Toothpick manufacturing
Photo: Maine State Museum.
For more than a century, Maine was the center of the American toothpick industry. At its peak, the state produced most of the wooden toothpicks used across the country, earning the town of Strong the nickname "Toothpick Capital of the World."
The industry began with entrepreneur Charles Forster, who recognized the demand for machine made toothpicks in the late 1800s. After experimenting with different types of wood, he found that Maine's white birch was the ideal material because it was strong, flexible, and resisted splintering. In 1887, Forster opened his first mill in Strong, close to the forests that supplied the raw materials. As demand grew, the company expanded to larger mills and eventually operated several facilities throughout western Maine.
Toothpick manufacturing provided steady jobs for hundreds of Mainers. Workers cut birch logs into thin strips, shaped and polished the toothpicks, and packaged them for shipment across the United States and around the world. The mills also produced wooden products such as ice cream spoons, skewers, clothespins, and cocktail sticks. By the mid 1900s, millions of toothpicks were being produced every day, and Strong had become the heart of the industry.
The industry began to decline during the late twentieth century as plastic products became more common and inexpensive imports increased competition. The last Forster Manufacturing mill closed in 2003, bringing an end to more than 100 years of toothpick production in Strong. Although the mills are gone, Maine's toothpick industry remains an important part of the state's manufacturing history.