Two Falls Camps history goes back more than 100 years. It actually started as a thread spool mill in 1880, for the Willimantic Linen Company in Connecticut (also where the name for our town came from). The tight grained wood of the plentiful birch trees in Willimantic, made for an ideal resource to mill into spools.

Powered by the waterfalls, the first electric generating plant and power lines in Maine were built here. Instead of gas lanterns, there were electric lights illuminating the mills and homes.

Our cabins were once the locations for the workers of the mills and their families. Their bright red color was a landmark of the area and familiar to local townsfolk. Even today, the cabins at Two Falls are still painted red. Even our barn (also an original building to the property), is painted in red.

Our current home, also located on the property, was once the boarding house for the loggers harvesting the birch in the area. Loggers enjoyed modern conveniences, including running water, electric lights and home cooked meals.

The spool mill brought many other businesses to Willimantic, including a post office, barber shop (which is now our cabin named ‘Pool’), dance hall, bowling alley and general store.

In 1903, after depleting the birch wood supply, the company looked elsewhere for wood supplies and closed the mills.

In stepped a young man named Bill Earley, who purchased the land and buildings with the purpose of converting the property into a sportsman’s paradise.

As the first order of business, Mr. Earley transformed the boarding house into a hotel. Over the next few years he purchased more land and had cabins built in place of the old mill worker houses. Mr. Earley named the business after himself (Bill Earley’s Camps) and it became a well known destination for hikers, fisherman and hunters for decades to come.

One of the most famous landmarks on the property is the salmon pool that sits on the edge of the lower set of waterfalls. Because of the enormous success of this fishing hole, it became the tagline for the camps, ‘Home of the famous Earley Salmon Pool’. Bill Earley even ran ads in the 1920’s, calling out the exclusive salmon pool, located just steps from your cabin. Even today, our guests can enjoy the exclusive use of the salmon pool, as it is part of the Two Falls property and not open to the public.

Mr. Earley ran the camps for the next 50 years before they were sold in 1965 to Herman Bayerdorffer (current owner). Herman is an avid outdoors-man and even became a Maine Guide, taking many a guest on successful hunts and fishing trips over the years.

Herman is also a pilot and has a love of flying. So much so, that he built a runway and seaplane/boat ramp on the property in the 1970’s. The runway is free to use by our guests (at their own caution), and was expanded in 2002 to a length of 3250 feet. The boat ramp and docks can also be used by guests flying in by seaplane.

Later in the 1980’s Herman changed the name of the camps to ‘Two Falls Camps’, which perfectly represents the setting of our camps, nestled between two waterfalls on the Wilson river (the inlet to Sebec Lake).

Not much has changed since then. The cabins are the original cabins (and still retain the bright red color), that were built when Bill Earley opened the camps. They have seen renovations over the years, but still retain the same charm.

We would love the opportunity to host your next vacation in Maine. Take a step back in time and come enjoy all that Two Falls Camps has to offer.