Teen boy arrested in fire that destroyed 60,000-square-foot Maine textile mill built in 1850

Boy arrested in fire at 1800s Maine textile mill

LEWISTON, Maine — A 13-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with a fire that destroyed a historic textile mill overlooking a waterfall in Maine’s second-largest city.

Flames shot through the windows and licked through the roof of the vacant 60,000-square-foot Cowan Mill in Lewiston in July. Investigators ruled the fire an arson.

The state fire marshal’s office on Thursday night arrested a local boy, who was being held at a youth correctional facility.

The mill was built in 1850 and was on the National Historic Register. It overlooked the Great Falls on the Androscoggin River, which runs through Maine and New Hampshire.

The destruction of the mill ended stalled efforts to rehabilitate it but may make the waterfront property more appealing to developers.