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MUS-NEWS
News
from the Old Town Museum
Visit us at 353 Main St., Old
Town, ME
mailing address: PO Box 375, Old Town, ME, 04468
Spring
2003
Volume 4 Number 1
A Moment in Our History -
A bit of history that
many may remember
Over 100 years ago, one Old Town firm had established an International
reputation for products manufactured in Old Town. This firm would go on to have
offices in several foreign capitals and have manufacturing facilities in two
foreign countries. However, the name of the company may not be the one you
expected as today the company is only a memory. The firm that carried the name
of the City of Old Town around the world was “The Bickmore Company”.
Abiel Parker Bickmore (1851-1940) was the creator of “Bickmore Gall
Cure”, an ointment to treat sores on horses. The first batches of this salve
were cooked in 1884 by Mr. Bickmore’s wife on the kitchen stove of their home
on Center Street. The medication was apparently well received.
Mr. Bickmore found that he could not meet the demand by cooking the
materials at home. It was also clear there was a large market for the “cure”
that Mr. Bickmore had created.
The Bickmore Company was incorporated in 1892 with Herbert Gray, George
A. Gray, George Richardson and Abiel Parker Bickmore as stockholders. Mr.
Bickmore was identified as the Business Manager at the time of the
incorporation.
The new corporation adopted a slogan and a trademark. The slogan was
“Be sure to work the horse” and the trademark depicted a workhorse. The
horse that appeared in the trademark was a real horse familiar to many in the
Old Town area. The horse was a dapple-gray used by the Penobscot Chemical Fiber
Company to haul raw materials from one section of the plant to another and was
known as “Old Doc”. A relief of this horse can still be seen over the
entrance to Bickmore Manor, a senior citizen housing unit on South Main Street.
This building was originally constructed by The Bickmore Company in 1906
as their office and manufacturing facility.
In the early years, The Bickmore Company manufactures more products than
just the “Bickmore Gall Cure” or Bickmore Ointment as it was known in
foreign countries. It also
manufactured a veterinary two-purpose powder known as Bickmore X.Y.Z. Ointment,
Bickmore Morticians Powder, and Bickmore Shaving Cream. Herbert Gray started to
introduce all of these products to customers in east-coast states and the Middle
West in 1892, soon after the company was incorporated. The Bickmore products
were advertised through the use of two teams of horses drawing well-decorated
wagons that toured New York State and Indiana. This approach to advertising
apparently was successful as the company increased the number of teams to nine
by 1910. The expanded number of teams was able to cover a much larger area of
the East Coast and Midwest. However by 1914, the number of teams was reduced
back to six. By 1918, the modes of transportation had changed to the extent that
the company replaced the horse teams with four trucks.
Foreign sales of Bickmore products began prior to the end of the
nineteenth century. In 1898, the line of products was introduced to Canada and
Great Briton. The following year, 1899, they were introduce in Australia and in
1902 sales began in Germany, Austria, Holland and Belgium.
Sales in the above listed foreign countries expanded and the products
were sold in an increasing number of countries. At one time, The Bickmore
Company maintained offices in London, Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City. To
support these foreign sales, the Bickmore Company had manufacturing facilities
in France and Canada.
Over time, the list of products manufactured by The Bickmore Company
changed as a result of consumer demands and the improved ability to distribute
product manufactured by major companies. The 1926-27 edition of the “Old Town
Directory” includes an ad showing the products of The Bickmore Company as:
Easy-shave Cream, Toothpaste, Cold Cream, Disappearing Cream, Pom-gloss and XYZ
Skin Ointment, each of these products was available in tubes selling for $0.35
each. The company continued to manufacture its original product Gall Salve and a
product known as Healing Powder for Horses.
These two products were available in various size boxes selling for
$0.35, $0.70 and $1.40.
As customer demands continued to change, so did the product mix of The
Bickmore Company. The 1956 “Old Town Directory” shows that by that time many
of the household products were no longer being made by the company.
They were however, still making Gall Salve, Healing Powder, XYZ Ointment
and Morticians Powder. They had
added one new product to their line, Bickmore Fly Salve.
Time overtook this firm that had its beginning by developing a salve used
in the treatment for work horses. Even with an attempt to get into other
markets, it appears the decline in the number of workhorses and the growth of
major consumer products firms was a change the company could not combat. Now all
we have to remember this firm that took the name of the City around the globe,
is a name on a building and a carved relief over the door of the brick building
on South Main Street.
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Former St. Mary’s Church needs repairs
The home of the Old Town Museum needs some major repairs if it is to
remain as a significant historic building in the City. Over several years,
cracks have developed in the brickwork on the bell tower and the stonework at
the top of the wall facing the street is disintegrating. Also the roofing
shingles on the building are over 50 years of age. Some of the shingles have
come loose but there are no serious leaks at the present time but this could
change.
The Museum Board has asked experts to look at the brickwork/stonework
items and they have made recommendations on corrective work. In the process, it was determined that some repairs had been
done in a pervious era but they had not corrected the basic problem.
The
Board proceeded with the brickwork/stonework items. The
cost of the repairs was just under $50,000. It appears the Board
must depend upon a combination of fund raising and loans to cover this cost. The
roof repair (metal roof) will be over $20,000.
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Membership Drive
Membership in the Old Town Museum is one way which
anyone can help in preserving the history of the Old Town area. Dues and
donations are a substantial help in the funding of the Museum operations.
Remember, the Museum does not charge an admissions fee nor is it supported by
tax dollars. Your Membership payment or your donation is greatly appreciated.
We hope the readers of this issue of Mus-News will continue their support
of the Old Town Museum. We
especially hope you will be generous in any donations to the Museum’s
“Repair Fund”. The Museum is the place where the history of the area is
displayed for your viewing. A place to visit to bring back old memories and a
place to show your children (or grandchildren) how thing were in earlier times.
Please visit the Museum even if you are not a financial supporter. A visit may
bring back old memories.
Remember, donations of any amount to the Museum may qualify for a
tax-deduction in accord with IRS Regulations. Donations should be sent to the
same address as dues.
If you would like your donation dedicated to the Museum “Repair
Fund”, please indicate on the Donation Form.
If you would like to donate to the Museum or become a member of the
Museum, please complete and mail the form on the membership page.
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