USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Wayne > History of the town of Wayne, Kennebec County, Maine, from its settlement to 1898 > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29
NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3 3433 08178338 7
IQB WAYNE
WALTON
HISTORY
OF THE
TOWN OF WAYNE,
KENNEBEC COUNTY, MAINE,
FROM ITS SETTLEMENT TO 1898.
1
AUGUSTA : Maine Farmer Publishing Company, 1898.
THENEW YORK PUELL LIBRARY 105078
A. . LENOX AND TLUEN FOUNDATIONS. 1899.
FREFACE
In the estimation of the writer, ad meine i feeleik to a town history. To the great public and the momediate neighborhood most deeply interested the work is its own Dest preface. This feature is introduced here for the sole purpose of giving due credit to those who through their original investigations and untiring industry have made the work possible. We have examined many city and town histories, and have yet to find a perfect one. This History of Wayne will doubtless prove no exception to the rule. Yet it will be found to comprise a grand history of a grand old town. Few towns in the State have so rich material and ground-work for making a history. The compilers of these comprehensive and interesting chapters have been engaged in a labor of love in gathering up the material and putting them in this convenient form for preservation. They will have the thanks of the present generation, and the volume will be sure to increase in value as the years go by
The first chapter, so gracefully introducing the book, was written by C. F. Leadbetter.
On the subject of Early Settlers, C. E. Wing did most faithful work in collecting names, dates and many facts of interest and value. He was helpful also in locating many of the settlers. The chapters were prepared for the press by the proper committee assisted by W. G. Besse, Mrs. W. M. Taylor, G. J. Wing. W. A. Burgess, J. M. Benjamin, Esq., A. F. Watson, W. S. Macomber and others. This we regard as the most interesting portion of the book, filling two extensive chapters.
The chapter on Manufactures was prepared by Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Taylor, that portion relating to the match industry coming from the pen of J. B. Turner ; the important Military History, the data of which it was most difficult to secure, was written by Williston Jennings, assisted by .A. F. Watson. Hotels and Landlords, written
iv
PREFACE.
by J. C. Stinchfield. Church History-Methodist, by F. B. Chand- ler ; Baptist, by Rev. J. B. Bryant ; Free Baptist, by J. M. Gott. Physicians, by Capt. W. H. Cary. Merchants, by J. M. Moulton. Postmasters, by J. M. Moulton. List of Civil Officers, by W. A. Burgess. Intentions of Marriage, by W. C. Tribou, Town clerk ; Cemeteries, by W. E. Trne, assisted by Frank Sturtevant and Mrs. W. M. Taylor. Orders, &c., by C. W. Crosby. Schools, by G. W. Walton. Copy for nearly the entire work has passed through the hands of Mr. Walton, who has given his best energy to the success of this enterprise.
The committee on Genealogy was composed of B. F. Bradford, J. M. Moulton, A. W. Riggs.
Centennial Committee-G. W. Walton, Sewall Pettingill, J. C. Stinchfield, C. E. Wing, B. F. Bradford, A. W. Riggs, W. Jen- nings, C. W. Crosby, W. M. Taylor.
Committee to prepare history for printing-G. W. Walton, J. C. Stinchfield, Sewall Pettingill.
The mechanical work has been artistically done by the Maine Farmer Publishing Co., at Augusta, who have had the direction of the preparation of the portraits and illustrations.
THE EDITOR.
INDEX OF SUBJECTS,
CHAPTER.
I. Location-Soil-Beautiful Lakes-Natural Features and Products-Various Industries-Picturesque Scen- ery and Delightful Summer Resorts-Petition and Act of Incorporation, - - -
PAGE.
1.
11. Early Settlers and their Families-Historical and Family Incidents of Great Interest and Value-Strug- gles and Triumphs of the Pioneers, - III. Manufactures-A World-wide Reputation, 41.
13.
IV. Church History and the Establishment of Religious Worship, - 53.
V. Military History-The Struggle for Independence- Stories of the Militia and the old-fashioned Musters, 69.
VI. Hotels and Landlords, - S5.
V11. Schools-Influence of the "Little Red School House," 94.
VIII. Organizations and Associations-Secret Societies and their Work, - - -
- 109.
IX. Resident Physicians fron 1782 to 1898, 113.
X. Merchants in the Town, 115.
XI. Cemeteries, - 118. XII. Intentions of Marriage, 122.
XIII. Town Officers, 168.
XIV. Another Glance at Some of the Early Settlers, - 176.
XV. Gleanings, 209.
XVI. Biographical Sketches, 222.
XVII. Genealogy,
284.
INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE.
Northern portion of Wayne Village Frontis. Samuel S. Wing 28
Capt. Samuel W. Frost 30
Mrs. Samuel W. Frost 31
Hon. A. P. Lovejoy. 33
Alden Wing Lovejoy
34
N. E. Lovejoy
35 57
Methodist Church
53
North Wayne Church
66
School House, Wayne Village
95
North Wayne
Wing Family Cemetery .
Rev. Joshua Millet
Edward G. Dexter
Rev. L. W. Raymond
64
Josiah F. Taylor
Williston Jennings
Residence of Williston Jennings
Hon. T. B. Read.
Ephraim Maxim
Mrs. Ruth ( Billington) Maxim
247
Harriet Boston Maxim
248 250 254
Hudson Maxim.
Samnel Maxim. 255 Hon. Joseph S. Berry. 222 230 H. B. Lawrence. 231
C. F. Leadbetter
George W. Fairbanks.
Mrs. Lucy Fairbanks.
224 225
Henry N. Fairbanks
226 228
Holman Johnson. ..
Hon. Sewall Pettingill . 236 256
G. W. Walton
Carrie Walton. 257
Annie Louise Cary. 264
Residence of the Jennings Bros. . .. 244
late Jeremiah Foss, Jr. 298
Village and Lake Scenery .
208
49 69 78 94 182 183
Isaac Maxim
Hiram S. Maxim.
98 119 59 62
Baptist Church
HISTORY OF WAYNE.
CHAPTER I.
LOCATION-SOIL-ITS BEAUTIFUL LAKES-NATURAL FEATURES AND PRODUCTS-VARIOUS INDUSTRIES-PICTURESQUE SCENERY AND DE- LIGHTFUL SUMMER RESORTS -PETITION AND ACT OF INCORPORATION.
"The hills are dearest which our childish feet Have climbed the earliest ; and the streams most sweet Are ever those at which our young lips drank- Stooped to their waters o'er the grassy bank." - Whittier.
T `HE town of Wayne, as at present constituted, is the most westerly town in Kennebec county, extending about two miles farther in this direction than any other. It is bordered on the north by the towns of East Livermore, Fayette and Readfield, on the east by Winthrop, south by Monmonti, and west by Leeds. Meridian 70° 9' west longitude, and parallel 44- 18' north latitude, or very nearly these, cross each other not far from its center. Augusta, the county seat and capital of the state, is about sixteen miles to the east.
Wayne is situated in a drainage area which is separated by heights of land from the Sandy River on the north, the Kennebec on the east, and the Androscoggin on the west. Beginning in the northern part of this area some six or seven ponds of various sizes are connected with each other by streams, and all discharge them- selves at last through Dead River into the Androscoggin. The ponds of the series that lie partly or wholly in Wayne, are Lovejoy Pond, above North Wayne village, the southern part of which only is in this town, Wing Pond between North Wayne and Wayne villages, wholly in Wayne, and Androscoggin Pond, below the latter village, partly in Wayne and partly in Leeds. Two other small ponds
2
HISTORY OF WAYNE.
wholly in Wayne might be mentioned, Pickerel Pond, draining into Wing Pond and Muddy Pond draining into Androscoggin Pond.
Besides this main drainage system, there is a secondary system beginning in the north-eastern part of the town, and draining through Berry, Dexter and Wilson Ponds on the eastern border, into the Kennebec river.
The surface is neither mountainous nor level, but of that diversi- fied character common to New England, supplying at the same time fruitful soil, excellent water-power, healthy climate and de- lightful scenery. Perhaps the terms "uneven and broken" would most fitly describe it as a whole ; and some parts, especially in the south, are very rocky, affording, however, excellent grazing and good returns to those hardy toilers who apply the plow. The character of the soil varies from a light sandy loam to a heavy loam and even elay on some of the lower flats. The last is better adapted to the production of hay than to hoed crops or grain. In the north-western part are sand hills of considerable extent, which are the development of comparatively recent years. The territory which they occupy was originally among the most fertile and pro- ductive in town, as it was also the easiest tilled ; but the soil being what is commonly called light, became exhausted, and gradually the turf was worn away, exposing the soil and sand beneath, and the winds have blown the sand over the adjoining turf until whole hilltops and sides present to the eye only vast areas of yellow sand. In some places the surface has blown off down to a stratum of hard clay, where its further progress is arrested, thus having removed many feet of earth. Near by on the lower levels a corresponding depth of sand has been deposited, so that what were once tall trees are seen with just the tops of their highest branches protruding from the sand. Most of this geological work has been done within the memory of people now living, and its progress can easily be observed from summer to summer. It is chiefly confined to the locality known as Beech Hill and contiguous territory to the north-east.
If Wayne thus has the foundation of the shifting sands, it has likewise also the solid rock, for a good quality of building and monumental granite is quarried in the south-eastern part of the town where it forms the substantial and enduring material of the height of land between the two drainage systems mentioned above.
Agriculture has always been the chief occupation of the people. In earlier days, before the fertility of the soil had been depleted so
3
HISTORY OF WAYNE.
as to require fertilizer of any kind, and when artificial fertilizer was unknown, many kinds of grain were extensively cultivated and formed the staple crops which were taken to market at Hallowell, Gardiner, Angusta and Portland, and sometimes by team to more remote places still. Wheat, barley, oats, rye and corn were the leading grains. Nearly every farmer supplied himself with flour ground from his own wheat; and such a thing as buying corn. meal, or other feed for his stock, had not been heard of. At the present time and under present conditions it is cheaper to buy flour than to raise the wheat from which to grind it.
When the productiveness of the land became reduced and the market for grain less remunerative, a large amount of live stock was kept for beef, through which medium the crops were converted into money. Finally and not long since the raising of animals for beef purposes became unprofitable, and since that time the attention of the farmers has been turned more to dairying. Sheep are kept to some extent, though not in as large numbers as formerly, owing to the prevailing low price of wool in recent years. Orcharding has received more attention of late, and many young trees are now just coming into bearing. The Baldwin, Northern Spy and Ben Davis varieties command the best market. The raising of sweet corn for canning at the factories has been quite generally entered into by many farmers, bringing in as it does in a favorable season a sum of ready money in addition to the value of the fodder as a food for stock. Potatoes are little cultivated except for home consumption. and instead of raising grain to sell. there is hardly a farmer who does not have to buy considerable quantities for his own use, espe- cially those engaged to any extent in dairying. As a consequence the local grist-mills to which the farmers used to come from far and near. are idle for the most part, having yielded up their business to the larger concerns of the West. Although agriculture, strictly, is less a source of profit than formerly, and many of our young men have gone out to seek success in more alluring fields, Wayne has few abandoned farms-fewer perhaps than the average Maine town.
The Indian name of what is now the town of Wayne, was Pocas- set. The early settlers called the township "New Sandwich," in memory of their native Massachusetts town, until its incorporation in 1798, when in honor of Anthony Wayne, a General in the Revolutionary War, it was given its present name.
Rev. David Thurston, in his history of Winthrop, written in 1855, gives a copy of a "Warning Out of Town," issued to con-
4
HISTORY OF WAYNE.
stable Squire Bishop of Winthrop, in 1792, in which he was directed to notify "John Clark, fiddler, a transient person who has lately come into this town for the purpose of abiding therein, not having obtained the town's consent therefor, that he depart the limits thereo! within fifteen days." Mr. Thurston adds in a note that the same coustable is reported to have once warned a man "Off of God's Earth," and suggests that it is very likely that this was the case referred to. At his wit's end, the poor itinerant fiddler en- quired "Where shall I go?" "Go?" repeated the constable, "Get out of the world-go to Wayne !"
Whether the wandering musician accepted the advice so peremptorily offered, and found somewhere within our boundary a place to practice his profession unmolested by the laws of the out- side world, history is silent. At any rate, attracted either to the haunts of their youth, or by the reputation of our scenery, an ever increasing number of people have, during the century that has followed, come annually among us. It may be due to the fact that we are out of the world in one sense-that all find here new vigor of nerve and strength of mind and body for which the outside world is glad to draw upon us. That the gibe of the Winthrop official had no baleful influence on our industrial future, is shown by the fact that we developed steadily by the thrift and enterprise of our hardy agriculturists, business men and manufacturers until we occupied the proud position of being one of the busiest and most prosperous towns of our size in the county. That our business interests have suffered somewhat of a decline since the flourishing period of 1850 and 1860, is due to a few clearly explainable causes.
The day of the inland town off the line of the rail and electric road, and without large water-power awaiting development, has passed. The little saw, grist, carding, fulling, and other mills of our fathers, which made the life of our earlier small New England towns, are fast disappearing. In fact, they have mostly already disappeared. In the place of the intelligent shoemaker on his village bench, who made every part of the boot or shoe, we n w have hundreds of men and women under one roof, in larger towns, each of whom does but a single thing, such as the cutting of uppers or the driving of nails. The same thing is true of all other kinds of manufacturing. We have reached the age of machinery-and of human machinery, for each man and woman to-day is but a part in a vast mechanism doing, like the
HISTORY OF WAYNE.
wheel or lever in the machine they operate, but a single thing. The independent, complete, all-around workman of a few decades back finds himself witho it an occupation unless he accepts some crank or pulley position in a large establishment. This revolu- tion in industry is responsible for the changed conditions in Wayne and similar towns. With water-power sufficient for the former, but inadequate for the latter system, its indus rial decline has been inevitable. Instead of a population of units we, like others, are becoming a population of fractions of a larger whole, whose movements we cannot control, but whose dictation we must obey. This change in industrial conditions has wrought a correspon ling change in social and economic conditions, which is still going on.
The story of Wayne is in these respects the story of Maine, or of the smaller rural towns of Maine. The cheer and bustle of the stage-coach and marketman have gone. and. little has come to take their places in these sequestered hamlets. The farmer is supplied by the large manufacturing plants with all his needs. and in return sends them the products of his land. The occu- pation of the local village industries is gone. The little tanneries, the places where they made pottery, the shops in which were turned the large wooden bowls of our childhood's memory, no longer furnish opportunity for the exchange of daily greetings about their winter fires or 'neath their summer shade.
It is not the purpose in the present chapter nor would space permit to discuss the subject of loss and gain which i- involved in the above facts. It is a fruitful theme however with numerous debits and credits which could readily be set down to the proper sines of the account.
The gain is on the side of wider communication, better facilities of transportation, travel and information, and increased conven- iences and luxuries in rural life. Setting over against these the losses in individual independence, in family and town self- sufficiency, in markets and prices of produce, and in the ruder but perhaps on the whole not less healthful, hopeful and happy home features of a few generations ago, each one can draw the balance for himself. We would express no pessimistic view nor do we undervalne the advance in breadth of mind, tolera- tion and intelligence which has come. with other changes, to the minds of our citizens. Whether, however, in the onward march a nation has lost more than it has gained, and whether
6
HISTORY OF WAYNE.
a town has lost more than it has gained, are two distinct proposi- tions. It is probably true that in the great industrial revolution Wayne has patriotically sacrificed on the common altar to the larger good of the nation as much of private and cherished treasure as any of her sister towns,-an offering rivalling that of her sons in defence of the common flag.
If the town is no longer one of the important producing factors of the busy world, as a place for rest and recreation, a retreat in which to spend the months of our New England summer and autumn, and enjoy to the full the beauties of nature in boating, driving, fishing, hill-climbing, or other invigorating and healthful varieties of outing, Wayne is without a rival in the state. Both Wing Pond, or the Upper Pond, as it is commonly called, and Androscoggin Pond abound in white perch, bass and pickerel, furnishing ample sport with the rod in summer or through the ice in winter. Pickerel and Muddy Ponds have pickerel in plenty of a somewhat smaller size as have also the ponds on the eastern border.
If one enjoys the unbroken stillness of the forest, without the necessity of travelling far to reach it, he can pay a visit to Muddy Pond. It can be reached in a half hour's tramp from Wayne village, or if one is not disposed to walk, a team can be driven nearly to the shore of the pond. Lying as it does back from the settled part of the town, and shut in from outside life by hills, covered with a dense growth of evergreen and other trees, it conveys the same impression to the visitor that he gets by the shore of a lake in the primeval forest of Northern Maine, thirty or forty miles from the dwellings of civilization. Few sounds are heard about this little sheet of water in summer, except the hum of insects, the occasional plash of a pickerel as he rises among the lily-pads for some unwary prey, or the croak of the heron from the tall rush-grass about the shore. Now and then the quack of a duck or the flapping of its wings as it rises from the water will break in upon the ear. As one leisurely drinks in the beauties of this unmarred prospect, and feels stealing over him its serenity and peace, he half expects to see a moose or deer wade down on the opposite side to drink. The illusion is almost perfect, and one can readily imagine himself miles and miles within the' forest, "Far from the madding crowd." To some who have only looked upon it with careless eye, this will doubtless seem a enlogy on a bog-hole, but it has some
7.
HISTORY OF WAYNE.
rare and tempting bits of scenery that will well repay the carry- ing of your camera. The deer is not so visionary a part of the picture either as one might think, for the protection of the laws has increased their numbers so much in this vicinity during the past few years that they are being quite commonly seen in our open fields, from which they have before been absent since the memory of the oldest inhabitant.
From Evergreen Cemetery, in the south-eastern part of the town, a look on the Wilson Pond with lofty hills on either side, would be exceedingly gratifying to lovers of delightful scenery. From the heights in the north-eastern part of the town magnifi- cent views are obtained. As the eye turns to Mt. Blue, the towering hills of western Maine, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the scene is a grand one. By taking a nearer view of the five lakes, plainly seen, fringed with cultivated farms and forest-clad hills, the picture is indeed beautiful.
A short distance west of these heights is the pretty little village of North Wayne, nestling among the hills. It is situated on the stream connecting Lovejoy and Rounding Ponds. The stream is about one mile long and has a fall of about eighteen feet, forming the best water power in the town. Three-fourths. of a mile west of this village is an eminence which commands. a charming view of hill and forest, lake and village. From the summit of Beech Hill, in the western part of the town, an extensive landscape will be viewed with pleasure. A drive along the carriage road west of Wing's Pond, or Pocasset lake as it is sometimes called, is a pleasant one. It would take an able pen to picture the loveliness of the view from the Wing Ceme- tery. The shores of Pocasset Lake would furnish sites for summer cottages of which any one might well be proud.
Wayne Village is noted for its charming location. It lies between two beautiful sheets of water, which are connected by a stream about one-fourth of a mile long. The stream has a fall of about twelve feet. The manufacturing industries, which have been operated here for more than a hundred years, will be spoken of in subsequent chapters of this book. The shade trees along the main street form as lovely an avenue as can be seen in any village in Maine. Pine Point is a romantic, picturesque and beautiful place.
A drive from Wayne village around the lake, through Leeds and back on the opposite side, is filled with charming and
8
HISTORY OF WAYNE.
varied prospects of hill and valley, rippling waves and winding streams. Along the east shore the road passes, for some distance, near the summit of Norris' hill or Gott's Mountain, at an elevation of two or three hundred feet above the lake, which, dotted with numerous islands, extends out beneath one's feet presenting its entire surface to one sweeping glance of the eye. From this position, sitting in a carriage, six or seven different lakes can be distinctly seen.
The most pleasing view of this lake, however, to the mind of the writer, is that which is obtained from the carriage road on the west side near the residence of L. C. Leadbetter. Although the elevation is here much less than that just mentioned, and a much smaller part of the surface is visible from one position. the distribution of the islands, cape, headlands, and hills in the background, is more picturesque, and seen under favorable lights and shadows it presents a picture which in mellow and artistic outlines will live long in memory, and vies with any it has been our lot to see.
There are' seven islands in the pond and one at the outlet embraced between the two branches of Dead River. which here separates and surrounds it. Three of these islands in the pond, and the last mentioned one at the entrance or outlet of the river, are some twenty acres each in extent, rising some distance from the water and covered, over most of their area, by a growth of wood and shrubbery interspersed with some timber.
One of the large islands nearest the western shore was cleared up and used years ago, by a neighboring farmer who owned it, as a pasture for hogs. The hogs were carried on in the spring by boat and left till fall to feed on the nuts, grass and roots which grew in plenty. The story is that one year bears got on the island and killed the hogs, but be that as it may, the island is still known as "Hog Island."
There is a tradition that another of the large islands towards Leeds Centre was once an Indian burying ground, and its central location and adaptation to the purpose gave credence to the belief. Numerous excavations and overgrown mounds have within recent years borne evidence to the zeal of the antiquarian within its limits. From the southwestern shore a neck of land known as "The Cape," of varying width, extends into the lake a distance of some two or three miles. It contains several hundred acres of meadow land which is flowed in the high water of
9
HISTORY OF WAYNE.
spring, and upon which grows an abundance of grass. Here the farmers come when they have finished haying at home, in order to complete the filling of their barns. The "Cape haying." as we called it, was looked forward to with pleasure by us boys, as it always brought up anticipations of picnic dinners under the spreading branches of some shade-tree by the river's bank, and long delicious rides on the loads of hay as we drove down the cape in the cool of evening and around the roal home.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.