CONTEXT AND HISTORY

The Camden Tannery is a three and a half-acre site where the Apollo Tannery stood until a fire damaged it in 1999. The Town acquired the site in 2003 through a lien foreclosure, and the Town funded the demolition of the damaged structure. The site was contaminated with chemicals and pollutants related to the tanning process. The site has gone through a series of ongoing environmental cleanups, funded by both the Town and the EPA. The community currently uses the site as the Camden Farmers’ Market location in the summer and pedestrians on the pathway Riverwalk that borders the site beside the Megunticook River. Over the years, there has been community interest in redeveloping the site. In 2014, a majority of Camden voters supported commercial and business uses for the site, as opposed to preserving it as a park and open space.

The Elnathan H. Young jewelry repair and watch stop on Mechanic Street in Camden, c. 1883.

The Apollo Tannery site in Camden, c. 1960.

The inner harbor in Camden, from the Chestnut Street Baptist Church Steeple. c. 1900. Today, many of these buildings are gone, and the site of the anchor factory is now a parking lot.