Benjamin Bates IV

John G. Davis met Benjamin Bates in the early 1830s, and they later became business partners. They met while Bates was a clerk for Barnabas T. Loring on Washington Street after a mutual friend had offered "a firm with respected work."[9] At the time, Bates' net worth was at $700, which was considered lower-middle class. The firm subsequently organized as the B. T. Loring Company. The firm's market expanded widely throughout Maine and went on to depart from retail and focus on whole sale, which was made possible by the connections the Bates had made throughout his career in Bristol, Maine. One year later, they moved "downtown" from Washington Street to Central Street and continued operations. Barnabas T. Loring died, which prompted the group to dissolve B. T. Loring & Co., and create Davis, Bates, & Turner.[10]

Workers in industrial Lewiston, in the late 195& century

With the conclusion of B. T. Loring & Co., Bates co-founded the firm of Davis, & Bates, which existed from 1833 to 1847. The firm enjoyed financial success as its previous deals had garnered high standing among the mercantile community of Maine. With the firm on stable footing, John N. Turner developed an interest and discussed furthered involvement. As a mutual friend of Bates, and with his background in law, he was tasked with bookkeeping and legal relations. The firm amassed tens of thousands of dollars within years, and the firm continued to grow.[11] Turner was officially brought in on February 13, 1833, and the firm was officially renamed Davis, Bates & Turner.[12]

In 1837, the firm experienced low levels of revenue and output because of the external effects of panics involving financial security and credit in New York City. Considered the "greatest financial panic the country has ever seen," the Panic of 1837 caused numerous firms all over New England to fail, and Davis, Bates & Turner often had trouble assessing market value and withdrawing loans from the banks. The firm remained active and even put up positive net return on some years during the panic because of its good credit and lack of debt.[13] The overall speculative markets involving whole sale goods caused Bates's firm to remain cautious when it sold and took out loans for restructuring. News from New York was delivered to Maine that stated further banking regulation and overall stabilization of market prices, which brought the state out of a recessive period into a sustained growth. The news was received by Bates personally when George Bond declared that loans would be issued by the New York Banks once again.[14]

Tompkins square riot in the 1870s from lack of credit stability of Manhattan banks

During the recovery consultations between Maine and Massachusetts business leaders, a prominent banker, Homer Bartlett, was quoted as famously saying,

Who was the strongest man in that meeting [referring to the financial panics]?

To which the crowd overwhelmingly replied,

Bates! Bates was the strongest man there.[15]

The quote would go on to largely shape Bates's minor celebrity status and fed the growing reputation of producing the best results in times of uncertainty. The crowd included Lyman Nichols, George L. Ward, Alexander De Witt, Francis Skinner, Homer Bartlett, and St. John Smith.[16] In 1840, the firm moved to Water Street and five years later to Milk Street, where Davis withdrew from the firm for poor health.[17]

Siles Bascom replaced Davis, and the firm was renamed Bates, Turner & Co. The firm enjoyed financial success and began to conclude its practice with the closing of markets in March 1847.[18] After the dissolution of the firm, Bates served as president and on the board of several banking, manufacturing, and railroad corporations, including First National Bank of Commerce in Boston. His activities during the Panic of 1873 caused him to be asked to be the founding successor president of the Union Pacific Railroad on August 1, 1849. He served in that capacity until May 3, 1850, when Alexander De Witt spoke to him about opportunities in Lewiston, Maine, and prompted his immediate resignation.[19]

Bates quickly began developing companies, acquired smaller ones under his Manufacturing Company, and subsequently brought in $16 million in revenue for the town, the largest circulation of currency in the history of Lewiston at the time.[22] His businesses provided employment for thousands of people from Maine and Canada,[1] which made him the single largest employer in the city and the largest per capita of Maine. His businesses garnered millions of dollars for the city, and with all assets accounted for in Maine and Massachusetts, he was considered the wealthiest man in Maine via his net worth.[23][1]

His principal accomplishment during his early business career was the establishment of Bates Manufacturing Company. The company went on to be the largest manufacturing company in the state of Maine and provided two thirds of all textile output for the state.[24] It employed approximately five thousand people from Canadian and Irish descent. He served as the president of the company from its founding on January 3, 1850, until he appointed a successor to overtake the company as he left for Lewiston on February 20, 1862.[1]

One of the primary goals of other business leaders in Maine and Bates was to improve the water quality of Lewiston. Bates went on to found the Lewiston Water Power Company, which built the first canal in the city. It employed hundreds of people and established the town as a "paragon of water quality."[1] During that development, Lewiston was the fastest growing city in Maine in terms of growth rate.[4]

Bates Mill and Canal

The Bates Mill was a textile factory company that was founded in 1850 and located at 35 Canal Street in Lewiston, Maine. Much of the capital generated from the mill was used in the foundation of Bates College. Since its conception, Bates's practices with the mill dominated the mill industry and was one of the first great US business trusts. He initially gained wealth and influence from manufacturing textiles and estate development with correspondence to the mills.[1] His mills extended from the Androscoggin River to northern Lewiston.[4] On August 16, 1850, Maine Governor John Hubbard signed the incorporation act, and the mill was completed in1852. Bates positioned the mill in Lewiston since the location of the Lewiston Falls provided the mill with power. Under Bates' supervision, during the Civil War, the mill produced textiles to the Union Army. His mills generated employment for thousands of Canadians and immigrants from Europe. The mill was Maine's largest employer for three decades.[25][1]

Like numerous factories in Maine, Bates' mill was receiving cotton from the South, where it was grown and cultivated by slave labor. Correctly anticipating that the increasing talk of secession in the Southern States might eventually lead to a shortage of cotton, Bates bought an unprecedented amount of cotton prior to the Battle of Fort Sumter.[1] During the Civil War, Bates was able to produce uniforms for the Union Army as well as other textiles. His capitalization of that saw to great levels of profit for his firms and companies and caused dozens of mills to be closed by the overwhelming competition.[6] After a rumor was spread around Lewiston that Bates held more money than the city, riots broke out in 1861 that decried the concentration wealth presented by Bates. Pressure from the public, made him lessen his business tactics and create the philanthropic arm of the Bates Manufacturing Company, tasked with giving out thousands to the people of Lewiston. During the riots, his public image was tarnished, and he was advised by DeWitt to employ more people in his mills.[1] The Lewiston Sun Journal called him "the supplier of the cause," after he had spoken at a town hall meeting and detailed his employment of thousands of New Englanders and Canadians.[26][27]

A bust of Bates sculpted by Franklin Simmons in 1872, held at the Boston Commonwealth Museum

Bates pledged another $100,000 to be paid to the Maine State Seminary after his death, but the economic recession in the 1870s, known as the Panic of 1873, caused Bates's Lewiston assets to be lessened. During this financial crisis,many of his properties lessened in value, and he was forced to refinance. The dependence of Lewiston on Bates caused many citizens to suffer financially in his personal losses. After the stabilization of his properties and business contracts, he began a further expansion into Lewiston's economic environment and regained considerable wealth. He built Bates Mill No.5, which became his fastest growing Mill within years and provided the city with substantial employment.[22]

By his death in 1878, Bates had amassed a total net worth of approximately $79.4 million[22][1] (worth $1.84 billion in 2017). That includes assets held in Maine, New York, and Massachusetts that encompassed the non-operational value of B. T. Loring & Co., Bates, Turner & Co., his holding company the Bates Manufacturing Company, his stake in the Lewiston Water Company, Bates Mill, and miscellaneous banking endeavors in New York. He donated a total of $100,000 to the endowment and approximately $250,000 to Bates College indirectly and left a trust of $3.3 million to his family.[6] In his will, he pledged $50,000 to his wife, Sarah Gilbert along with his $2.8 million estate, $10,000 to his brother William, $10,000 to his brother Elkanah Bates II, $10,000 equally divided among the children of his sister, Charlotte, $10,000 to Edward Atkinson, and $10,000 to George Fabian. He left each of his children, Benjamin Edward V, Lilian, Sarah, and Author $250,000 in the form of a trust.[28]

However, Bates had $200,000 in outstanding debt and a pledged $100,000 to Bates College after his death. His family was required to expend the $100,000 pledged, but conditions placed on the inheritances restricted distribution, and familial debt caused the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts to rule eventually that Bates's heirs did not have to pay Bates College the pledged $100,000. After a period of recession, he college began financially recuperating to a larger endowment independently. Over the next couple of years, Bates College's endowment grew slowly and steadily.[1]

The Maine State Seminary in 1852

Bates was the largest of the early donors to Maine State Seminary through the Lewiston Power Company. He was known by the people of Lewiston for having a "deep and profound love" for the town and the college, and its early founder mentioned his affection by noting: "I have frequently heard him say that he would not knowingly do anything against the interests of the people; and that he would sooner invest ten dollars in Lewiston than one dollar in any other place. 'I love Lewiston', 'I love the College', he was accustomed to say, 'Say to the Trustees that I love the College.'"[27]

Oren Burbank Cheney

In 1852, he personally pledged another $6,000 to the school. In 1853, Oren Burbank Cheney appointed him as a Trustee of the College and in 1854 became Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the college for his considerable donations.[29] He went onto donate $25,000 for the foundation of agriculture department and moved a subscription of $75,000 for campus expansion. On February 21, 1873, he donated $100,000 on the condition that the amount was met by third-party donors within five years. He placed conditions on his donations but realized the donations regardless of the conditions being met.[22] The college remained a source of worry for Bates as much of the subscriptions to the college remained unfilled, and donors were giving half of their donations and not fulfilling the other half, which left the endowment of the college in a speculative state. Bates served as the treasurer for the college in the early days and condemned the business strategy that Cheney developed when he interacted with potential donors. Bates advocated for a more aggressive procedure for funding.[22]

Bates's work with the college prompted fellow business magnate, Andrew Carnegie, to donate a considerable amount to the formation of the college and subsequently had the college's science building named after him.[30] Bates played an integral role in the expansion of the college by moving from town to town and state to state spreading the institutions name. That brought in tens of thousands of dollars from the political elite and wealthy, who donated more on a favor to Bates than love of the college, as Bates had graduated few alumni who went on to amass wealth.[22][1]

By his death in 1878, Bates's donations to the college had totaled over $100,000, and overall contributions valued at US$250,000 (worth US$6.2 million in March 2017 dollars).[22] On March 16, 1864, the founder of the Maine State Seminary, Oren Burbank Cheney, renamed his institution of higher learning, "Bates College," in honor of Bates.[1][24][31] However, when hearing that the college was renamed after him, he expressed his disappointment. He thought that he was not worthy of a college of "[such] inception and history" and later noted his guilt for raising money for the college because donors might have thought that he was raising money for himself.[22]