Bucksport Paper Mill Museum to host grand opening

Exhibits pay respect to the thousands of workers who made the mill a success.

Chip Stubbs holds a framed piece of the final roll of paper produced at the mill. He procured it at an estate sale by chance and donated it to the museum. Photo by Jenna Lookner. 

By Jenna Lookner

BUCKSPORT — After 84 years of operations, the closure of the Bucksport Paper Mill in 2014 was a harbinger of changing times. More than a decade later, a dedicated working group will host a grand opening of the Bucksport Paper Mill Museum, housed in the gatehouse to the former mill, from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, October 12. Cider and donuts will be served. 

When the mill shuttered under the Verso company more than a decade ago, it had changed hands numerous times. Bucksport resident and local history buff Pat Ranzoni–a member of the Bucksport Historical Society, an author, and the co-chair of the Paper Mill Museum group–took an early interest in creating the museum. In 2019, Ranzoni enlisted local resident and fellow historian Gary Bagley to consult on the museum, sharing with him the myriad artifacts from the mill that had been donated and stored in an offsite unit, Bagley said. 

The collected items tell the story of an industry, a sense of pride, and a community. The artifacts include signs, equipment, models, dioramas, and significant pieces of the original industrial paper-making machinery. 

Bagley said he started working the phones following his 2019 meeting with Ranzoni. The working group was able to purchase the building in 2023 for $1 after a few years of negotiations. The rest of the mill had been razed by then, but the low-slung brick gatehouse—alternately referred to as the “guard shack”— houses the museum and greets visitors turning onto Maritime Drive.

Museum co-founder Gary Bagley, who helped secure the purchase of the building. Photo by Jenna Lookner.

While the working group is entirely volunteer-driven, Chip Stubbs holds the title of Restoration Foreman. 

“It went as smoothly as could be,” Stubbs said of the purchase of the building and subsequent processes with the town, which included rezoning. 

Now, the committed group of six to 10 volunteers is dedicated to bringing the museum to fruition. The public is invited to view the fruits of their multi-year efforts during a grand opening celebration on October 12. They previously hosted a lunch pail hanging event on August 20, 2024, and a “soft opening” in September of last year. 

Each member of the working group was also employed at the mill, and some are even multigenerational alumni of the industry. Arlene Lamarche said that she remembered taking her typing test in the building that will now house the museum. 

“This entire building has been transformed,” she said. “Anything and everything you can think of has been donated.”

A hardhat worn by a mill worker. Photo by Jenna Lookner.

After the building’s purchase, the budding museum was brimming with items and took several rounds to clean, organize and wash, volunteers said. Walls were removed, power washing commenced, windows and doors were addressed, and community volunteers were summoned to contribute their skills. Among them was District 17 State Representative Steve Bishop who assisted with refabricating the main entry way. 

The Bucksport Paper Mill Museum is a donation-funded nonprofit that operates under the wing of the Bucksport Historical Society, Stubbs said. 

At its peak, the mill employed over 1,000 people. Stubbs worked at the mill for 40 years and recalls the fateful day that he was tasked with shutting down the Number Five paper machine for the last time. 

“It was so quiet, everything just shut down,” Stubbs said. He added that it was difficult to be part of the crew cleaning up the mill alongside his colleagues, all while knowing that it would not open again. 

A large diorama of the mill greets visitors while dozens of lunch pails from generations of mill workers adorn the ceiling, each different from the next. Stubbs said they are working on adding tags with the names and dates that accompany each pail—from backpacks to woven picnic-style hampers in various states, customizations and colors. 

“The one on the end was carried by two employees,” Stubbs said, pointing up at the ceiling. “The wife carried it for a lot longer than the husband.” 

Lunch baskets carried by mill workers adorn the ceiling of the new museum. Photo by Jenna Lookner.

Among the prized artifacts in the collection are pieces from the first and the last rolls of paper ever produced at the mill: one from 1930 and one from 2014. The originals are framed together, but the working group has been certain to make faithful reproductions as well. 

Stubbs said he happened upon the 2014 paper artifact by happenstance. 

“I was at an estate sale locally and my wife picked up a 1957 annual report,” he said. “This gentleman overheard us talking about it and said that the last piece of paper produced at the mill was somewhere in the house.” 

Within 20 minutes Stubbs received a call, and the precious 2014 piece came home to the museum. 

On September 26, when Rising Tide visited the museum volunteers busily worked to ready the display and exhibits for October 12. The grand opening is public and all are welcome. Stubbs said that following the opening, he hopes to welcome visitors on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. as long as temperatures permit.

Stubbs shared with excitement that the group will also be unveiling the official sign for the museum.

He said he hopes to have the volunteer power to offer expanded hours in the future, and said he hopes to add additional exhibits, including moving visuals. 

“I’d like to have a running slideshow,” he said. “It’s a way to draw people in.” 

The museum is located at 4 Mariner Way in Bucksport and Stubbs said all donations are welcome. To learn more, visit the museum online. 

The Bucksport Paper Mill Museum opens Oct. 12. All are welcome to the grand opening. Photo by Jenna Lookner.