It was near midnight on Aug. 21, 1972, when the wrecking ball slammed into the last-standing walls of the huge Cushman-Hollis building in Auburn.
A few hundred people had gathered for those final hours of a major landmark in the history of the “shoe city.” For some, it was an exciting spectacle; for others, it was an emotional backdrop for decades of memories that affected thousands of area residents.
The Cushman name holds an honored place in the shoe-making heritage of Auburn, and the massive Cushman-Hollis factory was once known as the world’s largest maker of canvas footwear under one roof. Economic factors were a primary reason for its demise, but ultimately that impressive structure came down because it stood squarely across a proposed route for in-town traffic improvement at Minot Avenue and Court Street.
This impressive enterprise had a very humble beginning. Its founder, Ara Cushman, was born in Minot in 1829, and as a young man he set up a little shoemaking shop at West Minot. It was a square-roofed, one-story building less than 20 feet square. According to a Lewiston Journal account, it was known locally as “the tea-can.”
He worked alone and sold his shoes from a wagon he drove to retail establishments in the area. Cushman prospered and built a larger building in 1859 where he employed a few men.
By 1863, the business had outgrown the village of West Minot, and he moved to Auburn, where he soon built a brick factory beside the railroad tracks on Court Street. First known as Ara Cushman & Co., the firm grew under his leadership and that of his son, Charles Cushman. Ara became one of the wealthiest men in the area, and he was generous. His donations of land and money helped build the Elm Street Universalist Church.
He died in 1910, and operation of the firm passed to his son, Charles, who joined with John H. Hollis of Boston. The firm became the Cushman-Hollis Co.
It was an experiment by his father around 1879 that was to become the foundation of the company’s great success. Ara Cushman had made an innovative canvas-topped shoe with a leather sole. It was a similar product that led to Auburn’s identification as “the White Shoe City of the World.”
Through the years, there were many news stories about expansion of the business, as well as reports of social activities and sporting events in which thousands of this area’s residents participated.
One of the most vivid stories accompanied a gala ball held on Friday evening, Dec. 1, 1911. It celebrated yet another addition to the huge factory.
“Bright lights were gleaming from the saw-tooth stitching room of the Cushman-Hollis,” the newspaper story said, “and thru the many windows could be seen a joyous throng.”
Dozens of colored electric lights were hung at the entrance, and they could be seen “from Upper Court Street to North Bridge … telling those who did not possess invitations to the event that something unusual was in progress.”
The story said, “After looking over the addition, the guests either mingled or took seats provided for them or sat on the long sewing machine benches while the band gave a pleasing concert.”
That grand opening of an addition was only one of the events over the years which Cushman-Hollis sponsored for employees and their families. There were bowling and baseball teams, and summer outings to Tacoma Lake for a full day of picnics and games. Eleven trolley cars were required to transport all the party-goers.
It was 100 years ago last week, on April 30, 1914, when people of the Twin Cities were shocked at news of the death at sea of Charles Cushman. His health had been failing and he was bound for Europe on a steamer in hopes that his health would improve on such a vacation. In coming years, the business flourished, reaching 2,100 employees and turning out more than 20,000 pairs of shoes a day.
Inevitably, the Great Depression took its toll. Business declined, the building took on other tenants and, by 1972, the large factory fell to make way for the Union Street Bypass.
Dave Sargent is a freelance writer and a native of Auburn. He can be reached by emailing to dasargent@maine.com.
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