The Samuel Buffum & Co. Steam Saw Mill and Box Factory opened in North Berwick in 1864 and expanded in 1898, harnessing steam power as an alternative to earlier water-powered sawmills.

The factory replaced an earlier one opened by William R. Tober in 1855, making box components and boxes. The Buffum factory employed 95 men, 13 boys and 12 girls at the turn of the century, according to The North Berwick Register of 1904. It took advantage of railroads to carry coal needed for fuel and to distribute its products to distant markets.