Portland Canning Company Workers, Unity, Maine, ca. 1910. Collection of the Maine State Museum. Gift of James Berry Vickery III, 87.84.51.
Portland Canning Company Workers, Unity, Maine, ca. 1910. Collection of the Maine State Museum. Gift of James Berry Vickery III, 87.84.51.
This photograph is of Portland Canning Company workers in Unity, Maine, sitting in front of their packed Batavia Corn boxes. Maine was the third-largest producer of canned sweet corn in 1900. This canning factory operated seasonally for two months each year. In 1912, it employed 60 men and 13 women. Although many of the women wear dressy hats, they are also in their work coveralls. In 1900, Portland Canning Company had thirteen plants in rural areas around the state. By 1910, one in six Maine farmers grew corn that they sold to canning factories.
Artist, Judy Taylor depicted canning workers on the background of this panel. In 1900, workers in Maine's canning industry packed as diverse products as sweet corn, sardines, clams, blueberries, beans, squash, pumpkin, apples, and tomatoes.