Today this rambling structure carries the name Edwards House Inn, reminiscent of the Edwards Manufacturing Company, which took over the cotton mill in Augusta in 1882. However, the structure was originally put up by Sprague Manufacturing Company (around 1872) as mill worker housing, and the Edwards Company continued this use well into the twentieth century. The building has had a number of names. Early on, a great dining hall (now Laurias Restaurant) served three meals a day to the boarders.

Laura Hallett, of Pittston, recalls that her grandparents Joseph and Alice LeClair lived at 53 Water Street when it was called Hotel Arnold. This was in the 1970's. Joseph and Alice came from Quebec to Central Maine in the late 1940's, and Joseph worked in the cotton mill while Alice kept house in their modest one-room rent. Laura recalls that her grandmother had areas of the room defined - a kitchen/eating area in the front and a sleeping area behind. The old dining hall was a tavern at the time, so the LeClairs cooked for themselves on a tiny two-burner stove. The space was a true boarding house, for the family shared a water-closet (bathroom) with others on that floor. Laura visited as a child and recalls the atmosphere as friendly. –Sort of their own little community," she commented. Laura remembered many open doors and friendly greetings as she walked through the halls of the hotel going to her grandparents' room. Alice LeClair kept herself busy with housework and embroidery and cooked special Sunday dinners. She invited her children and their families, one group at a time, because of space limitations. Laura recalls Alice set the table with a linen tablecloth and napkins to create a special atmosphere for her family. She said her grandmother usually made a boiled dinner, which required only one pot and one burner.

Augusta mayor Lloyd Carey and his family lived and ran a tavern/restaurant at this site from 1940 to 1980. The building has withstood Kennebec River floods, shifting soil, and fire. It stands today as a heroic and enduring tribute to the Franco-American community and the cotton mill workers.

 

Site #40.1 Sources:

	Augusta, Maine Sesquicentennial. Special reprint of Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine, Sesquicentennial Edition, Wednesday, July 30, 1947.
	Fleury, Laurier. –Brief History of the Edwards House Inn and Laurias by the River," 2001.
	Douin, Anthony. Interviews by and conversations with Phyllis vonHerrlich, 17 March 2001, 31 August 2001, 18 September 2001, 28 September 2001, Augusta, Maine.
	Hallett, Laura. Interview by Phyllis vonHerrlich, 30 August 30, 2001, Augusta, Maine.