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V O L . X X I V N O. X V I I I A U G U S T 2 0 , 2 0 1 8 14 G R E AT E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E S hack Hill has been empty since Great Northern Paper moved its residents off the mill land a century ago. On a recent day, a CAT tractor sat on the new gravel road on the forested hill — a small sign of big things hap- pening both on the 1,400-acre mill site and in Millinocket. In the 1980s, Great Northern planned to put a new mill on top of Shack Hill. e plan died when Georgia Pacifi c acquired the company in 1989, kicking off a slide that ended when the mill closed for good in September 2008. Great Northern had built its mill on the West Branch of the Penobscot River more than a century ago, then built a town around it. e story of town's decline — loss of population, homes, businesses — was so stark it even made the New York Times. Now Millinocket has a new story to tell. "Ten years ago, we were the poster town for what happens when your mill closes," says Jessica Masse, who owns Designlab on Penobscot Avenue with her husband, John Haff ord. "Now we're the poster town for what you can do about it." At the heart of the story is the mill site, now an industrial park, renamed One Katahdin. "All the infrastructure is going up here," says Steve Sanders, director of mill site development for owners Our Katahdin, as he sits in his pickup truck on the top of Shack Hill. "It's great for development. ere are a lot of good things about this land." e fi rst big news for the site came in February, when LignaTerraCLT Maine announced it will build a 00,000-square- foot cross laminated timber production plant there. e company projects 100 jobs in the next fi ve years. At press time, One Katahdin was waiting for word on a $6 million Economic Development Authority grant that would help pay for the infrastructure. While the focus for the site is wood fi ber businesses, other businesses are welcome. A data center is planned, aquaculture is possible and "a whole slew of other things" have been pro- posed, Sanders says. "We've probably talked to 50 companies." Lucy Van Hook, Our Katahdin community development director, says T I M E L I N E C O N T I N U E S O N PA G E 1 6 » BUSINESS | CYBERSECURITY | CRIMINOLOGY | EDUCATION 207-859-1159 thomas.edu/mba Expand your knowledge and ADVANCE YOUR CAREER with a graduate degree. F O C U S Millinocket timeline 1898: Preliminary work by surveyors begins in Indian Township No.3 for the Great Northern Paper Co. mill. 1899: GNP Co. forms and construction on the mill begins, with a crew of 1,000 by August. 1900: The town's population reaches 2,000 and on Nov. 9, the first newsprint is made on No. 7 paper machine. March 16, 1901: The Legislature enacts the charter for the town of Millinocket. 1911: Millinocket's population hits 5,000. 1936–37: Great Northern Paper Company is the largest newsprint mill in the world. 1970: Census reports Millinocket's population has reached 7,672. 1973: The average annual gross manufacturing wage in Millinocket is $11,951, roughly $64,000 in today's dollars, compared to a state average of $7,050 (about $38,000 in today's dollars). 1989: Great Northern Paper is taken over by Georgia Pacific. 1999: Canadian company Inexcon acquires the company. Jan. 9, 2003: Great Northern Paper files for bankruptcy. Brookfield Asset Management acquires the company. 2008: The company lays off workers, then closes in September. 2010: The town's population is 4,466, according to the U.S. Census; it is projected to be 2,300 by 2020. 2011: Cate Street Capital buys the mill, eventually razing buildings and auctioning off machinery to pay back taxes. Millinocket 10 years later With its paper mill long gone, city has a new story to tell P H O T O / M A U R E E N M I L L I K E N A decade after the closure of the Great Northern Paper Co. mill, Millinocket's future is being mapped out: Lucy Van Hook, Steve Sanders and Dave DeWitt of Our Katahdin.

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