USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Waterville > A chronology of municipal history and election statistics, Waterville, Maine, 1771-1908 > Part 1
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Gc 974.102 W31g 1146180
M. L,
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01091 8750
Presented by Chr w. W. larson -
W. Sell Hire H
July 27.1911.
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/chronologyofmuni00give_0
Luther G. Bunker
A Chronology
of
MUNICIPAL HISTORY
and
ELECTION STATISTICS
Waterville, Maine
1771-1908
-
DESIGNED FOR A BOOK OF REFERENCE
Compiled and Edited by CLEMENT M. GIVEEN
1908
-
MAINE FARMER PRESS AUGUSTA, MAINE
James Q. Tyson -2.50
1146180
In Grateful Acknowledgment of Official Faithfulness this Book is Dedicated to the Memory of ABIJAH SMITH Born 1773 - Died 1841 Town Clerk twenty-nine years
1
Copyright, 1908 by CLEMENT M. GIVEEN
1
Preface
In the preparation of this chronology of municipal history and the gathering together of political statistics, the writer has re- ceived the most hearty co-operation from a host of friends, for which he extends his thanks.
The writer is especially grateful for the courtesies extended to him by Town-clerk Eugene W. Allen of Winslow, and City-clerks John E. Nelson and Fred W. Clair of Waterville. Mr. Joseph Alexander, chief clerk at the office of the secretary of state, the librarian at the State library, Harvard University and the Bos- ton Public Library also gave valuable assistance, while everyone connected with our home library has done everything within their power to assist the writer at all times. Their courteous treatment has been a source of pleasure and contributed much toward mak- ing the compilation of this volume a delightful toil.
١
Introductory Chapter
August eleventh, 1693, all the chiefs of the eastern Indian tribes signed an agreement whereby "That their Majesties' sub- jects, the English, shall and may peaceably and quietly enter, repair, improve, and forever enjoy all and singular their rights of lands, and former settlements and possessions within the eastern parts of the said province of the Massachusetts Bay, without any pretensions or claims by us, or any other Indians, and be in no wise molested, interrupted or disturbed therein." The agreement was signed at Fort William Henry in Pemaquid "in the fifth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord and Lady, William and Mary, by the Grace of God, of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, King and Queen, Defender of the Faith, etc., 1693." Those who signed the "submission" were chiefs "of all the Indians belonging to the several rivers of Penobscote and Kennebeck, Amaroscogin and Saco." The representative of the Canabas tribe was Wenobson who signed "Wenobson of Teconnet in behalf of Moxus."
Two years previous to the signing of this document the char- ter of William and Mary included Maine in the territory over which royal governors were appointed, but the horrors of Indian warfare prevented migration to the province of Maine, to any points beyond those fortified or where settlers had gathered in sufficient numbers to make a defense against attack. After the meeting of the chiefs and representatives of the crown at Fort William Henry, a movement was made to settle beyond the dan- ger limits, but the treaty of peace was not observed and those who had attempted to build their homes in new territories were com- pelled to return to the settlements again for the protection and
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF WATERVILLE
safety of their families. In the years immediately following this conference of the Maine Indians, battles between the savages and whites were desperately fought. It appears that the English were almost if not as much to blame for the violations of agreement, as the Indians themselves and perhaps more so when the fact is taken into consideration that it was the English who were en- croaching upon the territory over which the Indians had for years and years held complete domain. Scarcely had the treaty been made when Bomaseen, a powerful chief of the Kennebecks, ap- peared at Pemaquid with a flag of truce for consultation or other purpose. He was recognized by the officers of the fort and ar- rested on the charge that he had been concerned in the destruction of Dover, N. H. He was sent to Boston as a spy and sentenced to imprisonment for five years. The Kennebeck Indians, enraged at this, renewed their warfare with all the hatred and cunning of their race and shared in the destruction of Fort William Henry, the special object of their wrath, in 1696, and would not listen to any terms of peace until the release and restoration of their chief to the home of his people were included in the agreement. Arrangements were made for the cessation of hostilities in 1699, and the fierce old warrior returned to his people at Norridgewock.
The apparent peace that followed the retirement of the Indians to their northern homes did not have the effect to promote the advance of civilization, and neither white nor Indian was inclined to trust the other beyond easy reach of gun or tomahawk. Skirmishes and wars continued. Queen Anne's War in the early part of the century brought ruin and death to many families, and a long period of hostilities followed. Father Sebastian Rale, a Catholic priest, a native of France and finely educated, who had assumed dominion over the Indian mission at Norridgewock in 1693, and had devoted himself to the work, was killed by an expedition led by Captain Harmon from Fort Richmond in 1724. Brunswick had been burned in 1722, and numerous settlements had been destroyed, many settlers and their families had been
8
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
killed so that the whites were compelled to seek safety, and the Indians discouraged and broken in spirit fled to Canada. It is said that as late as 1749 only two families of white people were left above Merrymeeting Bay, and the French and Indians were again in complete control of the northern country.
It would have been too hazardous an undertaking at this time to have attempted to settle near the "falls" which offered so many natural advantages, without a sufficient force of armed men, that would have been too difficult to have maintained, so while towns and villages were springing into life on the coast and near the larger towns in interior New England, the site on which Waterville stands today, the gem city of the Kennebec, was occu- pied only by the Indian who camped on the banks of the beauti- ful stream, catching the salmon from its depths and occupying himself as necessity required or the exigencies of winter demanded.
The stillness of the forest was only disturbed by the occasional twang of the bow as some Indian hunter's arrow felled a deer or moose to provide meat for himself and squaw, or snapping of the twigs in the underbrush, as perhaps some trapper wended his way toward the carry by the "falls," or by the rush of a frightened animal as it sought safety from harm among the virgin timber, or by the rustle of the wings of the birds as they flew unmolested from tree to tree, enjoying the full happiness which Nature bestows.
Many of the pioneers of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- turies came across the ocean to find a northwest passage to the Indies, and others came to find gold. John Winthrop, when he selected the site for the city of Boston, selected it simply because it had a spring of pure water. They were not seeking the wealth of the orient or the occident. They were seeking a home with plenty of good drinking water, and where they might dwell in peace and freedom. Until the shock of the Revolution awakened them to a realization that they were Americans, Virginians' "home" was back in England. Washington did not dream that he was other
9
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF WATERVILLE
than an Englishman until Braddock snubbed him as a colonial. The Pilgrim and the Puritan, on the other hand, were frowned or chased out of the old land, and therefore, from the very begin- ning America was their home and their only home. Their bridges were burned behind them. They set up their own church and within half a dozen years of the founding of Boston they laid the foundation of Harvard University in this savage wilderness. They had no illusions. They knew that they were Americans or that they were nothing. One hundred years after the landing of the Pilgrims and the Puritans, we find the same spirit prevalent. Set- tlers went into the deep forest, hewed out a cornfield, suffered untold hardships and withstood an ever present danger, not for the value to be received, but for the purpose of establishing a home for themselves, their wives and their children. The whole New England territory was settled by homeseekers who cherished and held sacred the spots selected for their domestic purposes, thus as the settler gradually crept farther and farther away from the older communities and penetrated the forests deeper and advanced farther up the rivers and the streams he went not as an adventurer or an investor. His sole idea was his future happi- ness and that was embodied in the ownership of land enough to provide through culture sufficient provision for those whom he had to care for.
In the same year that old Chief Wenobson of Teconnet signed the parchment that is referred to in the beginning of this chapter, there was born at Preston, Sussex, England, a child that had much to do with the settlement of Teconnet. This child, Wil- liam Shirley, was destined to be the person who should first authorize the building of a fort that commenced the settlement of which Waterville is a part. The lad was educated as finely as children of the best English families at that time afforded, and at an early age commenced the practice of law. He came to Boston in 1734, and was appointed a Royal Governor in 1741. He planned the successful expedition against Cape Breton in 1745,
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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
after which he returned to England, not coming to this country again until 1753. At the outbreak of the French War he was Commander-in-chief of all the British forces in America.
Seventeen years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Mass., in 1620, the Plymouth Company had been formed and chartered by the King of England. In 1620 a new company was formed, succeeding the old company, and on November 3, King James I granted the "New England Charter." The company in turn granted privileges, including that of the Kennebec Patent in 1629, and met with varied misfortunes until discouraged by its losses it surrendered its charter in 1635. The King immediately appointed his Privy Councillors, Lord Commissioners of all English possessions in America. In 1636 Lord Proprietor Gorges established a capital and Court at Saco, but never exercised his power over the Kennebec region. In 1661 the Kennebec Patent was conveyed to John Winslow, Artemas Boies, Edward Tyng, and Thomas Brattle. After this transaction considerable trouble had occurred and so many difficulties had arisen with Gorges and Commissioners appointed by the King, that Massachusetts in 1677 purchased all the rights of Gorges in the province, and for nearly a hundred years trade was unmolested although of very small proportion. In 1749 a new Plymouth Company was formed and organized along lines that were the means of causing the rapid settlement of the Kennebec valley.
As appears in the first pages of the chronology of municipal history that follows this introductory chapter, Governor William Shirley was petitioned by the new Plymouth Company to erect a fort at Teconnet, which petition he granted and he personally accompanied the expedition that erected Fort Halifax in 1754.
Thus one hundred thirty-four years after the first settle- ment in New England at Plymouth, the march of progress and civilization, reached the falls of the Kennebec, and there com- menced the building of a community that has never yet allowed itself to take a backward step.
Could we but look into the past beyond the years allotted
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF WATERVILLE
to the time of man and gaze upon the picture that presented itself as the eight hundred soldiers received the command to halt on the spot where the first structure was to be erected, a monu- ment to might and power, marking the passing of a race of people and. the onward march of an ever conquering army; could we push aside for a moment the clouds that envelop the past and hide its distinctness, and look upon the scene as the ruddy glare of the fires penetrated the dark depths of the forest and cast their bright rays of light upon the swift flowing waters of the Kennebec, and the smooth surface of the Sebasticook, perhaps, as we watched the soldier and the mechanic spread their blankets beneath the spreading branches of a monarch of the forest, we could see the face of an Indian youth peer with wonderment expressed on every feature as he carefully brushed aside the foliage of a convenient bush to more closely examine the forms and faces of those his fathers had taught him to fear and hate. Perhaps we could see that old warrior chief with stern and battle-scarred features stand- ing in the shadows of a sturdy pine, his blanket wrapped closely around his aging form, regarding the scene with the stoicism of his race, though perhaps if we gazed a little closer we might de- tect a trace of sadness creep across his brow, as perhaps for a moment, the memory of his former greatness is uppermost in his thoughts. Perhaps he may have helped to have defended Rale at Norridgewock, or used his bow with unerring aim at the massacre at Brunswick, or wielded his tomahawk with deadly effect at some settler's home whom he believed was encroaching upon his right by birth. As we watch the officers give their nightly instructions to the guard and watch the slumbering fires grow dim as soldier after soldier falls in slumber in peaceful thoughts of their security, see the Indian youth glide back to his lodge, and watch the camp succumb to the quietness of the hour with only the roar of the falls reverberating through the evening air, we will withdraw our grasp on the veil of the past and let the clouds of time again sur- round the scene, to be cleared away by the morning sunlight upon the beautiful city of Waterville of today.
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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
The completion of Fort Halifax, together with the privileges offered by the Plymouth Company, were the means of bringing many settlers to the Kennebec region. Farms were cleared, trad- ing posts established, and a system of communication and trans- portation put into effect.
With the coming of more settlers new branches of business were established, the farms, increasing in acreage of cultivation under the untiring efforts of their proprietors, were beginning to increase their products, and as years went by the old-time trad- ing posts became centers of prosperous and growing communities.
The settlers began early to provide for the educational needs of their children, they contributed as generously as their means would permit for their religious instruction, and they founded the industrial success of the town upon the solid rock of hard and honest toil.
We have not in this section of Maine a balmy climate or a soil particularly adapted to produce, in competition with western communities, a single one of the great agricultural staples, nor can we by delving into our hills find stores of iron, or coal, or precious metals. For more than a century, however, this com- munity in thought and action has been profoundly influenced and benefited by the high standard of these first colonists, and their determination that their children and their children's children after them should like them be men of education and intelli- gence. In establishing their first school our forefathers were not merely providing for the elementary "R's" of reading, writing and arithmetic, but were supplying for their children the advance type of education which ever since has been afforded by our public schools. Of vital importance to this community are our public schools, and these our citizens have always supported with great generosity. For a long period in our history our public school system has been substantially efficient, and it is this as much as any other factor, notwithstanding disadvantages in soil, climate, and mineral wealth, which has caused Waterville to prosper so amazingly.
13
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF WATERVILLE
While we had some lumber, little wool, no coal or cotton, we had an abundant water power, an advantage which has counted for much. More than all else, however, the energies of our people were early turned in an industrial direction, inventions have multiplied here, and through the thrift due to Puritan ancestry, wealth in the form of productive capital has accumulated, giving to Waterville an industrial importance and economic efficiency entirely beyond that attributable to the mere possession of peculiar natural advantages. Waterville's educational and industrial growth has been the result of the wise government and good citizenship of those who planted their homes in the early days under the pro- tecting guns of Fort Halifax. It has been due to their foresight and care in founding the systems of education and industry that we can point with pride to our factories, our college, our business blocks, and our schools.
In addition to their zealous care and careful nursing of Water- ville's industrial infancy, and voting from their poverty and means whereby the future generations might be benefited by a free and liberal education, the early settlers of this community were devot- edly patriotic to their country. No city in Maine has a more splendid record in patriotism than Waterville. It was in New England that the torch of American liberty was lighted, and it was passed on from Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill in undimmed flame to Yorktown. "Here," in the words of John Adams, "the Child Independence was born." Waterville has never forgotten that glorious fact, and never has ceased to cherish the noblest traditions of that dearly bought freedom. Waterville has welcomed the children of other nations within its borders, and so potent has been her example of patriotism that these adopted chil- dren have learned to cherish with the mother's zeal and fervor the greatest principles upon which the American government was founded. Nowhere else are the truths of the declaration of inde- pendence taught more thoroughly or persistently than in the pub- lic schools of Waterville, where the children of another nation and
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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
another tongue so different from ours are soon saturated with the spirit of American patriotism.
The epitaph prepared by Richard Thomas for his own tomb- stone, which can now be seen at the old cemetery in Winslow, causes the reader to smile at first, but read it over a second time, read between the lines and you will read a lesson in patriotism that cannot be excelled.
"Here lies the body of Richard Thomas, a whig of 76 By occupation a cooper, Now food for worms. Like an old rumpuncheon marked, numbered and shooked, He will be raised again and finished by his creator. He died Sept. 28, 1824, aged 75.
America, my adopted country, my best advice to you is this, take care of your liberty."
This was the spirit of the early American settlers, English- men, many of them by birth, but whigs of "76. Defenders of lib- erty and religious freedom, surrendering the ties of home to fight for a new country, the embodiment of their ideas of freedom and happiness, struggling through the trying days of its infancy to promote its efficiency and establish its permanency, devoting their time in preparing laws for its government, and expending their means to provide for its maintenance. Then like an old rum- puncheon, marked, numbered, and shooked and laid aside they were willing to pass to the great beyond in perfect faith of their promised reward, happy in the thoughts of their achievements and admonishing those left behind to guard well the liberty for which they had fought and died.
The territory including that of Waterville and Winslow previ- ous to 1771, was known as Kingfield Plantation. The greater part of what is now Oakland was called Dearborn. In the chronology,
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF WATERVILLE
which follows, will be found the incorporation act of the town of Winslow giving the boundary lines and other interesting informa- tion regarding the original town. Circumstances arose, which are explained later, that caused the first division of the town in 1802, the annexation of the town of Dearborn and the final separation of Oakland from Waterville.
Many regret now that the difficulties of the earlier days could not in some way have been remedied, and are sorry that the old town lines established by the General Court could not have remained unchanged, but the communities were then widely sep- arated and those interested in the affairs of the town felt that they could govern themselves more economically and with better regard to the individual wants of those living in each of the different vil- lages if under separate organizations.
Any history of Waterville that has been written is the history of Winslow as well, up to the time of the division of the towns, and that of Oakland, until that prosperous and enterprising munic- ipality decided to adorn itself with the butterfly wings of state and govern its own course in 1873. Winslow and Oakland are now in so close touch with Waterville, one connected by both steam and trolley, and the other by steam and three fine bridges, and has an electric road being constructed, that they are more of one community now than at any time during the last century. The inhabitants are of the same character, industrious and prosperous, all interested in the welfare of the other in doing their utmost in promoting the best interests of all three. The municipal affairs of Winslow since 1802 have been conducted on the same general lines as those of Waterville. The town has been governed wisely and well. Its public men have been prominent in the affairs of the State and Nation, while the private citizen has closely followed the business of the town, attending to his own affairs with the same careful oversight, with the result that prosperity for all has been their portion. The great Hollingsworth & Whitney Company paper mills are located on the Winslow side of the Kennebec. The
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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
mills compose one of the largest paper plants in the world. The company manufactures a fine grade of manilla wrapping paper, and also manufactures the pulp used for all its purposes. The products of this establishment are shipped to all parts of America, addition after addition has been built and there has just been completed a monster building to provide more space for the neces- sary machinery and equipment that is required to furnish a sup- ply sufficient to meet the demand. The town of Winslow has been very generous in the matter of assessment and taxation of the property of the corporation. A very friendly feeling exists between them, which has contributed much towards the prosperity of both.
Oakland has also continued in its prosperity since its separa- tion from the mother town. Its various business establishments are doing a good business and the Somerset Railway, recently leased to the Maine Central Railroad Company, connects with the latter line at this point, adding considerable to the prosperous condition of affairs. This is also the terminus of the Waterville and Oakland street railway. The car barns and repair shops are erected here, together with a large entertainment hall, which adds both business and pleasure to the resources of the town and has been the means of bringing hundreds of pleasure seekers to enjoy the day or evening, fishing or boating, on the beautiful Messalon- skee Lake.
The incorporation act of the town of Waterville was passed to be enacted in the Massachusetts House of Representatives on July 23, 1802. It had several readings and was passed by the Sen- ate and approved by Governor Caleb Strong on the same day. By this act the present city of Waterville commenced its munic- ipal career. Commencing on this day in June the little community on the west side of the Kennebec river began to exercise its right of self-government; that it has performed the duty well is best demonstrated by following the growth of the town from a strug- gling little collection of homes, through the records of the doings of its people assembled in public meetings up to the time of today.
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MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF WATERVILLE
This the editor of this volume has attempted to do in the chap- ters that follow. In a humble and perhaps homely way he has presented extracts from town and city records together with a few other interesting facts concerning municipal affairs, which he sincerely desires may be of interest to those who care to read this volume.
In delving into the records of the past to obtain such infor- mation as may be interesting to those who desire some knowledge regarding the historical affairs of the town, the writer became familiar with those who had so much to do with its early history. He really made acquaintance with those old-time gentlemen in a way that was most pleasing, and can almost picture in his mind how some of them appeared as they arose to address their fellow citizens on many occasions of importance. We regret that we cannot linger for a while with a few of these old-time pioneers and tell of their many deeds for the benefit of the young municipal- ity, but space will not allow us to do so; we can scarcely men- tion the magnificent war and military record, the churches, the excellent public schools and other educational institutions of the city, neither can we but briefly mention the benefits derived from our manufacturing industries. We should like to have the time and opportunity to collect the data and be able to properly present all the good things about the illustrious members of the pulpit, the bar, and the medical profession, past and present. It would be interesting to compile a commercial history of this busy city and a pleasure to record the events of a busy past, to write of the busi- ness activity and integrity of the business men of long ago and today, and describe the benefits received from their untiring efforts. But it is necessary to draw a line at some point and confine one- self as far as possible to the subject selected. The time will some- time arrive when someone, the city government itself perhaps, will arrange for a careful and complete history of those things for the immediate and future use of those interested in preserving such records and documents as are commensurate with the settle-
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