History

Main Line Fence is proud to be Maine's oldest and largest fence company. Ever since we were incorporated in 1948 we have served Maine's fencing needs while upholding the highest standards in quality. Over the years our dedicated staff has helped Main Line Fence grow to the company it is today and remain the oldest fence company in Maine.

Main Line Fence began as Robbins & White (a structural steel erection company in Portland) that was formed by the partnership of Winston C. Robbins and Lloyd White. The two operated the company from the dining room table of Ken MacCready's house on Raymond Road in Portland. MacCready was in charge of the books while his wife, Ruth, was the secretary. Eventually the company rented a spacious 5 room office at the corner of Main & Dana Streets in Westbrook on the second floor of an old remolded foundry building.

The office furniture along with much of the company's original equipement and scaffolding (which later became a side business of Main Line Fence) was purchased from the old South Portland Shipyard offices which was auctioned off after the end of World War II.

In 1948 Robbins & White started to branch off into the fencing industry, creating a separate division that they named Main Line Fence, Co.. Main Line Fence was operated in the back of the Robbins & White office by Wally Harwood (the companies job estimator and accountant), Wyman Foster (an engineer who did work for both companies) and their superintendent Ed Burns (who in 1957 ventured off on his own and formed Burns' Fencing which is still in operation today). Ruth MacCready often acted as the Secretary-Treasurer and office manager.In 1953 Ken passed away from multiple sclerosis. Loren Malcolm was hired to replace Ken's bookkeeping duties. At this time Larry Berry was hired to perform all the clerical work of the growing fence company. Larry worked for Main Line Fence for over forty years until his retirement in 1995.

As Main Line Fence grew, so did the company's yard and office in Westbrook. They purchased a large equipment barn and storage yard that was located along the Presumpscot River at the rear of Dana Street.

In those days all deliveries of chain link and guard rail materials were unloaded by hand until Phil Cyr and Merile Gagnon (two of Main Line Fence's first crew members, hired in 1956) fabricated a winch hoist for unloading material. They were later joined by Leonard Lagasse, Uncle Armand P. Gagnon, Edgar Morrison, Reggie Benner and Leonard Price (who later went to work for Burns' Fencing). Armand F. Gagnon began working for Main Line at the age of 19, he is now the only remaining original employee.

As Main Line Fence was growing, the original company of Robbins & White began to decline. Robbins & White was focusing on bridge and steel construction, however, in the early 1960's Win Robbins became involved in the installation of ski lifts and tramways in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. As a result of this new venture, bridge and building projects received less attention and the original partnership with White was dissolved.

After the passing of Ken MacCready, his wife Ruth MacCready remarried a fiserhman named Carl Smith. After the steady decline of the steel erection business, the fence company began to suffer. In 1968 Ruth (now Ruth Smith) convinced Win Robbins to sell Main Line Fence to her. After running the company for a year Ruth, being in poor health, could no longer manage the company and felt that it needed the attention and direction of an energetic businessman.


In 1969 Main Line Fence was sold to Norris Cianchette of Cumberland. He purchased nine acres of land in Cumberland and later that year a new office and plant was built by Cianbro. In February of 1970 Main Line Fence moved from its Westbrook offices to its new home in Cumberland, where it has remained ever since.

Norris retired in 1986 and was succeeded by his son Rocky who learned the business from the ground up and has successfully guided it to the position it holds today.