Records of the Merrill Companies

The story of the Merrill Companies begins in 1929 with Paul E. Merrill’s first haul of slab wood under the name Merrill Transport Company. From there, Merrill Transport continued to grow into one of the leading trucking and transport companies in Maine, and eventually added branches in Vermont and regularly carried cargo throughout New England and the Maritime provinces of Canada. Many of Merrill Transport’s memorable cargos are recounted in P.E.’s memoir, 50 Years a Truckman, which includes stories of transporting circus animals, a dramatic trip up Mount Washington, and a million-dollar load for Central Maine Power.

P.E. diversified the company, expanding into livestock, lumber, laundry, and energy. In 1932 he purchased the first woodlot that began Maine Lumber Company. Later purchases included land in Windham, Lake Moxie, plants in Mechanic Falls, and Fryeburg in 1969. The operations in Dixfield and West Enfield, which are represented in this collection until 1986, were added in 1959 and 1965, respectively.

Smaller businesses also helped expand the Merrill Companies, including the Red & White general store (1939), and Lambert’s Laundry (1949) in Norway (Maine), which was profitable because of its proximity to several girls’ and boys’ camps. Sunrise Acres Farm in Cumberland Center was the Merrill family’s homestead, where P.E. raised beef cattle and later Belgian horses that supported 4-H programs. In 1952, he took over Cook & Company, a producer of ready-made concrete, which he sold to Boston Sand & Gravel in 1970. Partnerships through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s with Sprague Energy, UPS, Plasmine, and Chase Transfer also expanded the Merrill Companies’ business.

After many years away from Maine, P.E.’s son, P.D., returned in 1979 to take over operations of Maine Lumber Company and the Eastern Pier and Coal Corporation, both part of Merrill Industries. P.D. was instrumental in developing the Merrill Marine Terminal and took over all of Merrill Industries when P.E. died in 1982. The Merrill Marine Terminal opened in 1982 and was dedicated in 1983. Several of the Merrill Companies ceased operations in the 1980s and 1990s, including PEMCOAL and Maine Lumber in 1986 and Merrill Transport in 1995. The Merrill Marine Terminal remained under Merrill management until 2004 when it was leased to Sprague Energy.

In 2007, Merrill Industries Inc. established Merrill Cargo LLC as a holding company. Its main activities were ownership of Industrial Transportation Properties LLC (itself established in 2005 as a subsidiary of Consolidated Merrill to manage ownership of the Marine Terminal, leased to Sprague), the winding up of the business affairs of P.D. Merrill, and the preparation of company records as a historical archive. In 2009, Merrill Industries Inc. and Consolidated Merrill Inc. were dissolved.

Paul Emery "P.E." Merrill (1914-1982) was born in Cumberland Center, Maine, and graduated from Greely Institute in 1931. He started his trucking business just four months before the 1929 stock market crash with a haul that earned him four dollars. Merrill Transport Company grew during the 1930s as P.E. absorbed other express trucking lines and defunct trucking companies. With an unofficial slogan of “It can be done,” the red and green Merrill Transport trucks became ubiquitous on the highway, hauling anything from oil, heavy machinery, steel, wood, and even animals for the Shrine Circus. In cooperation with his son, Paul D. “P.D.” Merrill, he diversified into transportation by water and led a $2 million cargo wharf development on Fore Street in 1982. Additional business ventures included energy, lumber, leasing, warehousing, laundry, cement, and farming at Sunrise Acres Farm.

In addition to his business activities, P.E. served Maine’s business community at large. In 1975, he was named to the state Advisory Council on Business Development and served as president of the Economic Resources Council of Maine. St. Joseph’s College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1977, and that same year the Maine Chapter of the New England Council named him Maine Executive of the Year. P.E. was a Charter Member of the National Tank Truck Carriers and served as its director, and served on the Maine Historical Society board of trustees. Merrill Auditorium was named for P.E. and his wife, Virginia, after its renovation was made possible by a gift he left to the city of Portland in his will.

P.E. married Virginia Sweetser in 1936 and had two children, Sally Merrill and P.D. In 1956, P.E.’s brother John Merrill and his wife died in a plane crash, so P.E. and Virginia raised their children, Peter and Martha Merrill.

Paul Douglas "P.D." Merrill (1944-2007) was born in Portland, Maine, on March 10, 1944, the son of Paul E. Merrill and Virginia Sweetser Merrill. He attended Portland schools and Hebron Academy. He attended Webber College and the University of Minnesota. In 1990, he married Sandi Goolden and had one son, Ethan (b. 1998). P.D. died unexpectedly of a heart attack on February 11, 2007.

Early in his career, P.D. spent two years in Leslie County, Kentucky, as an Appalachian Volunteer, where his efforts contributed to the construction of a new school building. At college, he became interested in the cooperative movement in Minnesota, and went onto work for Technico-op, an international developer of housing co-ops based in Connecticut. After that, P.D. worked for the Boston Housing Authority as a senior management official.

After working in Minnesota, Connecticut, and Boston, P.D. returned to Maine in 1979 to work for the family business. After the death of his father in 1982, P.D. charted the future of the companies and oversaw the growth of the Merrill Marine Terminal as it became the largest dry freight marine terminal in the state, handling newsprint, wood pulp, coal, salt, and scrap metal in shipments to and from ports in countries including Newfoundland, Sweden, China, Thailand, Chile, and Egypt. Management of the Marine Terminal was transferred to Sprague Energy in 2004.

Among his philanthropic efforts, P.D. served as a trustee for the University of New England from 1984 until his death. During this tenure, he led strategic planning and new building projects, and he oversaw the merger with Westbrook College. The annual P.D. Merrill Business Lecture and the P.D. Merrill Chair of Business were established in his honor. P.D.’s interest in Maine business also included positions on the boards of institutions and organizations, including the Maine Economic Research Institute, International Forest Products Transportation Association, the Chamber of Commerce of the Greater Portland Region, the Maine Alliance, and the Maine Chamber & Business Alliance (which he chaired). P.D. also supported many community organizations, including Camp Agawam, the 4-H Club, the Gulf of Maine Aquarium, Portland Opera Repertory Theatre, and various local, state, and national political campaigns.