INDUSTRIAL GROWTH. Maine's textile and leather industries
enjoyed a dramatic upward surge following the Civil War, while
farming activity correspondingly decreased.
Responding to Thomas Edison's discoveries in the 1890s, Maine
began utilizing its vast river resources for the development of
hydroelectric power. Plants for the production of electricity
were built principally on the Androscoggin, Kennebec, Penobscot
and Saco Rivers.
Maine's industrial growth continued, although at a much slower
pace, into the 20th century. Expansion of the pulp and paper industry
offset the loss of textile mills to the South. Large potato-growing,
dairy and poultry farms replaced the decreasing number of small
family farms.
The Great Depression of the 1930s brought the state's economy
to a grinding halt along with the rest of the nation.
Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Maine has struggled
to find a proper balance between resource-based industrial development
and environmental protection. The state has come to rely heavily
on tourism, small manufacturing enterprises and defense-related
activities and installations for much of its economic base.