prefer shallower soils with ample drainage. Young hemlocks rely on forest canopy to filter sunlight and allow for slow growth. A seedling hemlock can bide its time for over seventy years as a tiny sapling and then shoot up when an opening in the canopy presents itself.  Saplings cannot survive in open areas with direct sunlight; in fact, it is the most successful North American tree in tolerating deep shade. Undisturbed, a hemlock can grow for as many as 900 years— probably the longest lived tree in the northern woods— and reach heights of sixty to seventy feet. Several species of animals, such as deer and many birds, feed on young hemlock. Although it is a dominant species in the forest, it frequently shares acreage with deciduous trees such as yellow birch, sugar maple, white pine, balsam fir, and red spruce.

        Hemlock eventually became essential for the  tannery, but not right away.. It took a long time for hemlock to get any respect at all.  For the first centuries of settlement, it was Eastern white pine that was the king of the Maine landscape. These huge pines had diameters of more than six feet and heights of over two hundred feet. Because the white pine provided wood that was light colored and easily worked, it was highly desirable for lumber. This tree started the entire lumber industry of Maine, and for years it was the only species harvested. It was not until the mid-1800’s that spruce, a more northern species, was harvested in the state. Spruce later became the primary choice of loggers, as the resource of white pine was almost near depletion. Spruce is still the mainstay of the paper pulp industry.

        In the earliest years of European settlement, hemlock was of no market value because of its harshness and uneven, coarse grain. The wood is extremely susceptible to ring shake, warping, and checking. Hemlock is also difficult to thoroughly dry. Compared to pine and spruce, hemlock is far less desirable for lumber. Once the mid-coastal Maine forests were barren of quality timber, one of the few species that remained was the Eastern hemlock. Hemlock could be found throughout the state but was best suited to the southern soils.

          So what was the secret of hemlock’s success? In ancient Egypt it was discovered that the bark of trees could be ground up and used in solution to tan hides. In the 1800’s, Europeans used the bark of oak and sumac to tan hides, but the colonists soon discovered that hemlock bark could be employed just as well, and without staining the original color of the hide as oak does.. Eastern hemlock bark contains 10-13% by weight of tannin, the primary chemical in the tanning process (and the same chemical that makes tea look tea-colored). The tannin makes it extremely rot resistant, sometimes for over fifty years. In fact, you can tell that an old stump is a hemlock because the ring of bark stays more or less intact even after the wood inside has turned to crumbly brown duff.

          As a result of its tannin, hemlock bark quickly became a staple in the Maine tanning industry.  Not surprisingly, the heart of hemlock country is closely congruent to the area in which most tanneries existed in Maine between 1830 and 1860. Unity had the advantage of being in the center of the hemlock country. The Unity forest in the 1850s contained about 20-27% hemlock, which was enough to support more than one tannery.

     To obtain the tannin, hemlock logs had to be stripped of their bark during sap season, from early May to late June. Teams of men would search local forests for valued bark. They had to work fast because the harvest season was short and the demand for tannin was high. In the early years, the bark was stripped and taken to the tanneries while the standing dead tree was left to rot. The logs provided homes for many insects and food for insectivores, but did little for the rest of the ecosystem. Without bark, the flow of water and nutrients was disturbed and the trees would die, leaving whole hilltops with a silvery hue when seen from a distance. Occasionally, leftover hemlock logs were used for “paving” rough sections of road, such as depressions, ruts, and potholes (Connor). In later years, when lumber was even more scarce, standing dead  hemlock logs were salvaged for posts and beams.

       The tanning industry soon became second only to Maine’s lumber industry as a source of wealth from manufacturing..  It was responsible for providing many jobs both in the forest and in the tanneries. In 1872 there were a total of nineteen tanneries operating in the state that used a total of 110,000 cords of bark yearly to produce 11,000 tons of leather.  The Unity tannery, at its height, used up to 2,500 cords of bark annually. This is an astonishing figure! (320,000 cubic feet or 11,852 cubic yards a year….)    Not only did the tannery need a huge supply of bark, it also needed firewood for steam power in the processing of hides. Vickery reports that the tannery burned up to 1,200 cords of wood for this purpose. Considering the tremendous demand for these products, one can infer that the tanning industry had a significant impact on nearby forests.

      

THE TANNING PROCESS

       When the hides first arrived at the tannery, the process began with washing the hides in water to remove dirt, blood, manure, and other matter. This process usually required flowing water to thoroughly clean the hides.

        Chemicals were an important component of the tanning process and three agents were used in abundance. The first agent was lime. The hides were soaked in a lime/water solution in vats that lime worked to soften the skin and swell it in order to loosen the hair follicles so they can be removed. Each vat would contain a different solution of lime, and more lime would have to be added periodically to ensure the solution was strong enough.  For the most part, Unity tannery used lime that came from quarries in Rockland.  The second agent used was the mastering solution. This was a vile solution of water, salt, and dung; usually from chickens, pigeons, or dogs. Horse and cow dung was not used in the solution because of its weaker potency. The mastering solution removed proteins from the hides in order to halt decay. In addition, it was also used to soften the hides of cows and calves. It was here that after being cleaned and all of the hair removed, the hides were placed in bating vats to neutralize the lime. Bating vats contained salt, water, and chicken or dog manure. The tanner would then wash the hides thoroughly in clean water.  After the liming process the hides were drained of the lime solution and then the tanner would place the hide on a sloping beam or bench and scrape off the remaining hair and excess flesh. This process was known as beaming. To do this the worker used a series of downward strokes using a dull beaming knife. An average beamsman could process a dozen hides a day.  Acid baths were used for the second step of tanning for only the toughest boar and ox hides. The acid was composed of heavily fermented rye and barley, essentially a very strong whiskey mash.  Like the mastering solution, it was designed to deteriorate proteins in the hides.

         The last step/process involved the tannin solution itself. Hemlock tree bark was ground into a pulp and then allowed to “bleed” tannic acids into the water. The astringency of tannin essentially halted the decay of the hides, closing the pores of the hide, therefore sealing it and preventing bacteria from breaking it down. Each required twice its weight in bark plus twelve gallons of water. The bark and water produce tannin, which slowly penetrated the hides and transformed them into leather. For superior leather, the tanner soaked the hides in a solution of water and bark for up to twelve to eighteen months. The tanning time varied greatly depending on strength of the tannin solution, thickness and density of hides, and the climate of the area.

         From this point, the hides were carried into drying rooms or lofts where the workers would pound the hides with mallets to make them more flexible or rolled using machines to remove all the traces of the tanning solution. The hides were then hung, usually in special drying rooms, to ensure drying in a fixed amount of time. Heavy leather for shoe soles or harnesses were only rubbed with oil so they would not become too flexible, while lighter leather was stretched, beaten, and kneaded. Other oils were used to make it soft and supple. Finally workers rubbed the lighter leather with a stone to bring out the desired grain and structure. Once these processes were done and the hides were dried, they were ready for shipping from the tannery. “Currying” also took place, a process in which the leather was shaped and thinned even further to make it more attractive and usable. However, it is not likely that the Unity tannery did this because their main production was sole leather that did not need to be as highly treated.

           The main fuel used for the tanning of hides in the Unity tannery was wood. Wood was brought in to burn, to create heat for the steam engine that ran the bark grinder, and the rolling machines. Most of the other tasks at the tannery were done by hand and didn’t require the use of fuels.

             It could be assumed that a tanner did not need to have many special skills to tan, and every tanner did all parts of the tanning process. Also, the tanning process could have been done during spring, summer, and fall due to a possible frozen river during winter months.

HOW THE TANNERY LOOKED

Although it may be hard to imagine, at one point in history on the west bank of Sandy Stream stood a grand and thriving business in the town of Unity, Maine.  The Pingree Tannery, named after its original owner David Pingree, employed up to fifteen men and produced on average 150 tons of sole leather per year.  The leather was made to be distributed to local and regional businesses throughout Maine and New England (Vickery 132).  The tannery had at least one building directly on Main Street (Route 202) just south of the center of town, and several others tucked away in the fields down the hill by the stream.   For over twenty years the tannery was a booming business for the town of Unity and the local area, but by the end of the Civil War it was no longer in operation or standing for that matter.  One building was converted into a house, one large shed was used for the town fair until it was destroyed a few decades later, and the rest burnt to the ground (Vickery 132). What remains today of the physical form of this local industry were a few noticeable foundation stones and some soil covered mounds. 

In the year 1840, the land route from Augusta to Bangor was a major road –sometimes rutted and muddy-- around which the town of Unity had been built.   Alongside this track, approximately 300 feet toward Augusta from the outlet of present day route 139 and across from the medical center, stood a sizeable bark shed. This huge building, which was rectangular shaped with boarded walls on either end and large openings on the longer lateral sides, was the drop-off point for shipments of hemlock bark, cord wood, and hides. 

        At this point the tannery was consuming 2,500 cords of bark and 1,200 cords of wood a year.  On a busy day the area around the bark shed would be filled with teams of horses and oxen, carts, men, and piles of the forest products and hides (Vickery 132). To add to the aura of this site, it was possible that next to the bark shed was located a steam powered bark grinding machine, which spewed forth great quantities of wood smoke and steam.  Perhaps one might have seen tannery employees running around recording purchases and preparing loads of ground bark, wood, hides, dung, and lime for a trip down the embankment towards Sandy Stream and the actual tannery.

Once the workers ventured beyond this large bark shed and the piles of wood that lay around it, they would have most likely taken a cart track that veered slightly to the left as it went down over the embankment towards Sandy Stream. This cart track ran to the doors of the main tannery building next to the stream, which was the focal point of the whole operation. In accordance with the footprint found on a historical map of Unity, this main building was probably quite a bit larger than many of the other buildings found alongside the main road. It was built in a way that put it in the shape of the letter “C,” with two large barn-like structures built parallel with one another and connected in the middle by a partially enclosed single story corridor.  One if not both of the barn-like structures was likely three or four stories in height, as this was a common feature amongst larger tanneries throughout New England and into New York and the Midwest.  This structure would have been constructed mainly of wood and was probably supported by a brick foundation. Brick was often used in the lower stories of industrial buildings then. It is unknown whether the outside walls contained clapboards or simply horizontal rough sawn stock, but it is very probable that the building was not painted (it was only the more prosperous houses that were painted, typically). Further observations of the exterior would certainly include at least one large chimney. Chimneys would have been constructed of brick and would have likely protruded from the outer lateral sides of each of the barn-like structures. We know the tannery ran on steam engines of the latest model imported from Germany, so large chimneys would have been essential.

All of these features help to shape the image of the building, but perhaps the most notable aspect of all would have been the many large open windows that must have lined the walls of every story of the building. Windows were a key feature of all tanneries, mainly because they allowed people to work inside of the buildings without gagging constantly. The tanning process itself mandated that the tannery would have constantly smelled of wet hides, dung, lime, bark and smoke. A plethora of windows allowed for ventilation in all areas of the building, thus creating a slightly more comfortable work environment and a way to expedite the process of drying wet hides.  The key thing to remember is that this was a structure that housed a dirty business. Everything about the building would have been designed for efficiency and not for looks.

             Entering the tannery by way of a large set of doors located in the middle of the barn-like structure furthest to the left, one would have been instantly struck by an intense and putrid smell. The smell would be originating from the solutions contained within a neat arrangement of vats that dominated a good portion of the floor space directly in front of the door. These vats contained animal hides in all stages of the tanning process. In general, these vats were often eight feet long by five feet wide and may possibly have been up to four or five feet deep. Their outer construction would have been of brick or clay, and the insides were likely a smooth sheet of either clay or strong plaster. These vats would have been arranged in long, parallel rows down the length of the building, with approximately five feet of walking room located between each row.

Much of the remaining floor space would have contained tools and small bunks or large barrels. The bunks and barrels contained water, horse or dog dung, lime, and ground up hemlock bark-- all used in the tanning process. Tools such as knives, pitchforks, stirring rods, tongs, rakes, shovels, brooms and wheelbarrows could probably have been found just about everywhere. Amongst all of this clutter there would have also been stacks of cow hides in various stages of the tanning process. This floor would have been quite busy and very dirty, as we speculate that much of the work of tanning happened here.

        Nearing the end of the building, a set of doors to the right would likely take a person out into the corridor that led to the other barn-like structure, but looking to the left should have revealed a set of stairs that would have gone up another one or two stories.  Not a whole lot is known about what went on in the upper stories of the barn-like buildings, but we do know that hides needed to be hung for periods of time to dry, and these upper stories were a good place to do it. We speculate that hides were hung over beams or rafters. Perhaps the last two stories of the building were really just one, and a catwalk was set up so that workers could walk around and beat hides clean of debris during the drying process. If hides were indeed dried and cleaned in this portion of the building, trap doors in the floor or a door out the back side of the building would have allowed workers to rid the floor of excess dirty water and impurities that would have drained out of the hides. Supposing that not all of the upper stories were used in the drying process, it is quite likely that storage of all kinds of things was the other use of floor space. There is no question that hides were heavy, so although drying probably took place up above the main floor, there seems to be no good supporting evidence to prove that other parts of the tanning process took place anywhere other than on the ground floor.

Moving back downstairs and through the doors on the right hand side of the main floor, a person would have entered the single story corridor that connected the two barn-like structures. Pictures of later tanneries suggest that this corridor may have only had a roof and would have been mostly open on both of the lateral sides. Here we believe that an array of vats similar to the ones previously seen would be lined up and that a particularly insipid and disgusting part of the tanning process would be taking place. Some of the final baths that the hides took in “bating” and “mastering” pits had the strongest concentrations of dung and lime, making this area one of the smelliest places located on the entire property. Having partially open sides would have helped greatly with the chore of proper ventilation, but it also would have meant that getting ride of vile refuse would have been as easy as grabbing a shovel and throwing things right out to the bank of Sandy Stream. The stream provided the tannery with the water that it needed and also served as an instant garbage disposal. As a result of this proposed practice, the ground particularly on the stream side of this corridor was likely littered with bits of hair, scraps of hide, and slicks of concentrated dung and lime. This corridor and the practices used within it were not of great cleanliness, but the idea behind it was processing, and for that reason it must have worked quite well.

Heading out a set of doors on the right hand side of the corridor, a person would have entered the first floor of the second multistory barn-like structure. We suggest that this building would have been a little bit cleaner than the first building, because we believe that this was the place in which hides were finished. The main attraction on this floor may have been a large steam-powered rolling machine. This machine was used to flatten and roll tanned leather and was instrumental in creating the finished product. Around this machine one could find large stacks of wood, assorted tools, wheelbarrows, carts, finished and semi -finished leather. When the rolling machine was running, the room would have been warm and humid, as the machine’s boilers would have given off plenty of heat and steam. The chimney for this side of the building must have somehow been hooked to the furnace for the boilers, which would indicate that the machine may have been located close to a wall and that other processes took place around it. Large batches of leather were often completed all at once, so it would make sense that storage would have been the primary reason for having a floor or two above where the finishing process took place. On account of the fact that this tannery annually produced one hundred and fifty tons of sole leather, a person could modestly speculate that this final part of the main tannery building was alive with activity on a regular basis.

           

Perhaps people heading on a final stroll up the hill and away from the tannery in the mid 1850s never would have guessed that an such a thriving industrial complex would ever go under, while people who stroll the banks of Sandy Stream today are baffled by the idea that such a complex every existed. No longer do pedestrians waft fetid odors and gaze into clouds of steam and smoke rising above an impressive building, but rather they walk and paddle by a quiet stream bank that blankly stares back at them, all the while concealing a bygone story. Time has taken its toll on this particular piece of history, but with some digging and some imagination, an important piece of the history of Unity and even that of the State of Maine can live once again.

THE TANNERY—HIGH-TECH BUSINESS OF ITS TIME

A community tannery fits into this picture as a business dependent on natural resources, but which also supplies the raw materials for the massive industrialization taking place to the south of the state.  The tannery of Unity, Maine was reflective of its geography and its era. The booming shoe making business in 18th and 19th century New England provided a large demand for leather, and the natural resources of Maine provided a good location for a tannery business, with plenty of land for cows, and the water, open space, and trees required for a tannery. Looking into the short life of this tannery provides a template in which to tell the story of rural Maine in the 1800s.

          The seven acre plot of land has more of a history than just the Pingree Tannery, although not much is known about what the land was used for. The entire amount of taxable property extended from the bridge to the old Gerrish blacksmith’s shop on which were located the tannery, three dwelling houses, bark sheds, store, and other buildings. We have discovered who owned it as far back as 1828 when Waldo County used to be a part of Kennebec County. In this year the ownership changed hands a total of three times and all within the same family. Eunice Hunt sold the Deed to the land to Stephen Hunt who then sold it to George Hunt. It wasn’t until four years later in 1832 that Hunt sold the land to Jesse Whitmore.

         In 1836 the land was purchased off of Whitmore by Ebenezer Larrabee. The sole purpose of this purchase was to in fact build a tannery which seemed to be a up and coming industry at the time in Maine with its thick forests. The money was loaned to Larrabee by David Pingree of Salem. Pingree was also the one who supplied the capital for the building of the tannery itself. The tannery, itself, covered about three-fourths of an acre including the bark sheds. Larrabee supervised the construction of the tannery as well as the tannery itself until his death two years later in 1838.

         One year after Larrabee’s death the land was sold at a public auction, because he had no will. It was held in Unity village and the buyer was Edward Southwick. Southwick also paid off all of the outstanding debts that Larrabee had. Southwick turned around and sold the land with the Tannery to Thomas Snell for a total of $15,000. Thomas Snell is the one who made the Unity Tannery work.  He owned the land and tannery from 1839 until 1857 when he died. At the time of his death the Tannery was on a decline, one that some say would never revive. And it never did, the buildings fell to ruin and were rumored to have been set on fire by some young men celebrating a Union victory during the Civil War. The land where a landmark of the town of Unity once stood has not been used since the Tannery.

          Snell employed 15 workers, costing him $375 a month per worker. The Unity tannery tanned a large amount of hides for its size. It is estimated that between 1836 and 1840 they converted 500 hides into leather. In 1850, the tannery produced about 100 tons of hides. This had an approximate value of$ 10,000. Later, the annual production was said to be 150 tons of hide valued at $37,500. That year, after all expenses, the tannery profited $1,300. For the size of the tannery, the number of hides that were produced was fairly surprising!

UNITY’S INDUSTRIAL HISTORY

      The now quiet town of Unity actually has a long industrial history. The area down by Sandy Stream is only one of many industrial sites, but it is a good example because it’s close to the downtown and because we can document so many overlapping activities over so long a time.

       The first evidence of industry was from the 1830s, and it was multiple--- a brick-works (with pits, a kiln, and bricks laid out), but also a tannery. Probably the bricks were made from the clay removed from digging the tanning pits. The tannery flourished until the late 1850s and was seen as a leading-edge example of modern technology at the time.

   Farm construction affected the site after that—rough stone walls, a barn with foundations, and earth and stoneworks, all associated with the stream-side field to the southwest of the tannery and brickworks.

  This was followed by a metalwork shop shortly before and into the 20^th Century, and written evidence of a light sawmill around that time.  Later uses of the site were for a storm-water cistern, a pipe for water intake to a garage on Main Street, and some gravel mining associated with a road near the present footbridge.

    It’s worth remembering that until the early 20^th Century in America, a lot of industry was local industry…this is where most things got manufactured. It’s also worth remembering that Unity was more technologically self-sufficient then, in ways it no longer is. A third point is that industries like the tannery, ones that depend on overuse of local resources, go through a cycle of boom and bust.