USA > Maine > Penobscot County > Holden > Brewer, Orrington, Holden, Eddington : history and families > Part 16
USA > Maine > Penobscot County > Eddington > Brewer, Orrington, Holden, Eddington : history and families > Part 16
USA > Maine > Penobscot County > Orrington > Brewer, Orrington, Holden, Eddington : history and families > Part 16
USA > Maine > Penobscot County > Brewer > Brewer, Orrington, Holden, Eddington : history and families > Part 16
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An unusual boat called the "Penobscot" was built in Brewer about 1920 by one Ed Horne. The pilot house was placed at the stern. Mr. Horne wanted to build it so that one man could operate it as a tug boat. We do not know whether or not it proved successful.
Mention has been made previously in this chapter to the Augustus Babcock built at the Stetson Yard sometime between 1902 and 1905. An unusual incident gave us information re- garding the fate of this boat. The Daniel E. Geagan Post, American Legion, received a letter in April of this year from Mr. Frank Rose of St. Petersburg, Florida, in which he told of seeing a ship burning at sea, when he was on his homeward journey from Europe following World War I. He mentioned that this was a Brewer built ship. The letter was given to us and we wrote to Mr. Rose. In his reply he told the following story:
"As we were drifting lazily along over a sea as smooth as glass, the look-out called, 'Burning Ship ahead, four points off to port, Sir.' At once the order went down to the engine room, 'Full speed ahead!', followed by a curt voice, 'Give her the whole works and keep it up - Burning ship on the course ahead!'
"Plainly now, a column of very black smoke could be seen from our deck on the far horizon. This gradually grew more distinct until the hull of a three or four masted schooner could be seen, and what appeared to be the men, in the rigging or topmasts, parts of which were still standing. When we got in closer and steamed three times around her, no sign of life could be seen and as no response was given to our hail, having done all we could, we resumed our course again."
Many years later Mr. Rose was able to satisfy his curiosity regarding the identity of the boat. In response to his letters to the Philadelphia Library and the New York Public Library he received the information that the ship was the "Augustus H. Bab- cock" built in 1904 by the E. & I. K. Stetson Yard in Brewer. The fire started on January 19, 1919, and the crew fought it unsuccessfully for forty-eight hours. By the morning of the 21st, only St. Clair Wilson, who told the story of the incident, and two others were alive on the schooner. The masts had just toppled over and the survivors had given up hope, when the Chinese freighter, Hwah Yih steamed up and took them off.
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The ship, which was owned by Crowell & Thurlow of Boston, Massachusetts, measured 183 feet long and 11 feet draught. The cargo of case oil and gasoline was valued at $600,000. We are grateful to Mr. Rose for the story of the fate of one of our Brewer built ships.
Some of the factors which made shipbuilding a major industry in the area included such items as the fact that the supply of lumber from which the timbers for the ships could be obtained was available to these places along the river which were so well adapted to the business of building of ships. There was nearly always a supply of fairly inexpensive labor to be had. The work of this period was such that much of it was seasonal. People went from one occupation to another and the periods during which they were unemployed were short. Most of the workers lived in the locality near the shipyards and preferred not to leave their homes in search of employment. This assured a plentiful supply of workmen.
When the use of steel became practical for the building of ships, the years of the boom in that business drew to a close. shipbuilding was the growing scarcity of the type of wood which was suitable for ship's material. Due to the shortage the price of wood increased in value. All these conflicting items, taken together, brought the era of wooden ships to an end.
ICE HARVESTING
Reaching its peak in the late 1800's, the ice harvest was once one of the major industries of Brewer. Records state that when the business was at its height in its most prosperous years, a harvest of 300,000 tons a year from the river would be a fair estimate of the amount taken.
Ice houses lined the river from the "ferry place" to the narrows. On the Brewer side were a small one just above the old Toll bridge, one which was located at the site of Smith's Planing Mill, the E. & I. K. Stetson ice house near the ferry slip, the Getchell Brothers and Hill & Stanford houses near the site of the old Dirigo Mill, the American Ice Company and Ayer Ice Company houses near the old Eastern Ball Park, Sargent Lumber Company Ice House near the Orrington line, and the Orrington Ice Company, Arctic, and American Ice Company houses near the "Narrows" of the river. Daniel Sargent was a pioneer in the ice-harvesting business.
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The following is a complete list of the houses in Brewer as they appeared on the assessor's books over a period of years: 1880 - Brewer Ice Company, Daniel Sargent, Samuel Prentiss, E. H. and H. Rollins; James F. Woodbury, Francis G. Arey, Arey & Rollins, Mary Mckenzie, Rogers Ice Company, H. P. and D. A. Sargent; F. W. Ayer Company, Wm. Enil, W. L. Hunt - Jewell & Webber; Norumbega Ice Company, Stanford & Hill, E. & I. K. Stetson, D. Sargent & Sons, American Ice Company. Getchell Brothers Ice Company first appeared on the books in 1900. By 1919, there was only one other company listed and in 1920 the Getchell Brothers Company reigned supreme and alone. By 1930, there were no ice companies listed. This last seemed rather strange to us, as the Getchell Ice Company has continued in existence to the present; having been engaged for quite a number of years, however, in the manufacture and sale of artificial ice, rather than that harvested from the waters of the Penobscot.
The largest of the houses harvested from 25,000 to 30,000 tons of ice during the winter. In the years when the Hudson River produced a poor crop of ice, there was such a demand for that from the Penobscot that the ice companies here harvested ice from both Green and Phillips (Lucerne) Lakes in order to sup- plement their supply to the extent that they were able to meet the increased orders.
Penobscot ice found a market in many ports along the Atlantic seaboard; and it has been stated that sometimes it was shipped as far as Cuba. The many saw mills along the river furnished the necessary sawdust in which the ice had to be packed. This was another evidence of Yankee frugality. Not even the waste product was wasted. Boats loaded with various types of cargoes of supplies needed in this locality (coal is mentioned as one of them) would discharge their cargoes, take on loads of ice for the return journey and be on their way again.
Since the river was not deep enough close to the shores where the ice houses were built, the ships would draw up to the small landing places, called cribs, which were built out in the river. Several of these are still in existence, although today they are in a somewhat delapidated condition and the centers have grown up to shrubs and small trees. These were constructed of logs and filled with large rocks to make them substantial against the rising and falling of the tidal waters. The ships pulled up to the out- side of these. A chute was put down from the ice house to the
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landing and the ship was thus loaded with its cold and precious cargo.
Each ice company "staked out its claim" on the river as soon as there was a film of sufficient ice formed over the water. Some even went out in boats to proclaim their field of operations before the ice was solid enough to support them. There was a great deal of rivalry between the various companies and skir- mishes between them were not infrequent.
An item from the Bangor Daily News early in the winter of 1900, stated that the plant of E. H. and H. Rollins was prepar- ing for the harvesting of its winter crop of ice. The crews had been occupied in getting the plows and scrapers ready and were ready to begin to prepare the field for the cutting. At that time the ice was about 7 inches thick but by the time the men were ready to begin the work of cutting it was expected that the ice would be of sufficient thickness. They expected to harvest 16,000 tons which represented the total capacity of both of their houses. After this period of scraping had begun another item related the story of an accident at this field. A horse owned by John Reardon of Brewer got into the water near the ferry slip. Ap- parently this horse was recovered immediately; but another in- cident later in the day involved a large mill horse belonging to Hastings & Strickland which got into the water near the Bangor slip and it was twenty minutes before it was pulled out.
On February 26, 1900, the plants of the Orrington and the Arctic Ice Companies and that of E. & I. K. Stetson were sold to A. C. Nickerson of New York, a broker who acted for the American Ice Company. The purchase gave that company a capa- city of 132,000 tons on the river as they already owned the old American and the lower Ayer houses.
The river must have been a colorful and exciting picture during the time of the actual harvest. If a man owned one or more horses he could be sure that he would have work during the harvesting season. This work would begin the first of January and continue until about the middle of March. Many hundreds of horses and men could be seen on the river during this time. In fact, most of the available horses in this area would be engaged in this work. There was a great deal of labor involved as the ice must all be ploughed and scraped before the actual task of cutting could begin.
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Cutting and hauling the huge blocks of ice was a job for strong men. After it was cut and taken from the water the ice was hauled to the ice houses along the shore and carefully pack- ed in such a way as to assure the least loss to await the time when the port would be open in the spring and ships would be ready to take the cargoes away. So many facets were there to the work that it gave many men year round employment.
About sixty-five years ago ice harvesting and the accompany- ing work of the ice companies in Brewer were at their highest peak. Years passed and wholesale houses began the use of am- monia refrigeration plants. The demand for ice diminished. For a time there were a number of vacant ice houses in the city; but many of these were burned while standing idle and owners of those that remained were soon refused insurance on them. Some were torn down to make room for other buildings. Not a single ice house stands on the Brewer side of the river today. The one remaining symbol of the great industry is the ice making plant of Getchell Brothers which is located near the river at the foot of Union Street. The preparation of ice here, however, involves no picturesque labor on the ice covered waters of the Penobscot.
The child today who drops a coin into a slot machine and waits for a small bag of ice cubes or a small chunk of ice to drop out, has never known the real childhood pleasure of waiting for the iceman. In our childhood days the ice cart, drawn by two horses, plodded casually along the street, its bright yellow paint- ed sides calling attention to its wares. This cart stopped at the houses of those people who were fortunate enough to have a refrigerator and had an "ice card" in the window. The iceman would stop, haul a large cake of ice to the back of the cart, chop off the desired amount, swing it over his black rubber covered back and stride off for the customer's house. There were always a few children hovering at the back of the cart; ready to pick up the pieces of ice which were lost in the chopping process. What a delightful treat on a hot summer day was the trickle of ice water allowed to run slowly down one's throat as the morsel placed on the tongue dissolved. But now the waters of the river are kept open all winter, the ice harvesting days are over, the ice cart has disappeared from the streets, and another of childhood's past pleasures has become but a memory.
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FARMING AND FISHING
A timely picture of the beginnings of agriculture in the town might be seen in the description of the arrival of some of the pioneers to the eastern part of the settlement in 1786. This is taken from a letter written by George C. Wiswell, who was a grandson of one of the later settlers.
"They followed a spotted line about six or seven miles from the Penobscot River, in an unbroken wilderness and here they built their log houses and covered them with bark. The first year they felled some trees and cleared some land, but they were unable to raise any crop. Fortunately some natural mea- dows which the beavers had made, were found nearby and fur- nished pasturage for the cows that summer, and in the winter they were kept near the meadow haystack, the owners going by turns to get their milk. In 1788, quite a quantity of Indian corn and rye was raised."
Farms near the river are described as beginning there and extending a mile and a quarter back. There was plenty of work for everybody on a hundred acre farm, as we can well imagine. There was land to be cleared and ploughing, haying and harvest- ing to do. We must not imagine that all the days of the period were filled with drudgery. Social gatherings included such events as house and barn raisings, quiltings, corn huskings, and neighborhood sings. Although visiting a neighbor was a much more involved process that it is today, we would venture a guess that not many people in the settlement missed such social "doings" as were held. Travel in the winter time was by sleigh and good sleighing depended upon the fall of snow. One item stated that the rain on Saturday spoiled the sleighing on the country roads about Brewer. For long stretches the middle of the roads were bare of snow and sleighs were obliged to take to the sides of the roads and to the fields in order to get back and forth.
One of the first nurseries established in the state, and probably the very first one in eastern Maine, was at Goodale's Corner in Orrington. This was planted by Mr. Ephraim Goodale.
The problem of caring for those residents of the town who were dependent upon welfare was an early one and before many years had passed a town farm was established. The first town farm was said to have been in East Brewer, or the Holden section of the town. Later the town farm was located on North Main Street.
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The town pound was at one time located above the County Road near the land belonging to Oliver Farrington. In 1818, the town passed a vote to allow "neat cattle to run at large". At a meeting held in 1836 it was decided to build a pound near the East Brewer Meeting House.
An interesting item was recorded for February, 1819. The weather during the month had been unseasonably mild; so much so in fact that there were many places where the ground was entirely free of frost. On the tenth of the month, Mr. Stilman Kent of Orrington ploughed his ground and the next day he plant- ed a peck of peas. At that time the prediction was made that if the weather continued as warm as it had been, Mr. Kent would have green peas in March. Subsequently we find another note in the following month. "The snow was so deep in March that the mails were interrupted and delayed for weeks." We are afraid that Mr. Kent's peas never materialized.
The very early history of the town states that there were few industries but that most people were farmers. Development and resources of the town listed in 1820 include: tillage, 224 acres; artificial upland mowing, 677 acres; natural fresh meadow, 73 acres; pasture 572 acres; barns, 76; horses, 40; oxen, 115; cows & steers, 240; swine, 163; Indian corn, 856 bu .; wheat, 585 bu .; rye, 25 bu .; oats, 23 bu .; barley, 113 bus; upland hay, 637 T .; fresh hay, 71 T .; cows pastured, 231. These figures are from official reports made to the State Legislature. The people raised most of their own food. A note states that Mr. Charles Burr brought new potatoes from Brewer on the 25th of July, 1820. In 1837, hay was one of the most important crops.
As the years passed and the town grew the farms were pressed outwards to the edges of the community. Industry, business, and dwelling houses occupied the land in the more built up section of the town. Today there are small farms and truck gardeners in the outlying districts; but the area can scarcely claim great distinction in the realm of agriculture.
From the earliest times Maine was considered to be an area of excellent fishing resources. The Penobscot River literally swarm- ed with fish when the first settlers arrived. At the time of the division of the town, when Brewer was set off from Orrington, we find mention of sharing the fishing privileges. The report for March 13, 1815, reads as follows: "Voted to accept the report of
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the committee on settling and adjusting all accounts with Orring- ton except the part relative to the fishing priviliges in each town, which it is voted that the division line between the two towns divide the privileges and Orrington pay to Brewer the amount of the sales of said fishing privileges with Brewer the last year."
Town meeting records often refer to some phase of the fishing industry. In 1814, Mr. Henry Reed was given permission to erect a building on the town landing and to remove the obstructions in the Eddy and improve it as a fishing privilege at least until such time as the town should see fit to forbid him this right. We find the town setting the price of alewives at $1.00 per barrel in 1818. There was, apparently, some dispute over the right to take fish from the river for in 1818, Samuel Call Esq., George Leonard, and General John Blake were appointed a committee to petition the Legislature to authorize a legal system for taking fish in the Penobscot River. Fishing was important as a means of procuring food and also of adding to the family income.
The most important kinds of fish mentioned in the early records appear to be shad, alewives, and bass. The men of the area netted the fish at some points and found at times that the sturgeon did great deal of damage to their seines. Fish were so plentiful in the 1820's that Mr. Luther Eaton of Eddington took seven thousand shad and a hundred barrels of alewives in one haul of the seine about the middle of May in the unusual fishing of 1827. The price of shad was 50c a hundred and alewives were consider- ed hardly worth saving.
Undoubtedly the quality of the water in the river, in contrast to the mill and sewer polluted water today, was one reason for the abundance of fish. At that time the water was thought to be so pure that when men were preparing for a long sea voyage, the water casks were filled directly from the river.
Another addition to the food supply of the early pioneers to Brewer, was the game which could be found in large numbers along the banks of the river and in the forests at the back of the town. Some of the game seems not to have been quite so desir- able or welcome and in 1846 there was a $20 bounty on wolves.
One interesting fact, which we find hard to realize today, is that at the end of the 19th century the Penobscot River was the best producing of all the Atlantic salmon rivers in the United States. In 1886 the Bangor Salmon Pool was inaugurated by a
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Bangor lumber operator. As late as 1905 there were 6000 salmon taken from the river. The traditional annual custom of sending the first salmon caught in the pool each spring to the President of the United States, started in 1914. Numbered among the Presidential recipients of Penobscot River Salmon are Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower. The Bangor Salmon Club had a small club house on the Brewer side of the pool. The Penobscot County Conservation Club has within recent years built a club house near that location.
In recent years the story of salmon fishing in the river has been tragic. During the entire season there may be a dozen or more salmon caught. This specie is nearly extinct on the Penobscot. Pollution caused by industrial wastes from the paper and pulp mills and from the towns and cities whose sewers drain into it have made the river unfit for the fish. At present the problem is beginning to loom large enough in the minds of conservationists so that some attention is being given to the problem of pollution. A project for the restoration of the salmon is being considered. So perhaps the generations to come will again find the Penobscot River famous for its Atlantic salmon.
BRICK MAKING
Some of the geographical contours of Brewer can be traced directly to the days when brick making was a very important in- dustry. The working of these yards, one authority says twenty at one time, caused the cutting away of many hills. One notable example of this is the Bucksport Branch of the Maine Central Railroad. The tracks follow these cuts from Main to Jordan Streets. The Athletic Field and the Auditorium are located on the site of an abandoned brickyard. We find a Dunn's brickyard mentioned. There was also a yard on the Farrington frm.
The ingenuity of some of the members of our early families is shown in the following letter, written in April, 1859, by C. O. Farrington:
Sirs:
"Having found from experience that turning bricks by hand is a long and tedious operation, I have constructed an implement for doing the work to which I would respectfully call your atten- tion.
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It is substantially built of the best material and weights less than five pounds.
The Edger was tried by several manufacturers this last season who gave it their unqualified approval. It does the work well and quickly.
In one-half hour a person can learn to edge brick three times as fast as by hand.
Your orders are respectfully solicited."
Several of Brewer's early industries cooperated to make a fine vessel load for shipping. Lumber was stowed below deck with the brick on top of that. Then the bales of hay were loaded on top of the brick and the whole thing was covered with canvas to protect it from the weather. Ships carrying these articles as cargo, brought back coal, pig iron, and cement.
We have found one statement that at one time seventeen brickyards used 3000 cords of wood a year. The brick making season was generally from May to September. One Mr. Holyoke, who owned a brick yard, stated that if he began at the earliest point he could make the first burn ready by July. Of the number burned at one time, which as 250,000 to 900,000, only about 1% were found to be unsalable. Usually seven men were employed steadily with extra help called in when it was needed. The men worked from 5 A. M. to 7 P. M. with the necessary amount of time allowed for three meals. Many Irish laborers were employed in the brick yards. It took about nine days for a burn to be com- pleted. We remember the active days of the Brooks Brick Com- pany when a red glow in the sky would strike terror to the heart, to be relieved almost immediately when we realized that it was only the "burning of a kiln."
Water for making brick was taken from a small brook near the Holyoke Brick Yard. This yard used about 2000 gallons of water a day. The brook has become a part of the city's sewer system and cannot be seen today.
An item for February 12, 1900, states that on Saturday the largest load of wood ever hauled into Brewer was brought from Holden Center for William Burke's Brick Yard. It was hauled by a pair of horses owned by George Hinman of South Brewer, and measured three and one-half cords.
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The Brewer Brick Cart originated here. It was a four-wheeled cart with straight axles. The hind wheels were larger than the fore. The entire weight balanced on the hind wheels. The cart could be turned. The front was hooked down but when released would let the cart body tip up in front, thus allowing the brick to run out.
It has been said that for a time the Government of the United States used the Brewer Brick for a standard. At that time all government orders were written, "To be constructed of Brewer Brick or the equal." These bricks were made from fine gray clay and they seemed to have an indefinite lifetime.
A shipload of bricks was from 35 to 55 thousand. The rate on shipping brick to North Carolina was cheaper than it was to Bos- ton. The reason for this was that bricks were in demand for ballast on ships that carried hay to North Carolina. However, a great many of the bricks were shipped to Boston where they were sold at auc- tion on the market by commission merchants.
Brick-making in Maine is said to have begun at almost the same time that settlement began. Apparently there were brick made for shipment before the middle of the 18th century by some parts of the District of Maine. One reason for the large ship- ments to Boston was that the clay in that section was low grade and so far below the surface that it could not be used profitably at that time. In Maine the brick export business was at its peak in the early fifties. The Civil War checked the business for a number of years. But following this until the eighties proved a prosperous time. In 1867 about a dozen concerns were making brick, the Brewer Steam Brick Company extensively. There was a great demand for Brewer brick all over New England.
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