John Cantillon
Biddeford, 1889-1892
Cantillon began as a bottler of mineral water in 1887-88 at 2 Pine in Biddeford. By 1889, small beer joined his lineup, although it is unclear as to whether he brewed the beer or he simply bottled it. Either way, this continued until his death in the early 1890s.
Not much is known about Cantillon, partially due to incomplete census records from 1890 (thanks to a fire where the records were housed).
Cantillon’s brewing venture was centered out of 2 Pine in Biddeford, next to the Saco River (Sanborn Map Company, Oct. 1891. Library of Congress).
Locations are true to 19th-century street addresses, not current numbering.
Sources
Will Anderson, The Great State of Maine Beer Book (Portland: Anderson & Sons’ Publishing Co., 1996) 43.
Biddeford Business Directory, 1890, 1892.