Events
The Heritage Lectures
History of Corner Stores in Biddeford
Join us at the historic First Parish Meetinghouse, 7 Meetinghouse Road.
Sara Bloom, retired Professor, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music will play the organ, Prelude No. 1, Bach with a hymn at the end of the program.
Dana Peck, ex-officio board member of the Biddeford Historical Society will give a talk on the history of corner stores.
What made a store successful in a neighborhood? Ethnic products? Spoke foreign languages? Allowed payment terms? Best prices? How did each survive in such a competitive market? Who were their employees -- family, neighbors?
We will explore the differences of the evolution and demise of the corner store.
Year # of Stores in Town
1920 57
1930 64
1939 81
1948 90
1956 67
1965 48
1970 39
1980 31 Biddeford/Saco
1987 19 Biddeford/Saco
2022 3 Biddeford
DID YOU KNOW that Biddeford once had 90 corner stores?!
Visit our facebook page to read Biddeford corner store memories in the comments of the post!
The close of WW1 found Biddeford with a diverse population indicative of world migration due to the War. Ethnic and religious areas grew in parts of the city in an attempt to retain their immigrant culture.
Post WW1 saw parts of the City representative of the diversity. Over the years people became more assimilated and neighboods changed. The corner store evolution is a good indicator of that "Melting Pot."
Please refer to our website and facebook page for future events.
