USA > Maine > Gazetteer of the state of Maine > Part 49
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 (link on the Part 1 page).
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 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75
393
NEW VINEYARD.
The plan of the house struck us as being very convenient. The entrance hall does not run through the building, but nearly across the front, having little depth, but considerable length. In the rear of the hall, opposite the outer door, entrance is given to a large, square reception-room, which occupies the middle of the house. On each side of this are two smaller rooms, entrance to which is gained from the hall, and also from the central room. These smaller rooms are used as kitchen, sitting-room and bed-rooms. In one of these we were shown a wooden, round- topped chest, in good preservation, which we were told is one hundred and eighty years old." * * * Pastor Wiren " has built up in a corner of one of his rooms the tall, brick, chimney-like stove of Sweden. At one end of the house stood a heavy timber swing, built on the plan of a merry-go-round, or flying horses, with a seat at each end of the projecting arm."
The Lutheran church is the only religious society here. Ten lots in this township are reserved for schools and other public purposes. The three public schoolhouses were erected at a cost of $500. The value of the school property is estimated at $900. The valuation of estates in 1880 was $22,041. The rate of taxation was 16.053 on $1,000. [See close of article on Civil History, in the first part of this work ].
New Vineyard is situated in the eastern part of Franklin County, having Strong on the west and the latter and Freeman on the north-west, Industry on the south-east, the latter and Farmington on the south, Industry and Anson in Somerset County on the east and Strong, Freeman and New Portland in Somerset County on the north. The town has a remarkable outline. There are two right-angled notches on the north-western side and three on the south-eastern. There are also nine projecting right-angles. A range of mountains crosses the town from south-west to north-east, dividing the waters of Sandy River from those of the Carrabasset River on the north. There are no less than nine peaks in the town and on its borders, of which Herrick mountain is probably the highest. The scenery in some parts is strikingly beautiful. Porter's Pond, lying on the middle border and partly in Strong, is the principal sheet of water. The streams are Porter's and Barker brooks, and Hillman, Fairbank's and McLeny mill streams. The rocks are granite boulders, : n l out-cropping and under- lying limestone. The soil is generally good, especially in the northerly and easterly sections. New Vineyard Village (formerly known as Vaughn's Mills) near the middle of the town, is the principal business centre. New Vineyard has two saw-mills, and a grist-mill carried by water-power, and a spool-mill by steam-power. The manufactures are salt-boxes, shovel-handles, dowels, brush blocks, spools, carriages, shingles, clapboards, flour and meal, boots and shoes, brooms, etc. New Vineyard is 10 miles from Farmington, on the stage-line to King- field, East New Vineyard is the other post-office.
New Vineyard township was purchased from Massachusetts by an association of persons belonging in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., together with Jonathan Knowlton of Farmington, who acted as their agent ; hence the plantation took the name, "New Vineyard," from the first. Daniel Collins and Abner Norton, having previously commenced im- provements, moved in with their families in 1791, thus becoming the first settlers. These were soon followed by Samuel Daggett, Jonathan Merry, James Manter, Ephraim Butler, John Spencer, Cornelius Norton, David Davis, John Daggett, Benjamin Benson, Joseph Smith,
394
GAZETTEER OF MAINE.
Henry Butler, Herbert Boardman, Charles Luce, Henry Norton, Wil- liam Farrand, Seth Hilman, Ezra Winslow and Calvin Burden. Set- tlements were soon after commenced north of the mountains by people mostly from Middleboro, Mass. Among these occur the names of George, Eleazer, Paul and Remiah Pratt, Elias Bryant, Simeon Hackett, Jabez Vaughn and Cephaniah Morton.
The town was incorporated in 1802. There are churches of the Congregationalists, Methodists and Free Baptists in the town. New Vineyard has ten public schoolhouses, valued with other school pro- perty, at $2,000. The estates in 1870 were valued at $228,812. In 1880 they were valued at $202,867. The population in 1870 was 755. In 1880 it was 627.
Nobleborough is situated near the centre of Lincoln County on the eastern shore of Damariscotta Lake. Waldoboro' bounds it on the east, Jefferson on the north and west, Newcastle on the west of the southern part, and Damariscotta on the south. The area is about ten thousand acres. Damariscotta Lake extends along the whole western side of the town, and a broad area of the lake, called Mus- congus Bay, penetrates to the centre. From the head of this bay a canal, excavated many years ago, extends southward for nearly 2 miles. A section of Pemaquid Pond extends from the south-east corner nearly 2 miles toward the centre of the town. On the eastern line is Duck Puddle Pond, and in the north-eastern corner is Cook's Pond.
The soil of the town is favorable to agriculture, in which pursuit the inhabitants are chiefly engaged. The centres of business are Noble- borough and Damariscotta Mills. There is a station of the Knox and Lincoln railroad in each place. The distance from Bath is about 22 miles. The manufactures consist of lumber, boots and shoes, organs, etc. There is a saw-mill at each village.
Nobleborough originally formed a part of the possession of Elbridge and Aldsworth, under the Pemaquid patent. It was settled at about the same date as Damariscotta, viz., about 1640. This territory was a favorite resort of the Indians for hunting and fishing ; and they held possession here with great tenacity, remaining in solitary families long after the white man, whose advance they vainly resisted, had com- menced their settlements in the town. After the Indian wars closed, the inhabitants were involved for many years in a harassing contro- versy about the title to their lands, which was not sett ed until 1814. The territory was claimed under the Brown right, which had its origin in a deed from Capt. John Somerset (known to us as " Somerset ") and Unnongoit, Indian sagamores. Its southerly boundary ran from Pemaquid Falls to Brown's house, on the eastern shore ; and from this line extended northerly for 25 miles, including Muscongus Island, and covering the most of Bristol, all of the towns of Nobleborough and Jefferson, and part of the town of Newcastle. Brown in August, 1660, conveyed to one Gould and his wife eight miles square, about midway of the original grant. A survey was made at a later period of the dif- ferent claims; and William Vaughan, and, later, James Noble, claimants under this right, improved all the lands lying on both sides of the Damariscotta Fresh Pond, to the head of it; also on the west side of the river half-way to Sheepscot, and on the easterly side half-way to " Pemaquid Pond." Vaughan either commenced or revived the settle-
395
NORRIDGWOCK.
ment under Colonel Dunbar about 1730 ; but the growth was slow, as it appears that at the beginning of the Revolution, there were only 30 men here capable of bearing arms. James Noble, who had married the widow of Vaughan, pursued the claim until 1765, when he and his coadjutors were dispossessed, though they did not then wholy abandon their claim. The town was incorporated in 1788, being named for a son of the proprietor, Colonel Arthur Noble, who was killed in a battle with the French at Midas, Nova Scotia in 1747. It included Damariscotta until 1847, when the latter was set off.
Rev. Adoniram Judson, father of the noted missionary of the same name, was settled over the Baptist church in Nobleborough in 1819. The Baptist denomination still preponderates in the town, having three churches, and the Methodists, one. There are twelve public school- houses in Nobleborough, these with other school property being valued at $6,500. The valuation of real estate in 1870 was $287,867. In 1880, it was $239,295. The population in 1870 was 1,150. In 1880, it was 1,142.
Norridgewock lies on the Kennebec River in the south- ern part of Somerset County. It is bounded on the North by Madison, east by Skowhegan, south by Fairfield and Smithfield and west by Mercer and Starks. The township is somewhat larger than the stand- ard size, having an area of about 26,000 acres. The form is nearly square. The Kennebec River runs through the town from the north- west angle to the centre, thence by a right-angled bend north-easterly to Skowhegan. There is a village on each bank of the river at this bend, connected by a good covered wooden bridge, 500 feet in length. The town is quite hilly, but with fine intervals, the uplands also being fertile. The soil on the river is a light sandy loam, and back from it a rocky loam. The flora is unusually interesting. The forests are in due proportion to the territory, and contains the trees common in the region, with a predominance of hard-wood. Limestone is found in abundance but mixed with slate. There is also a fine quality of granite formed near the southern line of the town. The water-powers are at Bombazee Rips, on the Kennebec 3 miles above Norridgewock Bridge, with a natural fall of 8 feet, and on Sawtelle's Mill Stream, at South Norridgewock, with a fall of 10 feet in 20 rods. There are in this village a saw and a grist-mill, a carriage and a furniture factory, granite works, etc. Norridgewock Village is 5 miles south-west of Skowhegan. It is on the line of the Somerset Railroad, which has a station at South Norridgewock. The two villages are separated only by the river.
Norridgewock was formerly the seat of a powerful tribe of Indians, and the name of the town is a corruption of the name of their village. It is said to have been the name of an early chief, and to signify " smooth water." The French had a Roman Catholic missionary here as early as 1610. Sebastian Rasle, a Jesuit missionary, became resident at the place in 1687, laboring faithfully for the Indians in the manner of his convictions until his death in 1724. He had here a dwelling and a neat chapel ; and his influence over the Indians was strong and beneficent. They became earnest worshippers in the little chapel, and their relations among themselves greatly improved, while their barbar. ities in war were lessened. The French, wishing to secure the Indians
396
GAZETTEER OF MAINE.
as their allies, did all they could to strengthen them as a force to be wielded against the English whenever the interests of France de- manded. After the first Indian war, all the forays of this tribe upon their settlements were attributed by the English to the influence of Rasle. He was the counsellor of the tribe in their conferences with the English, and the latter sometimes found themselves outwitted in their treaties. They made repeated attempts against Norridgewock and to capture the priest, but without success; and in 1723 a strong box belonging to Rasle, and containing his dictionary of the Indian language and other papers were brought away. The dictionary and documents are now preserved in Harvard College library. The papers taken dis- closed some of the plans of the French government, and were useful in the conduct of the war. A chapel of fir-wood had been erected at Norridgewock as early as 1646, being the first church ever erected on
ESELC. RICHARDSON. SE
MONUMENT OF RASLE, NORRIDGEWOCK.
the Kennebec River. It was burned in 1674 by a party of English hunters, but in 1687 was rebuilt by English workmen sent by the Massachusetts government from Boston for this purpose, according to treaty stipulations.
This village stood about 3 miles above Norridgewock bridge, on what is now called " Old Point," situated near the confluence of Sandy River, with the Kennebec. The locality is beautiful. The rude huts includ- ing that of Father Rasle were set in two parallel rows, running north and south, a road skirting the bank of the river, while between the rows of cabins was a street 200 feet in width. At the northern ex- tremity stood the church, while at the lower end was a chapel dedi- cated to the Virgin Mary, for use on secular days. Whittier in his
1
397
NORRIDGEWOCK.
poem of " Mogg Megone," graphically describes this village and the worship of the dusky inhabitants.
A more effective force than had yet been sent left Fort Richmond (in what is now the town of Richmond) on the Kennebec, on the 19th of August, 1724. It consisted of 208 men embarked in seventeen whale boats. Near the mouth of the Sebasticook River, opposite what is now the village of Waterville, they landed, leaving the boats under a guard of 40 men. They marched up the eastern bank of the river to Skow- hegan, where Captain Harman crossed at the Great Eddy with 60 men, and followed up the river on that side for the purpose of cutting off the retreat of those who might be at work in the corn fields on the Sandy River; while Captain Moulton, leaving 10 men with the lug- gage, marched with the remaining 98 men, for the doomed village, reaching it on the 24th. Such of the Indians as were at home were engaged in their cabins; but as the English entered one end of the street an old Indian discovered them, and gave the war-whoop, which brought out the warriors to the number of about 60. The conflict was sharp, short and decisive. Thirty warriors were slain and fourteen wounded, the remainder escaping across the river and in other direc- tions with the squaws and children. The church was pillaged, and one of the three Mohawks who were with the expedition, enraged by the fall of his brother during the fight, turned back and set the chapel and village on fire. Rasle engaged in the defence, firing from his cabin upon the assailants, and himself fell in the fight. Roman Catholic authorities have charged that the body of their missionary was shot through and through, and was scalped and otherwise mutilated. The church bell was recovered by the Indians from the ruins and buried in the woods. It was subsequently found by an English party, and has since been preserved in the collections of Bowdoin College. It weighed 64 pounds. From this time Norridgewock was forsaken by the tribe, who removed to Canada.
Though the superiority of this region was known, it was still too far from other settlements ; and no persistent attempts were made to occupy it until after the Revolution, though some visited the place in 1772. Benedict Arnold, in October 1775, passed over this ground with his army on the way to Quebec. No sooner was the war at an end, than the settlers began to come in ; and in June, 1788, there were a sufficient number of inhabitants to obtain incorporation as a town. The town has always been thrifty, though many suffered much loss in 1837, by land and timber speculations. On the creation of Somerset County in 1809, Norridgewock was made the shire town, continuing to be such until 1871, when the county seat was changed to Skowhegan. The first meeting-house was erected in 1794, at the public expense. The court-house was built in 1820, and in 1847 remodeled at a cost of $7,000. The present bridge across the river at this point was built in 1849, at a cost of $11,000.
John S. Tenney and John Ware were esteemed citizens of Nor- ridgewock. It was, also, long the home of Hon. John S. Abbot, a suc- cessful lawyer of the Suffolk bar, very much esteemed by his brethren, and recently deceased ; William Allen, Esq., long and favorably known in the middle and northern parts of the State, resided here most of his life; and it is now the residence of Sophie May, the popu- lar authoress of many valuable books for girls ; and of Hon. Stephen
398
GAZETTEER OF MAINE.
D. Lindsey, member of Congress for the third district. Norridgewock sent 132 men into the army of the Union during the war of the rebel- iion, of whom twenty-five were lost.
There is here the excellent school of H. F. Eaton (Eaton Family School), with a high, grammar and primary schools in the village. The number of public schoolhouses in the town is sixteen, valued at $4,000. The churches are the Congregationalist, Methodists, Advent and Bap tist. The population in 1870 was 1,756, In 1880 it was 1,491. The valuation in 1870 was $641,982. In 1880 it was $581,847. The rate of taxation in the latter year, .029 on a dollar.
North Auburn, a village and post-office in Auburn, An- droscoggin County.
North Berwick, is situated in the south-west part of York County, and is bounded on the north and east by Sanford, south by South Berwick, west and south-west by Berwick, and north-west by Lebanon. It contains 18,579 acres of land. Its principal sheet of water is Bonny Bigg Pond on the northern side, containing 1,600 acres ; and its streams are Great Works, Negutaquet and Little Rivers. The surface of the country is rather uneven. Bonny Bigg Hill is the highest elevation. The soil, though stony, is fairly productive. Farming is the principal occupation of the inhabitants. The principal village is at the south-west part, at the junction of the Portland, Saco and Ports- mouth and Boston and Maine railroads. The North Berwick Woolen Company have a fine brick mill on the Great Works River, at the village. It is 120 feet long and three stories in height, and has an engine of sufficient power to carry the mill in case of drought. Forty looms, six sets of cards, and thirteen spinning jacks are operated, which turn out daily 1,500 yards of flannel, beside blankets, and employ about 80 hands. The capital is $100,000. At the foot of Bonny Bigg Pond is a saw, grist, shingle and clapboard mill. On the Negutaqueit are the Hussey Agricultural Works, manufacturing farm implements. Other factories are a carding and yarn mill, a box and shook mill, several saw mills, stove polish factory, and many other lesser indus- tries, including an extensive brick-yard. Several good powers on the streams are unimproved.
The Baptists, Free Baptists and Friends have each a church in the town. The town has 16 schoolhouses valued at $8,090. The valuation of 1870 was 8572,927; in 1880, $637,334. The population in 1870 was 1,623 ; in 1880, 1,801. The rate of taxation is 14 mills on a dollar. The town was originally a part of Berwick, from which it was set off and incorporated in 1831; and its history is chiefly included in that of the parent town. Settlements were made in it about 1630, probably by the Morrills and Purintons. Thomas Hobbs, the ancestor of the Hobbs family in the town, in 1735 procured from Nicholas Morrill a deed of land on the west side of Doughty's falls. He had previously acquired property at the mouth of the Negutiquet, where he built a saw-mill. The Husseys and Buffums were also among the earliest settlers. Other names of early settlers are Hall, Randall, Staples, Quint, Ham- mond, Hurd, Chadbourne, Libbey, Twambly, Weymouth, Ford, Fernal, Hanscom and others.
A few notable incidents not in the general history of the Berwicks
399
NORTHFIELD.
may be mentioned. A young daughter of Peter Morrill, while gather- ing hemlock for a broom, was slain by Wawa, a chief of the Pequakets. On a promontory in Bonny Bigg Pond tradition says that a captive white woman was kept one winter by the Indians. During the winter she gave birth to a child, which from the scanty food and exposure, was feeble and sickly. The Indians compelled the mother to gather pine fagots, with which they burned the babe to ashes. In the spring she was taken to Canada and sold to the French, from whom she was ransomed and returned to her friends. Around the pond many stone hearths are found. They consist of a bed of stone about four feet in circumference, upon which the Indians built fires for cooking. On the north side of the outlet in a ravine, near the west border of the pond, was found the greatest number of these hearths,-and here probably was a village of the Indians. Near by is the field where they raised their maize. In plowing the field, many stone-chisels, gouges, pestles, sinkers, hatchets, arrow-heads, etc., have been brought to light.
Having been settled chiefly since the Revolution, Berwick had little opportunity to show her patriotism until the breaking out of the rebel- lion. Then her sons responded nobly to the calls for men, and the tax- payers cheerfully voted generous bounties. The number sent out under the various calls was 146, and the amount of bounty paid was $48,000.
The Friends appear to have been the earliest religious society in town. Soon after 1742 a society was gathered which still exists. The first meeting-house stood on the Oak-woods road, south of Bonny Bigg. The present house is about a mile south-west of the village.
Among the eminent men who were born in this town are President Paul Chadbourne, of William's College, Hon. Ichabod Goodwin, ex- governor of New Hampshire, and Darius Morrill, member of Congress.
North East Harbor, a post-office and small seaport on Mount Desert Island, Hancock County.
Northfield lies a few miles south-west of the centre of Washington county, and 10 miles north by north-west of Machias. Marshfield, Whitneyville and Centreville lie on the south of this town. Machias River runs in a south-easterly course through the south- western part of the town,-receiving in its course Old and New streams and Bog Brook, the outlet of Bog Pond,-which lies in the eastern part of the town. The size of this pond is 2 miles long by one wide. The stage-road from Machias to Calais passes northward across the eastern part of the town, just west of the pond. The principal settle- ments are along this road in the southern part of the town, and on the road south of the pond. The principal water-powers are Holmes' Falls, on Machias river, and those on Bog Brook. Others are called Dick's Falls, College Rips, and Brown's Rips : On Bog Brook near the pond is a board, lath and shingle mill.
The surface is quite uneven, being broken by ledges and hills. Harmon's Pinnacle is 500 feet in height, and Elwell's Mountain, 350 feet. The soil is variable, clay loam in some parts and gravel in others. The crops chiefly cultivated are hay, oats, wheat and potatoes. Rock maple, beech, juniper and pine are found in the still plentiful forest.
400
GAZETTEER OF MAINE.
Northfield was incorporated March 21, 1838. It was originally No. 24 in Bingham's Penobscot purchase. The town sent 22 men into the army of the Union in the war of the rebellion,-of whom 9 were lost. Three of its inhabitants are above 80 years of age. The neigh- borhood library here contains 117 volumes. There is a Methodist society in the town, and the Congregationalists have a church edifice. The number of public schoolhouses is 3,-valued, with land, at $600. The population in 1870 was 190. In 1880 it was 161. The valuation in 1870 was $52,947. In 1880 it was $33,311. The rate of taxation in the latter year was 32 per cent.
North Haven, in Knox county, is situated at the entrance of Penobscot Bay, 12 miles east of Rockland. In consists of an island about 8 miles long and from 4 to 5 wide. The town was formerly a part of Vinalhaven, from which it is separated by a strait, or thorough- fare, about 1 mile in width. It is the north Fox Island, and was incorporated by the name of Fox Island in 1846. The name was changed to the present one in 1847.
Thomas Pond, the only considerable sheet of fresh water, is 1 mile long and 1} mile wide. There is one saw mill carried by tide power. The hills are Mount Nebo and Pigeon Hill, each having a height of about 700 feet. The surface of the town is not greatly varied in elevation. The soil is gravelly. The bed rock is of a black color. Fishing and farming are the principal occupations. Waterman's Iron Spring on this island has some celebrity. There are four small villages and one post-office. E. P. Mayo of the Somerset Reporter is a native here.
The Baptists have the only church edifice on the island. The town has a library of 200 volumes. The number of public schools is 6, and the school property is valued at $2,500. The valuation of estates in 1870 was $152,594. In 1880, it was $151,652. The rate of taxation in the latter year was 2 and 1 tenth cents on the dollar. The popu- iation in 1870 was 806. In 1880 it was 755.
Northport, in Waldo County, lies on the west side of Pen- obscot Bay, and adjoins Belfast on the south. Lincolnville bounds it on the south-west, and a portion of Belmont, is in contact with it on the north-west. The town projects somewhat more than its neighbors into the bay, and its eastern part, therefore, enjoys more of the cool sea-breezes. There are 9 miles of sea-coast, and the width of the town is about 4 miles. There are many hills,-Temperance, Nudgett's, Bird's, etc. Mount Percival, with two peaks 400 and 600 feet in height respectively, affords fine views of the bay. Spruce Head, pro- jecting into the bay on the south, is a noticeable point from passing vessels. There are 3 small villages, all on the coast. Brown's Corner occupies a cove near the northern line of the town, and Saturday Cove is a pleasant little village in the more southern part. It has its name from the landing here on Saturday, it is said, of a com- pany of the early settlers of Belfast. Wesleyan Camp Ground is a picturesque collection of summer cottages in a pretty grove on a projecting portion of the shore, about half a mile south of Brown's Corner. Formerly the people who met here in their annual camp meetings lived in canvas tents, but gradually they began to build cot-
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.