Oriental Powder Company mills
Powder works, Gorham, Maine.
- Side
- Union
- Kind
- Powder works
- Where
- Gorham, Maine
- Years
- 1861-1865
ORIENTAL POWDER MILLS
Mills at Gambo Falls on the Presumpscot River, one of the four largest Union powder suppliers. The government bought all they could make, and output rose to 1,250 tons a year, including large grains for Rodman guns. Explosions killed workers in 1861, 1862 and 1863.
Then
The mills at Gambo Falls on the Presumpscot River were one of the four largest Union powder suppliers, and the government bought all they could make. Output rose to 1,250 tons a year, including large hexagonal grains for Rodman guns tested with an 8-inch Columbiad installed at Gambo.
Explosions killed one worker in 1861, three in 1862 and one in 1863. The Newhall powder mill ceased operations on June 1, 1893, and the wartime Columbiad stayed at the mills until it was scrapped in World War II.
Now
The nearest railroad in service today is a line owned by CSX, about 6 miles from the center of Gorham.