Portland Star Match Factory



The Portland Star Match Factory is a historic industrial building on West Commercial Street in Portland, Maine, United States. From 1870 to 1908, approximately 75-100 workers, mostly women, produced matches at the factory.

Company
The Portland Star Match Company was incorporated in 1866. The original owners sold the company in 1869. In October of that year, a fire burned at the factory's facility near Back Cove. Damage totaled $20,000 and nearly destroyed the original building. The company relocated to West Commercial Street, where it built a new facility.

In 1903, the Portland Board of Trade Journal called the company "one of the most successful industries in the Forest City."