USA > Maine > A gazetteer of the United States, comprising a series of gazetteers of the several states and territories. Maine > Part 1
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01083 6770
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014
https://archive.org/details/gazetteerofunite00hayw_0
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GAZETTEER
THE UNITED STATES,
COMPRISING A
SERIES OF GAZETTEERS
OF
THE SEVERAL STATES AND TERRITORIES.
MAINE.
1
BY JOHN HAYWARD, Author of the New England Gazetteer, Book of Religions, &c &c.
S. H. COLESWORTHY, PORTLAND, Me. MORRILL, SILSBY AND CO., CONCORD, N. H. B. B. MUSSEY, BOSTON, Ms. 1843.
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1 Hayward, John,
A gazetteer of the United States, comerising a series of gazetteers of the several states and territories. Maine ... Portland, le. , 1843,
BHELF CARD
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IF For Index, see page 92.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
IT would be vain for any one to attempt to produce a Gazetteer of the United States, on the plan now proposed, with an entire reliance on his own physical and intellectual resources. The collection and exhibition of the great variety of facts embodied in such a work, must be the fruit of many minds and the labor of many hands.
While the Editor claims to himself the design and arrangement of the work, and the merit of an entire devotedness to its accomplishment, justice requires, as he passes through the several states and territories, due acknowledgments to his most prominent benefactors.
From an invaluable Essay on the Mountains and Rivers in Maine, by WILLIAM WILLIS, Esq., much of what is useful respecting them is derived.
The Geological Survey of Maine, by C. T. JACKSON, M. D., has been a source of great profit. While we tender to him our humble thanks, we cannot fail to express our belief, that his scientific and indefatigable labors, as a geologist, will not only merit, but receive, the gratitude of millions.
From the Hon. WILLIAM D. WILLIAMSON's History of Maine we have obtained many valuable facts.
To the Rev. DARIUS FORBES, who has been a resident in Maine for many years, and who has a taste and talent for works of this kind rarely to be found in others, we owe our especial thanks. Froin his own observations and acquirements in regard to Maine, and from the labor he has performed in the preparation of this work, we feel assured that without his assistance it would have fallen short of much of the usefulness which it is designed to afford.
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1843, by JOHS HAYWARD, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY
MORRILL, SILSBY, & CO. CONCORD, S. H.
A
GAZETTEER
OF
THE UNITED STATES.
MAINE.
DIRIGO
This tract of country was originally granted by James I. to the Plymouth Com- pany, in 1606, by whom it was transferred to Mason and Gorges in 1624. This grant comprised all the territory between Merrimack river and Sagadahock. The territory was afterwards purchased by Massachusetts for £1250, who obtained a con- firmation of the charter in 1691, with the addition of the residue of Maine and Nova Scotia, including what is now called the Province of New Brunswick.
The territory of this state was called Maine as early as 1633, in compliment to Henrietta Maria of France, wife of Charles 1., king of England, who possessed a part of France then called by that name.
Maine, formerly called the District of Maine, had been connected with Massa- chusetts in all its political relations, until it became an independent state in 1820. By the constitution, the legislative power is vested in a Senate and House of Re- presentatives, elected annually by the people, on the second Monday in September. The number of senators cannot be less than 20, nor more than 31. The number of representatives cannot be less than 100, nor more than 200. No town or city is entitled to more than 7 representatives. 1
The executive power is vested in a Governor, who is chosen annually by the
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people, on the second Monday in September : his official term commences on the first Wednesday in January.
The legislature meets at Augusta, on the first Wednesday in January, annually, on which day seven Counsellors are elected, by joint ballot of both houses, to advise the Governor in his executive duties.
The judicial power of the state is vested in a Supreme Judicial Court, and such other courts as the legislature may, from time to time, establish. The judges are appointed by the Governor and Council. By an amendment of the constitution in 1839, " all judicial officers, now in office, or who may be appointed, shall, from and after the first day of March, in the year eighteen hundred and forty, hold their offices for the term of seven years from the time of their respective appointments (unless sooner removed by impeachment or by address of both branches of the legislature to the executive) and no longer, unless reappointed thereto."
The surface of the state is diversified by hills and valleys. A tract on the west side, east of the White Mountains, and a part of the north boundary, is mountain- ous, though not of extraordinary elevations. The highest mountains lie in detached groups ; but they are not numerous.
The state of Maine is bounded north-west and north by Canada, east by New Brunswick, south by the Atlantic ocean, and west by New Hampshire. It is situ- ated between 43º5', and 48° 3' N. lat. and 70° 55', and 66° 47' W. lon. Previous to the late treaty with Great Britain, it contained an area of about 36,550 square miles. By that treaty its territory is lessened about 5000 square miles, or 3,200,000 acres.
The range of high land which crosses Vermont and New Hampshire, enters the north-west corner of Maine, passing round Chaudiere river and the head waters of Megantic lake, in Canada, and running nearly parallel with the St. Lawrence river, at the distance of about 20 miles, terminates on the gulf of St. Lawrence, near Cape Rosier. This is the " height of land," or the "north-east ridge," spoken of in the treaty of 1753, between Great Britain and the United States, and which was never called in question until 1814, when the British plenipotentiaries at Ghent proposed to the American commissioners to discuss and revise the boundary, so as to prevent future uncertainty and dispute. They stated that they desired a direct communica- tion between Quebec and Halifax, and left it to the Americans to demand an equiva- lent. This proposition was refused by the Americans, on the ground that there was no question in regard to the limits of their territory. The " disputed territory," so called, included most of the country north of latitude 46º, including a part of New Hampshire, and most of that large and valuable portion of Maine watered by the Madawaska, St. John, Walloostook, Aroostook, and other rivers. This question involved nearly a third part of the territory of the state.
Our commissioners at Ghent, having successfully resisted every attempt for the dismemberment of Maine, agreed upon an article with the British commissioners, not to revise or to change the ancient treaty boundary, but to run and establish upon the ground that very boundary, without any alteration, and to ascertain " the north- west angle of Nova Scotia," its place of beginning. This article is the fifth in the treaty. 4 Under it, each party appointed a commissioner. These commissioners disagreed. According to the treaty, the question was then referred to the king of the Netherlands, as umpire, whose award was rejected by the United States, because it did not even profess to decide the controversy according to the terms of the sub- mission, but proposed a compromise, by a division of the disputed territory between the parties. Great Britain announced her abandonment of this award ; and at the end of more than half a century after the conclusion of the treaty of 1783, the question was finally settled by a treaty concluded at Washington, on the 9th day of August, A. D. 1842, and ratified at London, on the 13th day of October, A. D. 1×42, by EDWARD EVERETT, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Use United States, and the right honorable the Earl of ABERDEEN, her Britannic
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majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, on the part of their respec- tive governments. The words of the treaty, so far as the boundary of Maine is concerned, are as follow :-
" Whereas certain portions of the line of boundary between the United States of America and the British dominions in North America, described in the second article of the treaty of peace of 1783, have not yet been ascertained and determined, notwith- standing the repeated attempts which have been heretofore made for that purpose ; and whereas it is now thought to be for the interest of both parties, that, avoiding further discussion of their respective rights, arising in this respect under the said treaty, they should agree on a conventional line in said portions of the said boun- dary, such as may be convenient to both parties, with such equivalents and com- pensations as are deemed just and reasonable-The United States of America and her Britannic majesty, having resolved to treat on these and other subjects, have for that purpose appointed their respective plenipotentiaries to negotiate and conclude a treaty, that is to say, the President of the United States has, on his part, furnished with full powers DANIEL WEBSTER, secretary of state of the United States, and her majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has, on her part, appointed the right honorable ALEXANDER LORD ASHBURTON, a peer of the said United Kingdom, a member of her majesty's most honorable privy council, and her majesty's minister plenipotentiary on a special mission to the United States : who, after a reciprocal communication of their respective full powers, have agreed to and signed the following articles :-
Article I .- It is hereby agreed and declared that the line of boundary shall be as follows :
Beginning at the Monument at the source of the river St. Croix, as designated and agreed to by the connnissioners under the fifth article in the treaty of 1794, between the government of the United States and Great Britain ; thence, north, following the exploring line run and marked by the surveyors of the two govern- meuts in the years 1817 and 1818, under the fifth article of the treaty of Ghent, to its intersection with the river St. John and to the middle of the channel thereof ; thence, up the middle of the main channel of said river St. John, to the mouth of the river St. Francis, thence up the middle of the channel of the said river St. Francis, and of the lakes through which it flows, to the outlet of the lake Pohena- gamook ; thence, south-westerly, in a straight line to a point on the north-west branch of the river St. John, which point shall be ten miles distant from the main branch of the St. John, in a straight line and in the nearest direction; but if the said point shall be found to be less than seven miles from the nearest point of the suminit or crest of the highlands that divide those rivers which empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those which fall into the river St. John, then the said point shall be made to recede down the said north-west branch of the river St. John to a point seven miles in a straight line from the said summit or crest ; thence, in a straight line, in a course about south, eight degrees west to the point where the parallel of latitude of 46 deg. 25 min. N. intersects the south-west branch of the St. John ; thence, southerly by the said branch to the source thereof in the highlands at the Metjarmette portage ; thence, down along the said highlands which divide the waters which empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic ocean, to the head of Hall's stream ; thence, down the middle of said stream till the line thus run intersects the old line of boundary surveyed and marked by Valentine and Collins previously to the year 1774, as the 45th degree of north latitude, and which has been known and understood to be the line of actual division between the states of New York and Vermont on one side, and the British province of Canada on the other ; and, from said point of intersection, west along the said dividing line as heretofore known and understood, to the Iroquois or St. Lawrence river.
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GAZETTEER OF THE UNITED STATES.
Article III .- In order to promote the interests and encourage the industry of all the inhabitants of the countries watered by the river St. John and its tributaries, whether living within the state of Maine or the province of New Brunswick, it is agreed that where, by the provisions of the present treaty, the river St. John is declared to be the line of boundary, the navigation of the said river shall be free and open to both parties, and shall in no way be obstructed by either; that all the pro- duce of the forest, in logs, lumber, timber, boards, staves, or shingles, or of agricul- ture not being manufactured, grown on any of those parts of the state of Maine, watered by the river St. John or by its tributaries, of which fact reasonable evidence shall, if required, be produced, shall have free access into and through the said river and its said tributaries, having their source within the state of Maine, to and from the seaport at the mouth of the said river St. John, and to and round the Falls of the said river, either by boats, rafts, or other conveyance; that when within the province of New Brunswick, the said produce shall be dealt with as if it were the produce of the said province ; that in like manner, the inhabitants of the territory of the Upper St. John, determined by this treaty to belong to her Britannic majesty, shall have free access to and through the river for their produce, in those parts where the said river runs wholly through the state of Maine ; provided always, that this agreement shall give no right to either party to interfere with any regulations not inconsistent with the terms of this treaty, which the governments . respectively of Maine or of New Brunswick may make respecting the navigation of the said river, where both banks thereof shall belong to the same party.
Article IV .- All grants of land heretofore made by either party, within the limits of the territory which by this treaty falls within the dominions of the other party, shall be held valid, ratified and confirmed to the persons in possession under such grants, to the same extent as if such territory had by this treaty fallen within the dominions of the party by whom such grants were made ; and all equitable possessory claims, arising from a possession and improvement of any lot or parcel of land by the person actually in possession, or by those under whoin such person claims, for more than six years before the date of this treaty, shall in like manner be deemed valid, and be confirmed and quieted by a release to the person entitled thereto, of the title to such lot or parcel of land, so described as best to include the improvements made thereon ; and in all other respects the two contracting parties agree to deal upon the most liberal principles of equity with the settlers actually dwelling upon the territory falling to them respectively, which has heretofore been in dispute between them.
Article V .- Whereas, in the course of the controversy respecting the disputed territory on the north-eastern boundary, some moneys have been received by the authorities of her Britannic majesty's province of New Brunswick, with the inten- tion of preventing depredations on the forests of the said territory, which moneys were to be carried to a fund called the "Disputed Territory Fund," the proceeds whereof it was agreed should be hereafter paid over to the parties interested, in the proportions to be determined by a final settlement of boundaries : It is hereby agreed that a correct account of all receipts and payments on the said fund, shall be deliv- ered to the government of the United States, within six months after the ratification of this treaty ; and the proportion of the amount due thereon to the states of Maine and Massachusetts, and any bonds or securities appertaining thereto, shall be paid and delivered over to the government of the United States; and the government of the United States agrees to receive for the use of, and pay over to the states of Maine and Massachusetts their respective portions of said fund ; and further to pay and satisfy said states, respectively, for all claims for expenses incurred by them in protecting the said heretofore disputed territory, and making a survey thereof in 1838 ; the government of the United States agreeing with the states of Maine and Massachusetts to pay them the further sum of three hundred thousand dollars, in
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equal moieties, on account of their assent to the line of boundary described in this treaty, and in consideration of the conditions and equivalents received therefor, from the government of her Britannic majesty.
Article VI .- It is furthermore understood and agreed, that for the purpose of run- ning and tracing those parts of the line between the source of the St. Croix and the St. Lawrence river, which will require to be run and ascertained, and for marking the residue of said line by proper monuments on the land, two commissioners shall be appointed, one by the President of the United States by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and one by her Britannic majesty; and the said commissioners shall meet at Bangor, in the state of Maine, on the first day of May next, or as soon thereafter as may be, and shall proceed to mark the line above described, from the source of the St. Croix to the river St. John ; and shall trace on proper maps the dividing line along said river, and along the river St. Francis, to the outlet of the lake Pohenagamook ; and from the outlet of the said lake, they shall ascertain, fix, and mark, by proper and durable monuments upon the land, the line described in the first article of this treaty; and the said commissioners shall make to each of their respective governments a joint report or declaration, under their hands and seals, designating such line of boundary, and shall accompany such report or declaration with maps certified by them to be true maps of the new boundary."
The soil of Maine is various. For some miles from the sea coast it is rocky, sandy, or clayey, with some fertile portions; generally this is the least productive part of the state. Advancing into the interior, the soil increases in fertility. The average quality of the soil is considered to be equal if not superior to any other portion of New England. In some parts it is not exceeded in fertility by any sec- tion of the Union. Some of the most fertile parts of Maine are now almost a wil- derness.
The ability of the soil of Maine to furnish an ample supply of bread stuffs, was fully tested in 1837, by the production of more than a million bushels of wheat, besides vast quantities of rye and corn.
The natural productions in the state, already known to exist in exhaustless quan- tities, are pine and hemlock timber ; granite, slate, lime, iron, and all the materials in the composition of glass. Of the first report of the learned and indefatigable Dr. Jackson, on the geology of Maine, the celebrated Professor Silliman thus speaks : " Maine is a country chiefly of primary rocks, with a large division of those of transition, and towards New Brunswick it has an important region of the lower secondary. Every where it has alluvial and diluvial deposits and vast igneous for- mations, not only in the interior, but formning a barrier against the ocean surge along a considerable part of an immense sea coast, indented as it is by bays and estuaries almost beyond example. Among the mineral forinations of Maine are granite, gneiss, mica, and talcose, and other slates, including roofing slate and aluin slate ; also, soapstone, limestone, and marble, sandstones and brecciated rocks of many varieties ; jasper, including the beautiful greenstone, trap and its varieties, and por- phyry. The trap dykes are numerous, and exceedingly distinct: they cut through most of the other rocks, and produce upon them, most distinctly, those . peculiar effects, which to a demonstration prove their igneous origin. Scientific geology is greatly indebted to this survey for some of the most lucid and convincing facts on this head ; while the diluvial deposits, the boulders and ruins, the diluvial furrows in the rocks, the sea shells now adhering to and inherent in rocks which once formed the sea coast, although elevated twenty-six feet above the sea board, a salt spring at Lubec, and many other topics, equally illustrate other parts of scientific geology.
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" Dr. Jackson is entirely master of his subject, as well as of the kindred sciences
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GAZETTEER OF THE UNITED STATES.
of mineralogy and chemistry, and his report is remarkable for its lucid clearness and its attractive style."
The sea coast of Maine, extending more than 230 miles, indented by an almost countless number of bays, harbors and islands of romantic beauty, presents facilities for navigation unrivalled by any portion of the globe. The great rivers, St. Croix, Penobscot, Kennebec, St. John, and Saco, with their numerous tributaries, the Piscataquis, Mattawamkeag, Androscoggin, Aroostook, Walloostook, St. Francis, and Allagash, piercing the interior, give to the farmer and mechanic a cheap and easy mode of transportation. These rivers, and thousands of ponds and other streams, dispersed throughout the state, afford a water power of vast extent and usefulness.
The celebrated John Smith made an unsuccessful attempt to settle this part of the country as early as 1614. The first permanent lodgment of the whites in the state was made from the Plymouth colony, at York, in 1630.
The first settlers of Maine were a race of men of good minds, stout hearts, and strong arms. By them and their sons the stately forests were converted into an article of commerce, of immense value; thus preparing the soil for its ultimate staples, WHEAT, BEEF, and WOOL.
This state possesses peculiar advantages for new settlers in its soil and climate, and in its proximity to market for its manufactures, and its products from the land and sea; and when its resources are fully developed, it cannot be doubted that Maine will stand unrivalled among her sister states for density of population, wealth, independence, and happiness.
SUCCESSION OF GOVERNORS.
William King, 1820. Albion K. Parris, 1821-1925. E. Lincoln, 1826-1829. Jonathan G. Hunton, 1830. Samuel E. Smith, 1831-1833. Robert P. Dunlap, 1831-1837. Edward Kent, 1838. John Fairfield, 1830-1840. Edward Kent, 1841. John Fairfield, 1842-1843. Edward Kavanagh, (acting,) 1843-
SUCCESSION OF CHIEF JUSTICES.
Prentiss Mellen, 1820-1834. Nathan Weston, 1834-1842. Ezekiel Whitman, 1842-
Climate.
That Maine is more north than any other part of the United States, is true ; but when it is considered that the centre of the state (near Sebec, 140 miles from Port- land) is not 150 miles north of Rochester, N. Y., the centre of one of the largest grain and grazing countries in the world, the antiquated notion that Maine to the United States is what Norway is to Europe, is as groundless as that the state of Virginia lies under the torrid zone
Under the head of Massachusetts will be found comparative data, for a series of years, of the closing and opening of the Penobscot, Kennebec, Connecticut, Hud- son, and Delaware rivers, with several characteristics peculiar to that portion of the United States which lies east of the Hudson river.
Mountains.
Maine may be regarded as decidedly mountainous in her character. There is no arrangement of the mountains, in this state, into what may properly be termed chains, although they in fact constitute a part of the great Alleghany chain that stretches itself from the Gulf of Mexico to the St. Lawrence, parallel with the coast. In some cases, the mountains in Maine are isolated masses, rising in solitary
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grandeur among surrounding hills ; but for the most part they are gathered in small groups. What are usually called the highlands, which separate the rivers flowing into the St. Lawrence from those running into the Atlantic ocean, are broken into heights, some of which are elevated 4000 feet above the level of the sea. At the highest point of the Canada road, the most favorable crossing place from the valley of the Kennebec is 2000 feet above the sea-level; and at the highest point of the portage road from Tamiscouta lake, as measured by Capt. Partridge, is 1336 feet, which is now considered much too low.
We shall give, in this article, a description of the most important mountains, with their known or supposed heights, their positions, and their geological structure, so far as known.
Abraham, Mt., lies in latitude 44° 56', 5 miles S. of mount Bigelow, from which it is separated by the valley of Seven Mile brook, which winds round it from the north. It is composed of three peaks, called the Eastern, Western, and Central. From mount Blue, its bearing to the Eastern peak is N. 20° E .; Central, N. 17º E .; Western, N. 15° W. It is situated in township S. No. 4, first and second ranges of Bingham's Purchase, in Franklin county. So far as its geological structure has been ascertained, it is a mass of mica slate. Its height is 3387 feet above the level of the sea.
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