In the early 20th century, the United States mill industry began recruiting weavers from Southern Mediterranean countries skilled in patterns new to American consumers.
[1] The Pepperell Counting House was a factory in Biddeford, Maine that is thought have served as a mosque for early Albanian immigrants to the New England mill industry around 1900.
By 1915, it is believed that a large enough community of men came to the Pepperell Counting House that the formation of an early mosque occurred.
However, it is believed that the Spanish flu swept through the area with the returning U.S. soldiers in 1918, killing many of the towns inhabitants, including many of the Muslims.
One death record even notes that the deceased was a member of the York County Albania society, which may signify that the few Albanians continued to maintain a sense of community-heritage.