USA > Maine > Somerset County > Bingham > Bingham sesquicentennial history, 1812-1962 > Part 6
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- EVA D. BACHELDER
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BINGHAM-CONCORD BRIDGE - Built in 1905.
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Stores Through 150 Years
T HE FIRST STORES, like so many other "firsts" in the early days, were in the homes. Items not produced on the farms or made in the homes had to be brought over roads that were still only trails through the forest from the towns down the Kennebec, either by ox cart, or in some cases, up the river itself by boat or canoe. Ephraim Heald who had the first frame house in town was also an early trader and kept store in his house. Levi Fletcher who lived in the central part of the village also sold from his home. This building was later dis- mantled and the frame used to build two houses now located on Baker Street.
No date is available for the building of the first store, but as nearly as can be found, it was about 1825. Levi Fletcher built the store now owned by Clayton Andrews, and used as a grain and building supply store. Mr. Fletcher sold staple goods-groceries, build- ing materials, dry goods, and, as was the custom at that time, both New England and West Indian Rum. Money was in short supply, and the early merchants used the exchange and barter system. In an old account book we find that Nathan Moore made snowshoes to exchange for "Saleratus, Molasses and Tobacco." In another account, S. Parlin exchanged "Tow Cloth" for credit. In the early part of the 1850's this store was passed on to Mr. Fletcher's son-in-law, Simeon Goodrich, who continued to sell the same items, and used the same methods. Much later it was passed in turn to W. B. Good- rich, a nephew, who still owned and managed it in 1912. The present owner, Clayton Andrews, is a descendant of the firm who long owned and operated a grist- and sawmill located on Austin Stream.
Another general store, that of William Rowell, was in operation at about the same period and carried the same line of merchandise. This is the store that was located on the present site of the E. W. Moore & Son drugstore. He was succeeded by Joel Colby around 1854. Mr. Colby married the niece of William Rowell, and bought the Rowell home next door to the store.
A map of Somerset County published in 1860 shows the follow- ing stores: John Givens, Carpenter and Joiner (site of White Cash Market); Abner Dinsmore, Shoemaker (just above the Federal Trust Company); S. Putnam, Millinery and Maker of Robes (site of Esso Station); Jesse Smith, and Jesse Smith, Jr., each had Blacksmith Shops on the upper section of town. Others listed are H. S. Abbey, Car- penter and Builder, located near the north end of Main Street, on
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the east side; and P. & S. Goodrich having a "Flour Grist Mill & Sawed Lumber," this being the W. E. & E. E. Andrews mill of the present time.
With the advent of the railroad in July 1890, several new stores were built. Colby & Preble, owned by Warren Colby and Fred Preble, was located at the store now the White Cash Market, but afterwards built across the street. It later became Preble & Robinson. Allan Robinson is the son of Mr. Robinson and grandson of Mr. Preble of the original firm. This firm sold both wholesale and retail groceries and, in the time of winter-logging, operated for lumber and
A COUNTRY STORE ABOUT 1903-1905 (Interior of W. B. Goodrich's Store)
sold to others engaged in lumbering. The south side of the store was the location of Mark Savage & Company, dealers in dry goods for many years. In 1912 this firm was owned by Roy Savage and John Owens who still operated it for quite a long time. Kennebec Hall was on the second floor and was used for movies and dances, and town meetings.
Mr. Ervin W. Moore had a shop where he sold and repaired jewelry, watches and clocks. It was located across the street from the building now owned by his son and was a little farther up the
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street. He later bought the brick building then owned by his father- in-law, Joel Colby. For a time he and John J. Lander were in business together. In 1911, when the old hotel burned, this building was burned too. Mr. Moore rebuilt the building that is now on the site and sold drugs and jewelry. For a time Mr. Lander had a hardware store in the north side, and this was later run by Earl Folsom. The entire building is now used by the Moore firm and is owned by Robert Moore. The New England Telephone & Telegraph Company have occupied the rooms on the second floor for the past fifty years.
Mr. Frank Hunnewell had a market and later a restaurant. Both of these were on Murray Street, and later he had one on Main Street where the A & P store is. Another building prominent in the nineties and until 1940 was that of A. S. Burke. After Mr. Burke's death his widow carried on the store successfully until she was an old lady. They sold millinery, dress goods, dishes, and had a special line of gifts at Christmas time.
The Little Shop has had a long and interesting history. At one time it housed the post office. Two physicians used it as an office, although a long time intervened between them. The first was Dr. Albert A. Piper, and the second, Dr. George Sullivan. For a time Sarah Goodrich, who represented the Bingham Herald, used the build- ing as home-office. Before the present owner, Florence Murray, opened her shop, it was the barber shop, and later there was added a beauty shop owned by Ben Adams.
The White Cash Market, now owned by Mr. Marois, has served for a restaurant under Mrs. I. Moore; a Farmers' Union; Temple & Pray's Market; Hunnewell Bros. Market, and in 1893-1912 it was the post office. At the time it was owned by the Hunnewell Brothers there was a fire that gutted the building.
The Donigan Block, long owned by A. F. Donigan, was a furniture and a men's clothing store beginning in the early nineties. Later the post office was in the section used as Frances' Beauty Parlor, and Hill's Variety Store. The central part was S. J. Whitney's Hard- ware-later Sterling & Woodard Hardware, and now Kennebec Valley Hardware owned by Harold Smith. The store was taken over after the death of Mr. Donigan by Taylor Bros. & Hill, and still later, C. E. Keene was a member of the firm. Bushey & Sterling now own and operate the original store and sell clothing, furniture and appliances.
The barber shop owned by Philip Chasse was owned by several barbers previously. Among them were Charles Millett, Urban Beane, and Philip Jacques. At one time Chester Hammond had a print shop in this building and in the late 1930's this combined with a newspaper- The Somerset County Leader-edited and owned by "Ike" Kihlmire.
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A well-remembered store is that of "Uncle Ben" Smith. He had a store in the house now owned by Mrs. Thompson and across the street from the restaurant. He sold general items, which included drugs and candy. He later was in the block known as the Holt Block. This was just north of the Dutton Hotel which was where the Federal Trust Company is now. It burned in the fire of 1952.
About 1876, Abner Dinsmore and Mr. Abbey built the place now used for an antique shop, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Alkins. Mr. Abner Dinsmore used it for a shoe shop, his son Arthur later came into the business, and in turn Arlie Dinsmore joined his father. Mr. Arthur Dinsmore and his son were the local undertakers, but continued to make shoes too. The north part of the store was at one time a fish market and later a meat market, and had several pro- prietors. John Bergonzi established a business here selling fruit, con- fectionery and had an ice cream parlor. Fred Preble was a later owner. He added a line of groceries. Several others ran it for shorter periods. The second floor was the old Union Hall.
Progress has taken another turn, and for the most part trucks bring goods from the wholesaler to the door of the retailers. Now only the antique shop would carry merchandise familiar to the men and women who traded at the various stores a century and more ago.
Three of the present-day merchants are of the families of the original founders more than a half century ago. Preble & Robinson, groceries and general merchandise; W. E. & E. E. Andrews, hard- ware and grain; and E. W. Moore & Son, druggists.
The present-day merchants are as follows, beginning at the north- west side of Main Street:
TOZIER'S GULF SERVICE STATION - Ralph Tozier, proprietor.
THOMPSON'S RESTAURANT - Harold and Bertha Gillispie, pro- prietors; formerly Thompson & Gillispie, O. G. Thompson, E. H. Caswell store.
LIDSTONE NATION-WIDE MARKET - Everett Lidstone, owner; formerly Whitman's Market, Donald Whitman, owner; Wentworth's Market; Green Grocery Company; A. F. Donigan's (millinery and 5c and Ioc store).
STATE OF MAINE LIQUOR STORE - Pierce Block; formerly Stanley B. Hill; Vernard I. Pierce; George Demko; O'Brien Brothers.
DAVIS & MILLER - Pierce Block; formerly Earl W. Hill; Vernard I. Pierce.
KENNEBEC HARDWARE - Harold Smith, owner; formerly Sterling & Woodard Hardware; S. J. Whitney Hardware.
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HILL'S VARIETY STORE - Stanley B. Hill, owner.
FRANCES' BEAUTY PARLOR - Frances Tozier, owner; formerly U. S. Post Office.
BUSHEY & STERLING - Lawrence Bushey and Edward Sterling, owners (clothing and furniture); formerly Taylor, Hill & Keene; Tay- lor Bros. & Hill; Albert F. Donigan.
WHITE CASH MARKET - Joseph Marois, owner; formerly Ernest W. Pooler; Rudolph Guay; Hunnewell Bros. (John and Scott); Alton B. Carl; Campbell's Market; Farmer's Union (Chester Cool, manager); U. S. Post Office; Izana Moore Restaurant; Colby & Preble; Sarah Preble. Downstairs: Temple & Pray; George Miller.
W. E. & E. E. ANDREWS - Clayton Andrews, owner.
J. LAFOREST ANDREWS-Jeweler; formerly Harry Knowles Electric Shop; Eva D. Bachelder store; Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company; W. B. Goodrich & Son. Upper floor: Raymond L. Whitney; Harold I. Goss, lawyer; W. R. Jordon, lawyer.
THE LITTLE SHOP - Florence Murray, owner; formerly Dr. George E. Sullivan's office; Benjamin F. Adams barber shop; Sarah Goodrich; Bingham Herald; Dr. Albert A. Piper's office; U. S. Post Office.
PHILLIP CHASSE - Barber shop; formerly Chester Hammond, printer-newspaper Somerset Leader; Philip Jacques, barber; Urban Beane, barber; Charles Millett, barber.
FEDERAL TRUST COMPANY - Bank.
R. B. HOWES SOCONY STATION - Robie B. Howes, owner; for- merly Dr. Nevers' office; Dr. Moore's office; Dr. R. C. Brown's office; Dr. Z. Spaulding.
ROLLINS DISTRIBUTORS - Wilder and Annie Rollins.
YELLOW BOWL INN - Annie Rollins, proprietor; formerly Errold and Harriet Hilton Tea Room; homes.
REDMOND'S SUPERETTE MARKET - Ronald Redmond, owner.
BINGHAM AUTO PARTS-SAVAGE'S TEXACO SERVICE STATION Earl Savage, owner.
DR. ROBERT GOLDEN.
Stores on the east side of Main Street, beginning at the north:
KELSEY SHEAFF STORE - Kelsey Sheaff, owner; formerly Al
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Bouvier; Edward Sterling; Beecher Vincent; T. H. Reynolds, black- smith.
U. S. POST OFFICE - Formerly Anna S. Howes; Dr. R. C. Brown's office; Augusta Trust Co .; Depositors Trust Co.
SPORTSMAN'S RESTAURANT - Walter Buecht, proprietor.
ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA COMPANY - Formerly Wilfred Small; Frank Hunnewell Grocery; Jennie Hunnewell Restaurant.
E. W. MOORE & SON - Robert C. Moore, owner, druggist; formerly Earl Folsom Hardware; Lander & Folsom. Upper floor: N. E. Tel. & Tel. office; Dr. Murray, dentist; Dr. R. Poulin, dentist; Dr. Jeness, dentist; Dr. Murray, dentist; Clarence Dunton, insurance; Walter Harwood, lawyer.
WALTER R. HARWOOD, LAWYER - IRENE HARWOOD, REAL ESTATE -Formerly Dr. George E. Sullivan's office; Forest H. Colby, lumbering.
PREBLE & ROBINSON GROCERIES - General store; formerly south half of building; Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co .; Elizabeth Mulhall; Mark Savage & Company.
BEMIS RESTAURANT - Charles Bemis, proprietor; formerly Alfred and Kate Burke, dry goods and millinery.
ALKINS' ANTIQUES - Maurice and Barbara Alkins; formerly Leslie Durgin; Herbert Taylor; Fred W. Preble; John Begonzi; Atkinson's Bakery. South half of building: Dr. Deveaux' office; A. C. Dinsmore & Son; Abner Dinsmore & Son; Charles Millett, barber; E. W. Moore; Telegraph Office. Upper story: Union Hall.
BARNABY'S Esso STATION.
MICHAUD GARAGE - Formerly Savage Garage, Carroll Savage, proprietor.
COOLEY'S FILLING STATION - Clifford Cooley, proprietor.
MAPLEWOOD MOTEL - Stanton Beane, owner; States.
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Industries
U NTIL 1812, THE YEAR the town was incorporated, it is safe to say that the clearing of fields for farms and building homes, cultivat- ing the new land and reaping the harvests, hunting and fishing to augment the food supply were the full-time occupations of the settlers. Once these things were established, the people began to look into means of making their way of life less arduous.
The location of the town with its surrounding forests beside the Kennebec River, made it a natural center for lumbering and related wood products. Lumbering was seasonal work and farmers became lumberjacks between seasons. Soon it became the chief industry, and through the years many firms and individuals have been thus engaged.
These first industries were the result of basic needs of the new settlement, a gristmill and a sawmill. The first gristmill was built soon after the settlement was made by William Fletcher. This was located on the Austin near the end of Preble Street. The restless. waters of the stream later made the gravelly bank unsuitable. Before 1800, Joshua Goodrich had built a sawmill, a gristmill and two dams. on the stream that ran by the east end of his farm called Mill Brook. Mr. Goodrich seems to have been a millwright by trade.
In 1820 a mill was built on the site of the mill now owned by Clayton Andrews. There Mr. Ephraim Heald ran and up-and-down saw, a shingle machine, clapboard machine and a lath machine, and ground all kinds of grain. It came down through the hands of Allen Heald, and Ed Gray to Pickard and Seth Goodrich, Seth Goodrich and John Baker, John Baker and George Miller, Brackett and Andrews, and finally to W. E. & E. E. Andrews. (Notes made by Sidney T. Goodrich furnish this material).
Filling the needs of the growing town was a tannery located on the flat between the two hills on the upper section of what is now Murray Street.
A plant for leaching ashes was located on or near the site of the home now owned by Wilfred Small on Main Street. Farmers hauled in their ashes in the spring, selling them as a product. These were. leached in containers the size of hogsheads, and lye was boiled in great iron kettles to produce potash.
The potash business was owned by L. G. Fletcher, William Rowell and Joel Colby. The exact date cannot be ascertained. Daniel Robin- son, who had come to this country from Scotland, was hired to do-
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the leaching. He lived in Concord. He has many descendants now living in this neighborhood.
Many years later, another plant using the same methods operated in a building near the old Bingham railroad terminal. It was operated
The Old Sawmill
by Clyde and Bernard Whitney to overcome a great shortage in potash that existed during World War I, and is listed in the Register of 1919.
Although there may have been several brickyards in the vicinity; there are not many records. Probably if clay was not to be found near a property the bricks were brought in from towns below. However, we do have a map of the town in 1883 that shows a brickyard on what is now Whitney Street, marked as the property of Mark Savage. Another was at the rear of the home now owned by Carl Cates at the foot of Nichols Hill. This one was owned and operated by Charles Givens in the nineties.
Many of the houses of that period have underpinning of brick, and in a few cases these bricks were extended from the basement walls upward between the outside and inner walls of the house, probably as a form of insulation.
Few dates are available on early shops. One of the early black- smiths was Cyrus Hunter whose shop was across the road from the
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Library, which he built and owned for his home. A few pieces of his work are still owned in town. Eber Baker had a shop in the upper part of the town. Others were Jesse Smith, Jesse Smith, Jr., Winfield Stewart and, later, Thomas Reynolds had shops in the northern section of town. Orville Forsythe had a shop in the southern part of town which he closed in 1943. He uses the building now for special work for the two veneer mills.
There were two well-known harness makers: first, Arthur Burke and later, George Baker. His shop was located near the site of the Davis & Miller store on Main Street. For many years a life-size grey horse, resplendent in glittering harness, advertised his ware in the shop window. He retired from this work to become Postmaster in 1916.
Mechanization in the woods and on farms and the tremendous increase in automobiles made these industries obsolete.
STARCH FACTORY
In 1875 much interest was aroused by the start of a factory to produce starch. A Mr. Stephen Richardson, who came from New Hampshire where he had had a starch plant, interested local farmers in raising potatoes for this purpose. A factory was located on the Mayfield road just above where it now intersects the main highway. It was so erected that wagons loaded with potatoes could drive into the second story from the road to unload. A small pond adjacent to this property was the supply for water to be used in the boiler and starch machines. Mr. Richardson lived in the home across Austin Stream now owned by the heirs of William Robinson. Unfortunately, this business did not prosper and after a year was changed to a sawmill and the starch machines were sold. The sawmill was a success and was using local lumber and employing several local people, when it caught fire late in the fall of 1879 and burned. (This information came from notes of the late E. W. Moore).
Another small business of those times was carriage-making. One owned by John Givens occupied a building on the west side of Main Street near the site of the White Cash Market. He had a shop in the south end of the building there and lived in the north end. He made and repaired wagons, carriages and sleighs, and painted them. He had been a ship's carpenter. Another carriage shop was near the corner of Dinsmore Street, and the shop behind Rollins' Filling Station and used by them now, was for years the carriage shop of William Preble and later a son, Frank Preble. Carriages, sleighs and wagons were built and repaired there until after 1900.
Abner Dinsmore, a shoemaker, had a small shop in his home on the corner of Main and what is now Goodrich Streets. Later he
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had a larger shop on the lot near where the local bank now stands. His son and grandson also made shoes, particularly shoes used in river- driving. These, of course, were all handmade.
The first garage in town was built where the S. D. Warren Company has its shop in the rear of its office. It was owned by Dr. R. C. Brown and John Briggs about 1914.
The Solon-Bingham Register for 1903 states, "In 1872 the firm of C. M. and A. Baker formed a company to produce calks. This product is too well-known to need any explanation." In 1962 it may be well to explain that this product was a sort of nail imbedded in the soles and heels of shoes used by lumberjacks and river drivers to prevent slipping from logs. Mr. Amon Baker invented and im- proved on existing machinery for this mill. His invention of a trip hammer to speed up this work increased the output from 7,000 to 7,000,000 between the year 1872 and 1892. The first mill was on the Austin about a half mile above the village. The increased business necessitated a new plant and one was built farther up the Austin Stream with a mill, boarding house, stables and other buildings at an expense of $15,000. At this time, Mr. Baker took S. A. Dinsmore and Calvin Colby into the business as partners, selling them an interest. Mr. Baker later withdrew from the firm. Infringements on the patents and lessening demand brought the end of the business in 1902. How- ever, at that time Mr. Baker was working on an invention which he expected to use later.
THE LAST BLOCK MILLS
The next local business of importance was organized in 1889. The new firm was known as The Bingham Last Block Factory and was originally owned by J. J. Lander and S. A. Dinsmore, and also comprised of the Fitz Brothers Company of Durham, Maine. Later Dinsmore and Lander sold out to Fitz Brothers Company, but Mark Savage and J. J. Lander carried on the business for several years. The location was on the river about where the present Kennebec Log Driving Company have their building.
Later, a plant built by the Tucker-Lovell Company, was located at the west end of Lander Street. It was the largest plant making last blocks in Maine. Much of their production was exported to England. After many years of operation this mill was closed, and burned in the early twenties.
A peg mill manufacturing shoe pegs was built in 1898 by the Mckay Shoe Company of Boston, Massachusetts. At the time it was built the outlook seemed good, but it was in operation for only about one year.
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THE SHANK MILL
In 1906 the American Shoe Finding Company moved into the peg mill owned by the Mckay Company. This firm had previously operated in North Anson. Mr. Wallace Stoddard came here from North Anson as did several other long-time employees. This enterprise prospered from the beginning. It manufactured a large number of sizes of shanks which went to various markets, but chiefly to England and to Brockton, Massachusetts. In 1913 the mill was destroyed by a spectacular fire. It was rebuilt as soon as possible, and while the building was in the process the mill occupied the old Tucker-Lovell building. In 1929 the Wyman Dam was built for a power plant, and since the shank factory had depended on birch that had been rafted down the river, a problem of wood supply faced the owners. It was deemed less expensive to move the plant to the South, and that was done. All machinery, the manager and some of the men and women and families moved to the new site in Savannah, Georgia.
In 1916, late in the season, the New England Lumber Company, whose home office was in Boston, Massachusetts, built a small mill in Concord, Maine, having previously acquired 5,000 acres of timberland in Concord and Lexington (Maine). Mr. Maurice Alkins came here with the plant and stayed on to make the town his home after the mill closed in 1921. At the Concord mill they sawed out lumber to build a mill in Bingham in 1917. This was located on the site later and still occupied by the Allen Quimby Veneer Company. This saw- mill sawed both hard and softwood with a capacity of nine million feet a year. In addition to long logs, they sawed spool bars, chair- stock and cedar canoe ribs. In winter the logs came down the river over an iced road, but in the spring and summer logs were rafted down the river to the mill, taken from the water with a steam hoisting engine and pulled into the mill yard. A hot pond was used to clean off the logs. The sawmill carriage was shotgun feed with two doggers and one setter strapped to the carriage. When they closed down in 1921, considerable lumber had been cut and shipped out.
In 1923 Maurice Alkins purchased all hardwood lumber left on stick, the mill and machinery. He sold the machinery to other mills, land and buildings to the United Shank & Findings Company, the plant known as the Shank Factory and later used as a boat shop by the Allen Quimby Veneer Company.
Mr. Alkins took the hardwood to what is now Kennebec Inc., and, together with the late Mr. Frank Smith, built a kiln dryer there and manufactured hardwood flooring for two years. They also had a portable sawmill to saw softwood lumber in the yard. This firm was Alkins & Smith.
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In 1934 the General Manufacturing plant, at that time the only mill in the state manufacturing wooden shanks, came to move into the former shank factory and continued to manufacture shanks until 1957 when it was moved to Phillips, Maine. Mr. Lee Potter came here with this mill as its manager.
SAWMILLS
The business of sawing lumber continued through the years. As has already been noted, the mill now owned by Clayton Andrews, began operations in 1820 and was in operation under different owners until the present one. It ceased sawing in 1954.
Other sawmills operated for various lengths of time throughout the years. According to the Bingham-Solon Register of 1903, a mill located below town on the Somerset Railroad and owned by E. J. Russell, was then sawing long and short lumber as well as making shingles. In 1905 the firm of Saunders Brothers from Bridgton came here and operated for several years near the railroad terminal. This mill used a dynamo and there are indications that this was bought from the Saunders Brothers when they left and that it furnished electric power for the residents of the town and for street lights. This company was called The Bingham Electric Company and later was sold to Central Maine Power Company. Roland Baker worked for both companies. A sawmill owned by a man named Packard operated for a period overlapping Saunders Brothers sawing spool bars at about the place that Mr. Oscar Miller now has his garage on Whitney Street. Glen Footman had a mill on the end of the flat on Murray Street for several years.
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