For those who remember the big rambling building that was the shoe factory, it’s hard to envision it on the space now covered by the Norway Municipal Building, the parking area and the Norway Savings Bank drive-through.

In 1872 the voting residents of Norway approved a bond of $10,000 as a contribution toward the creation of a building that would eventually expand and, at its peak, employ more than 900 workers.

The original four-story building, completed in the spring of 1873, measured 40 feet by 100 feet.

The B.F. Spinney Co. of Lynn, Massachusetts would equip the building with the necessary manufacturing equipment and pay rent of $10 per year to the Town of Norway. That’s right, TEN Dollars per year, quite an incentive.

With the construction of the building and the prospect of employment, the population grew making rented rooms scarce. New streets were mapped out and new building projects were proposed.

After ten successful years the Spinney Co. began to pay $500 per year to the town. As time went on and the footwear industry brought a level of prosperity to the town, the need for additional space saw the initial building expand to over 100,000 square feet. Expansion was made possible by the sale of capital shares to local residents.

In 1897 it was determined that it was illegal for the town to own and operate a business. The building was sold to Fred Sanborn for one dollar becoming the Sanborn Shoe Shop Co. Organized as a non-profit company, the officers and trustees served without receiving a salary. The Company was officially sanctioned by the town selectmen.

Norway’s leading businessmen were once again putting the town on the map by providing increased employment and economic development. From the completion of the first building through 1913 has been considered the most successful period for the Norway shoe industry.

A newspaper article from April, 1939 reported: “Eight hundred and more employees were thrown out of work Monday and Tuesday at the B.E. Cole Co. and Norway Shoe Co., when the two boilers furnishing the heat for the factories were shut down and the fires drawn.” It was reported that “blisters” had been discovered on one boiler and additional problems with the other.

To provide a temporary solution, Gene Stevens, local locomotive enthusiast, and L.M. Carroll, shoe company owner, successfully petitioned the Grand Trunk Railroad for the loan a steam locomotive.

The railroad constructed a temporary track spur to allow the locomotive to be positioned next to the building. According to the agreement with the railroad, Gene Stevens, a former fireman with the railroad, would be in “full charge” of the engine.

The necessary piping was connected, heat was restored, and workers returned on the Wednesday morning.

A number of shoe manufacturers occupied the building over its 95 years. Foreign imports put most of them out of business. The aging complex was showing the effects of time and use. In April of 1971 the building went quiet and mostly unused except for storage. In 1972, the original four-story building was demolished with the remaining structure being removed in 1984. What had once housed Norway’s main industry was now only part of its history.

For more information on Norway’s shoe industry, visit the Norway Museum and Historical Society on Main Street.