Gazetteer of the state of Maine, Part 51

Author: Varney, George J
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Boston Russell
Number of Pages: 648

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Adjuncts of Old Orchard Beach are Bay View or Ferry Beach, at the mouth of the Saco River, the Pool in Biddeford on the opposite shore,* Pine Point, and Prout's Neck. All these places are supplied with hotels #-some of superior quality.

Oldtown, in Penobscot County, lies on the west side of Penobscot River, 12 miles north of Bangor. The towns which bound it are Alton and Argyle on the north, Hudson and Glenburn on the west, Orono on the south and Milford on the east. The last is sepa- rated from it by the river. The surface of the town is generally quite even ; but a hill of the kind known as a " horse back," runs the entire length north and south. Besides the Penobscot, the water-courses are Pushaw and Birch streams. The first is the outlet of Pushaw Lake, which lies on a portion of the west line of the town. Another stream is the so-called Stillwater River, which is fed by Birch and Pushaw streams, and discharges into the Penobscot by three mouths, two of which are in Oldtown, and one in Orono. Between these and the Penobscot are several islands, of which the largest extends from the middle of the town into Orono on the south. Upon the eastern side of this is situated Oldtown village, and on the west the little hamlet of "Pushaw," and at the southern verge of the town Upper Stillwater village and post-office. The other principal islands are Orson and Orono islands, and Oldtown Island. The latter is the property and the principal residence of the remnant of the Penobscot tribe of Indians.

See article on Biddeford. t See article on Scarborough.

# See article on Saco.

(BRIDGE NOW REMOVED.)

OLDTOWN FALLS, OLDTOWN, ME.

411

OLDTOWN.

In reply to a letter of inquiry, Chas. A. Bailey Esq., State Agent for the Penobscot Indians, has courteously furnished the following state- ment respecting them.

"The Penobscot Tribe of Indians is located on the islands in the Penobscot River between Oldtown and Lincoln, a distance of 35 miles. There are 146 islands in this river between Oldtown and Mattawamkeag, containing in all 4482 acres, which are reserved for their tribe. Their present number is about 245. They live in frame houses and some have very comfortable and tasty houses.

They maintain a tribal form of government, electing annually a governor and a lieutenant-governor, also a delegate to the State Legislature which they are allowed. Politically, they are divided into two parties ; the " Old" or conserva- tive, and the " New " or progressive. Schools are maintained among them ; and on Oldtown Island they have a convenient house of worship. In religious faith, they are adherents of the Roman Catholic church, having a priest to care for their religious interests. A community of Sisters of Mercy is established among them, and these have a salutary influence upon their moral and domestic condition. The schools are also taught by them.

Agriculture receives some attention under the stimulus of State appropriations. The men are employed as rivermen by those engaged in lumbering, also as guides to tourists in the Maine woods, and as boatmen on the lake and streams of North- ern Maine. The women find constant employment at basket-making ; their wares being unique and ornamental in design and workmanship. They frequent the summer resorts along the coast of New England during the " open season" for the purpose of vending their handiwork, and find it quite profitable.

The State annually distributes to the tribe about $10,000 under treaty stipula- tions, and in specific appropriations for the advancement of their moral, intellect- ual and industrial interests."

For further details respecting these see the article on Indians in the first part of this volume.

The European and North American Railway connects Oldtown with Bangor. The Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad forms a junction with the former at the village. The village also occupies the larger part of an island in the Penobscot. An excellent bridge across the river at this point connects with Bradley. The Penobscot River here affords what has been called the finest water-power in the United States. In the broad upper outlet of the Stillwater River is the Main Boom of the " Penobscot Boom Association," for the storage of logs. The number of logs held in this boom are usually numbered by millions. It is currently stated that it originally cost about $100,000. The object is to stop all the lumber coming down the river, letting it out in small quantities that can be controlled, lest great bodies of it should escape to sea in freshets, and be lost. During the rafting season there are often three hundred men employed upon the logs which come into this boom, assorting them according to ownership, and forming them into rafts, to be floated to the various mills upon the river below. In 1855 there were rafted here 181,000,000 feet. At one time it was estimated that there were six hundred acres of logs in the boom.

The lower power in this town is the Great Works Falls, of which the natural fall is formed by two ridges of ledge extending across the river about 80 rods apart with a fall of about 32 feet each. The river at this point is about 700 feet in width. The Oldtown Falls are at Oldtown village, and consist of a wing dam at the upper part of the village, and a dam on the west stream of the Penobscot which sepa- rates the island part from the main village. Other powers are at Upper Stillwater, Cooper's Falls, three miles above the last, Pushaw Falls, on the Pushaw Stream in the north-western part of the town

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GAZETTEER OF MAINE.

near Alton. On these different powers are four large mills for long lumber, threc for shingles and short lumber, and a grist-mill. The size of these mills will be apprehended better by an enumeration of saws. In 1870 two blocks of mills here formerly owned by Samuel Veazie, contained 14 single saws, 5 gang, 3 shingle, 2 clapboard and 4 lath mills. These usually run about seven months in the year, manu- facturing in that time, 25,000,000 feet of long lumber, 4,500,000 shin- gles, 1,000,000 clapboards, 13,500,000 laths, pickets, etc. There are also three steam saw-mills. The smaller manufactures consist of two barrel factories, a batteaux, a brush-wood, a sample case, a saw-filing machine, and an oar factory, together with the handicraft work usually found in our villages.

Oldtown village has some handsome residences, and several streets laid out in good style, and beautified with shade and ornamental trees. There is an excellent town hall, with a seating capacity for 1,500 per- sons. Other villages in the town merit the same description according to their extent. The roads and bridges are generally in excellent con- dition. The post-offices are Upper Stillwater, West Great Works and Pea Cove. As might be supposed, the principal occupations relate to lumber. The inhabitants are now a homogeneous people, but their parentage embraces a great number of nationalities. Hons. Samuel Coney and Geo. P. Sewall, are probably the most distinguished citizens. The central portion of the town has an excellent system of graded schools, from primary to high. The number of public schoolhouses in the town at the present time is nine, valued at $10,000. The churches here are Baptist, Congregational, Methodist, Episcopal, Universalist and Catholic.

This town was formerly a part of Orono, but was set off and incor- porated March 16th, 1840. The population in 1870 was 4,529. In 1880 it was 3,070. The valuation in 1870 was $684,308. In 1880 it was $528,109. The rate of taxation in the latter year was .031, sub- ject to 10 per cent discount.

Oldtown Indians,-see article on Indians in first part of this volume, and that on Oldtown.

Orff's Corner, a post-office in Waldoboro, Lincoln County.

Orient lies on the south-eastern border of Aroostook County at the head of Schoodic or Grand Lake. Amity bounds it on the north, Haynesville on the west, Weston and Grand Lake on the south. Mon- ument Stream and North Lake separate it from the soil of New Bruns- wick. In the western part is Scaggrock Stream, a tributary of the Mattawamkeag. The surface is rocky and uneven, but the soil is strong and productive. Wheat, oats, buckwheat, potatoes and hay are the crops chiefly cultivated, and much attention is given to raising farm stock. The forests are of hemlock, spruce, maple and beech. Peter's Hill, the highest elevation, is a long plateau extending south- ward from the middle of the northern line. This town is 25 miles south of Hamilton on the stage-line to Danforth Station on the Euro- pean and North American railway.

Orient was incorporated April 9, 1856. The town sent eleven men

413

ORLAND.

into the army of the Union during the war of the rebellion, and lost five. There are many old people in the town, indicating a salubrious climate that offsets the hardships of a border settlement. The Baptists are the most active religious society here. There are three public schoolhouses, and the school property is valued at $500. The popu- lation in 1870 was 219. In 1880 it was 166. The valuation of estates in 1870 was $35,000. In 1880 it was $42,554.

Orland is situated upon the Penobscot, being the most north- erly town in Hancock County upon that river, except one. It is at the head of Eastern River, 15 miles west of Ellsworth. At the north- western part of the town are Toddy and Great Ponds, whose outlet furnishes the principal water-power of that town. "The surface con- formation of Orland is peculiar. The hills are conical and precipitous, while the valleys approach the gorge form. Standing upon a pictu- resque knoll of ' modified drift,' on the farm of Frank Buck, one has a grand view of the erratic results of one of nature's tantrums. Before him are the evidences that in time past, the pent up waters that sub- merged the vast plane above the factory, burst their bounds, and with fearful force, cut a new outlet to the sea, formed Eastern River, and made an island of Verona." "In the eastern part of the town are masses of potash-feldspar granite rocks, which are crumbling into rock- meal ; in the ' meal' gold is found. These boulders are of a porphy- ritic variety, with black mica. On the north-east side of Great Moun- tain is a cave which has been explored for sixty feet. It has several 100ms with walls and ceiling of basaltic finish." [Samuel Wasson, in "Survey of Hancock County."] These mountains are supposed to belong to the Mountain Limestone period, that age of the growing continent when the cimoid " beads of St. Cuthbert " were formed. The highest of these elevations are Great Pond Mountain and Mason's Mountain, 575 and 350 feet in height, respectively. The ponds are Alamoosic, Toddy, Heart and Craig's, the first being three and one- half by two and one-half miles, and the second nine by one and one- half miles, in extent. The soil is a clay loam; and the crops most cul- tivated are hay, grain and potatoes. There is, in general, a tidiness about the farms that would indicate thrift; and many are supplied with mowing and other labor-saving machines. At Orland village are a lumber and grist-mill, a brick-yard, and a ship-yard. At East Or- land there is a flour-mill and a saw-mill. There are also saw-mills in other parts of the town. The woollen factory in Orland, when in full operation, turned out in one season 30,000 yards of repellants, at a cost of six cents a yard less than any similar establishment in the State. Orland is on the Bangor and Castine, and the Bluehill and Sedgewick stage-lines. The nearest railroad station is at Bucksport, three miles distant.

The township is said to have been the Number 2 of the grant to David Marsh. Other authorities say, that it was granted to W. Dall, Nathaniel Snellings, Robert Treat, and others of Boston; but it ap- pears quite likely that this was only a grant of a portion at a later date, there having been a large accession of settlers between 1767 and 1780.

In 1775 the men of this and No. 1 formed themselves into a mili- tary company, and also chose a Committee of Safety. For a consider-

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GAZETTEER OF MAINE.

able period the town was called Alamasook, and then "Eastern River." It was incorporated in 1800. Its name is supposed to have been de- rived from "Oarland," an oar having been found upon its shores by Joseph Gross, the first settler, who came in 1764. Ebenezer Gross came in 1765, and Joseph Viles in 1766. The latter built the first framed house,-which was used for the plantation meetings until 1804, when the first schoolhouse was built. Zachariah Gross, the first child, was born in 1766. The first road was laid out in 1771, by John Han- cock and Samuel Craig. The first saw and grist-mills were built at the lower falls by Calvin Turner, in 1773. Large accessions of inhab- itants were made between 1767 and 1780, from Boston. The popula- tion in 1790 was 290. The first county road through the plantation was laid out in 1793. There are fifteen persons residing in the town who are above eighty years of age. Orland furnished 195 men for the Union cause during the war of the Rebellion, paying bounty to the amount of $14,855.

The Methodists, Congregationalists and Universalists each have a church in town. Orland has fifteen public schoolhouses, and the school property is valued at $6,500. The valuation of estates in 1870 was 8374,390. In 1880 it was $358,325. The population in 1870 was 1,701. In 1880 it was 1,689.

Orneville is the south-easterly town of Piscataquis County, and contains 23,040 acres. The township was purchased from the State by General J. P. Boyd, soon after his return from India, and was known as Boyd's Plantation. Abner and Allen Hoxie, James Philpot, William M. and Eben Ewer, William and Solon Hamlin, were the first settlers. In 1832 the township was incorporated as the town of Mil- ton. The town affairs were badly managed, and the corporation and many of the inhabitants thereby became impoverished. After the death of the proprietor, General Boyd, Hon. Henry Orne, of Boston, one of the heirs, lent his aid to place matters on a better basis. He built a saw-mill and grist-mill at the outlet of Boyd's Lake, and a noble residence for himself near by. Elder Spencer Howe, who opened a store near the mills, also contributed to the prosperity of the town. Another minister, Elder Gershom Lord, pursued a successful business career in town.

In 1841, the name of the town was changed to Almond, and the next year to Orneville, in honor of its leading citizen. The manufac- tories are chiefly on the outlet of Boyd's Lake. They consist of two lumber-mills, a shingle-mill, and two grist-mills. The Bangor and Piscataquis Railway passes near. Granite is the prevailing rock. The chief crops are hay and potatoes.

Orneville is without any effective religious organization. All its public reserves go toward the support of the schools. It has six pub- fic schoolhouses, valued at $1,000. The valuation of estates in 1870 was $80,062. In 1880, $73,730. The rate of taxation in 1880 was 047 on the dollar. The population in 1870 was 575. In 1880 it was 501.

Orono, in Penobscot County, lies on the west side of the Pen- obscot River, and adjoins Bangor on the western part of each. On the north it is bounded by Oldtown, south by Veazie and Bangor, west by Glenburn and east by Bradley. The river separates it from

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BUGWILL.YCHARCOUNCIL .BIS UN

STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, ORONO. ME.

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GAZETTEER OF MAINE.

the last. The European and North American Railway passes through the town, connecting above with the Piscataquis branch. The powers are on the Penobscot and a tributary on the western "chute " of it, called Stillwater River. This stream receives the two streams of Birch and Pushaw Streams, the last being the outlet of Pushaw Lake on the north-western border. The area of this and connected lakes is about 12 square miles. The surface is generally quite even. The land along the Penobscot is very productive, but the quality deteriorates as it recedes from the river. A large proportion of the people are en- gaged in agriculture. The village is at the mouth of the Stillwater River. There are two considerable falls on this river in the town, and successive falls amounting to 31 feet on the western channel of the Penobscot between Ayer's Island and the village, known as " Ayer's

RESIDENCES OF COL. EBENEZER WEBSTER, MRS MARTHA (WEBSTER) TREAT, AND PAUL D. WEBSTER, ESQ.

Falls." The mills upon the privilege are known as the " Basin Mills." On this power are mills containing eight single saws, four gangs, two lath, two clapboard, one shingle, two rotary saws and a machine-shop. On the powers on Stillwater River were (according to Well's Water- Power of Maine), twenty-two single saws, ten gangs, and five rotary saws; and twelve lath, three shingle and four clapboard mills, and two planing-machines, one machine-shop and one grist-mill. There are also a grist-mill and a match-factory. There is still a vast amount of unused water-power in the town. The Orono National Bank has a capital of 850,000. The Orono Savings Bank, at the opening of the last fiscal year held in deposits and profits $33,455.16. The village

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417

ORRINGTON.

has something of the clutter usual to lumber towns, yet the houses are generally neat and attractive, and even elegant in some cases ; while the streets are beautified by large numbers of elms and maples.

Orono was settled in 1774 by Jeremiah Colburn and Joshua Ayers, the State of Massachusetts being then owner of the township. John Marsh soon after settled on an island near the site of the present vil- lage, from whom it bore the name of Marsh Island. The first white woman in the place was Miss Betsey Colburn, who came in 1774. The McPheters, Whites and Spencers were also early settlers. About 1808 came John Bennoch, a native of Scotland, and Andrew Webster, father of the late Col. E. Webster. These were the most active, enter- prising lumber-men on the river, and had a large share in founding the present prosperity of the town. The plantation name was Stillwater. The present name is that of a distinguished chief of the Tarratine or Penobscot Indians, who dwelt here at the period of the Revolution, rendering much service to the patriots. It was incorporated March 12, 1806, and then included the territory which now constitutes Old- town. The latter was set off in 1840. The soil of this town consists of clay and sandy loams, and is very productive.

Hon. Israel Washburn, formerly a member of the national congress and governor of Maine, was subsequently a citizen of Orono. The Congregationalists, Methodists, Universalists and Catholics each have a church in the town. The number of public schoolhouses is eleven, and the value of the school property is $12,100. The village schools are graded, and include a good high school. The State College of Agricul- ture and Mechanic Arts is located about one mile from the village on the east bank of the Stillwater River in a beautiful and commanding situa- tion. The design of this institution is to give the young men of the State the advantages of a liberal education, by affording the student opportunity of applying practically the principles he learns in the class- room, and by his labor in this application to defray a portion of his ex- penses. The educational qualifications required for admission are such as might be obtained in any district school. The college has five courses, viz. :- in Agriculture, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineer- ing, Chemistry, and in Science and Literature. Full courses in any of these entities a graduate to the Bachelor's Degree in that department. Three years after graduation, on presentation of the usual testimonials of proficiency, a full Degree is conferred. The number of students in 1880 was upwards of 100. It is a valuable institution to the people of Maine and deserves well at their hands .* The valuation of Orono in 1870 was $523,888. In 1880 it was $512,624. The rate of taxation is 22 mills on a dollar. The population in 1870 was 2,888. In 1880 it was 2,245.

Orrington is the most southern town in Penobscot County. It is situated upon the eastern bank of the Penobscot, about six miles below Bangor, on the Bucksport and Bangor railroad. Orrington is bounded on the north by Brewer, east by Holden, and east and south by Bucksport, in Hancock County. The surface is rather hilly and rocky in many parts, but has a fair quality of soil which yields well under thorough cultivation. There are many good farms in this town,

[* See also article on Education, in the first part of this volume].

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GAZETTEER OF MAINE.

and many very attractive residences. A drive along some of its roads is delightful. Orrington Great Pond, formerly Brewer Pond, lies on the eastern line of the town, and with a smaller connected pond on the north, gives a water surface of about 10 square miles. It discharges through Segeunkedunk Stream into the Penobscot in Brewer, just over the north iine of Orrington. This stream furnishes at East Orrington power for a saw-mill, and a short distance below for a shingle-mill and tannery ; then by successive falls, for two grist-mills and another saw- mill. In the southern part of the town lies Sweet's Pond, smallest of the three, sending its overflow into the Penobscot at the village of South Orrington. At this place are two lumber-mills and a grist-mill. Other manufactures in the town are drain-tile, earthen-ware, churns, boots and shoes, etc.

The first settlement in Orrington was made by Capt. John Brewer, from Worcester, Mass., in June, 1770, at the mouth of the Segeunke- dunk Stream, where he built a mill. He had obtained consent of the General Court to settle here upon condition that he should receive a grant of the territory from the crown within three years; and with his associates, he caused the exterior lines of a tract large enough for a township to be surveyed. They had sent to the king a petition, and a grant was promised ; but just then news of the battle of Lexing- ton was received, and the patent was not issued. During the war, Brewer and other settlers were annoyed by the British from the river below to such an extent that they left the place, returning when the war closed. In 1784, the township was surveyed by R. Dodge, and on March 25th, 1786, Captain Brewer, with Simeon Fowler (who had settled three miles below in what is now Orrington) purchased from Massachusetts for £3,000 in joint notes, the lots abutting on the river, to the extent of 10,864 acres. The residue of the township was granted to Moses Knapp and his associates. Many of the first settlers were mariners, who had been forced by the approach of war to seek other business ; but navigation reviving on the return of peace, many of these returned to their old pursuits, taking with them their grown- up sons. Previous to its incorporation as a town on March 21, 1788, the settlement had borne the name of New Worcester, or Plantation No. 9. The town was named for Orangetown, Md., but, by a mis- spelling in the act of incorporation, the name became Orrington. The first representative to the legislature was Oliver Leonard, in 1798. The centres of business are Orrington, on the river near the middle of the town; East and South Orrington, the last being the largest. At Goodale Corners, in the south-eastern part of the town, is an excellent nursery ; and the town abounds in fine orchards. There were first erected in Orrington two meeting-houses seven miles apart, and equally distant from each end of the town. There is now a Methodist church at Orrington village, at South Orrington and at the Centre, and a Congregational church at East Orrington. The town has some ex- cellent schoolhouses, the entire number being thirteen. They are valued at 84,975. The population in 1870 was 1768. In 1880 it was 1,529. The valuation of estates in 1870 was $400,839. In 1880 it was $405,898.

Orr's Island,-a post-office on an island of the same name in Harpswell, Cumberland County.

419

OTISFIELD.

Ossipee Mills,-a post-office in York County.

Otis is situated on the western side of Hancock County, being bounded on the north by Penobscot County, and on the South by Ells- worth. It is on the stage line from Bangor to Mariaville, which adjoins it on the east. The principal sheets of water are Beech Hill, Flood, Springy and Mountain ponds, emptying into Union River, or some of its branches. Of these, Flood's Pond covers one square mile; Beech Hill Pond, 1.85 square miles ; and Mountain Pond, 1.25 square miles. At Remick's Falls, at the foot of Flood's Pond, and also at the south part of the town, are saw-mills. The prevailing rock is mica-schist interstratified by an impure limestone. On the side next Mariaville the rock is a hard talcose slate and a kind of sandstone in alternate layers, placed perpendicularly. There is a cave in Oak Hill on the west side of Beech Hill Pond, which is 12 feet under ground, with rooms 7 feet by 10 feet. Ice and snow have been found in it on the 4th of July, by which it has gotten its name of the " Cold Cellar." The soil, as a whole, is productive when cultivated ; but much attention is given to lumbering.

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Gazetteer of the state of Maine, Part 51

Author: Varney, George J Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Boston Russell Number of Pages: 648

Author: Varney, George J
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Boston Russell
Number of Pages: 648