USA > Maine > Gazetteer of the state of Maine > Part 74
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GAZETTEER OF MAINE.
The woods are chiefly of the evergreen sort ; yet there am many elms along the public ways, of an age from one to a hundred years. The soil, in general, is clayey. The principal crops are grass and sweet corn. The manufactories of the town are chiefly on Royal's River, near the village. They consist of a factory making cotton warp and seamless bags, a grain-mill, the wood pulp factory of the Forest Paper Co. ; a machine-shop and foundry ; factories for corn-canning, for earth- en-ware, stove polish, blocks and cigar boxes, wood-filling, lumber, coffins and caskets, medicine, and boots and shoes, etc. Usually there are also one or more vessels built each season.
Yarmouth constituted the eastern part of North Yarmouth until 1849, when it was set off and incorporated as an independent town. Though losing the ancient name, Yarmouth comprises the localities of the earliest settlement and history. When some settlers arrived at the place in 1640, they found a fort already built, which had for some time been occupied by George Felt, who had purchased it of John Phillips, a Welshman. In 1646, William Royall, purchased a farm on the river which has since borne his name. This stream and its vicinity was called by the Indians, Wescustego. They had a burying-place on Lane's Island, a short distance from the mouth of the river; aud dur- ing the Indian wars they sometimes held carousals at that place. John Cousins had arrived a year or more earlier than Royall, occupying the neck of land between the branches of the stream which has since been called Cousin's River, and owning the island now bearing his name. Richard Bray, James Lane, John Maine, John Holman, Messrs. Shep- ard, Gendall, Seward, Thomas Blashfield, Benj. Larrabee, Amos Stev- ens, Thomas Reading, and William Haines, were also early settlers. The first set of trustees for the corporation was appointed in 1681, They were Bartholomew Gedney, Joshua Scottow, Sylvanus Davis and Walter Gendall. The last bore the title of captain, and previous to the second Indian war had become well and favorably known to the Indians as a trader. In 1688, while the inhabitants on the eastern side of the river were building a garrison, they were attacked by the Indians, and Benedic Pulsifer, Benj. Larrabee and others attempted a defence. Capt. Gendall, at the garrison on the west side of the river, observed the contest, and set off in a float to carry ammunition to his neighbors, who had ceased firing. The Indians fired upon and wounded both Gendall and the man who was paddling the float before they could reach the shore. Gendall succeeded, however, in getting the ammuni- tion to his friends, who continued the contest until night; when the savages retired. It was not long before they appeared again, in such force that the thirty-six families which constituted the settlement were forced to fly from the place, abandoning their homes and stock to tl.o fury of the Indians.
It was not until about 1713 that settlers ventured to revisit their homes, when they found their fields and the sites of their habitations covered by a young growth of trees. Among the new proprietors at the time of re-settlement, were Gilbert and Barnabas Winslow, Jacob Mitchell, Seabury Southworth, Cornelius Soule, who were descendants of the Plymouth pilgrims. Until after the year 1756 the Indians were again very troublesome. In 1725 William and Matthew Scales and Joseph Felt were killed, and the wife and children of the latter car- ried into captivity. A grandson of Felt, Joseph Weare, became a
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noted scout, pursuing the savages with unrelenting hate at every op- portunity. In August, 1746, a party of thirty-two Indians secreted themselves near the lower falls for the purpose of surprising Weare's garrison, killing Philip Greely, who came in their way. This was the last attack of savages which occurred within the limits of the town.
From this time until the Revolution, the people of Royall's River had peace ; but in that momentous struggle the inhabitants of what is now Yarmouth were not surpassed in their devotion to the American cause. On the 20th of May, previous to the Declaration of Indepen- dence, they " voted unanimously to engage with their lives and for- tunes to support Congress in the measure."
Many distinguished people have resided in the town. One of the earliest was the Rev. Ammi R. Cutter, who was settled as pastor in 1730, but subsequently studied medicine. He led a company to the siege of Louisburg in 1745, remaining there as surgeon of the garrison after the surrender. The town has two Congregational churches, and one each belonging to the Baptist, Universalist and Roman Catholic denominations. The North Yarmouth Academy is situated in Yar- mouth village, and notwithstanding a good town high-school, it still flourishes. Yarmouth has ten public schoolhouses, and the school property belonging to the town is valued at $3,500. The valuation of estates in 1870 was $1,034,336. In 1880 it was $1,022,670. The rate of taxation in 1880 was 13 per cent. The population in 1870 was 1,872. In the census of 1880, the figures are 2,021.
York, in the county of the same name, is a sea-coast town, and the southernmost but one in the State. Within its limits was established the first English city in America. In 1641 a tract near the mouth of York River, three miles square, was incorporated by Sir Ferdinando Gorges, proprietor of the province, as the town of Agamenticus. In 1642, Gorges, desirous of a suitable capital for his Province of Maine, replaced the town corporation by a chartered city, upon which he be- stowed the name of Georgeana. Its limits were seven miles inland from the sea by three in breadth ; and the Agamenticus (York) River formed its south-western boundary. The date of the first settlement of York is not known. Edward Godfrey, once governor of the pro- vince, affirmed that he was an inhabitant in 1629 and 1630, and " the first that built there." In 1643 Gorgeana is believed to have had between 250 and 300 inhabitants. Captain William Gorges, nephew of the proprietor, had been appointed by him governor of the province, having come over with his commission in 1635. He appears to have visited England about the time of the breaking out of the war between the Puritans and King Charles I., preceding the establishment of the commonwealth and the protectorate of Cromwell. The death of the proprietor of the province, Sir Ferdinando, occurring in 1647, and nothing being heard from Governor William Gorges, the inhabitants of Kittery, Gorgeana, Wells, and probably the Isle of Shoals, met in con- vention at Gorgeana, and formed themselves into a confederacy for mutual protection and just administration of the government, and Ed- ward Godfrey was chosen governor. In 1652, when Massachusetts ex- tended her jurisdiction over the province under a new interpretation of the boundaries of her charter, the name of the city was changed to York, and that of the province to Yorkshire, to avoid the city charter
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and Gorges' right. The province was taken from the control of Mass. achusetts by the commissioners sent by Charles II., in 1664, and placed under the protection of the king; but in 1668, by the desire of a large portion of the inhabitants, it was again placed under Massachusetts. In 1674, the king ordered Massachusetts to relinquish her control in Maine, and restored the province to the heirs of Gorges. Upon this, Massachusetts, in 1677, purchased the whole province of Maine of its proprietors ; and in 1716, York was made the shire town of the county of Yorkshire, which was now extended over the Sagadahoc region.
In each of the three first Indian wars, great efforts were made by the savages to destroy the place, but without success. The most dis- astrous of their attacks was in February, 1692, when an unexpected assault was made early in the morning by two or three hundred Indians under the command of Frenchmen. In half an hour, more than 156 of the inhabitants were either killed or captured. After burning all the undefended houses on the north side of the river, the Indians retired quickly into the wilderness with about 100 prisoners, and all the booty they could carry. The effect of this affair was to make relentless Indian fighters o: many of the children who returned from captivity, who remembered the cruelties and indignities inflicted
GARRISON-HOUSE AT YORK, BUILT ABOUT 1645.
:pon their parents. Two garrison houses, M.Intire's and Junkin's, built in this period were standing in the town, at a recent date.
Many men from York joined the Louisburg expedition in 1745, among whom was Rev. Samuel Moody, who was a chaplain. The first soldiers to enter the continental army from Maine are said to have been from York. One Benjamin Simpson from this town, nineteen years of age, apprentice to a bricklayer in Boston, helped destroy the tea in the harbor. Among the military men of the town was Johnson Moulton, who reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel. The news of the battle of Lexington reached York at evening. The inhabitants
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met on the following morning and enlisted a company of about sixty men, furnished them with arms, ammunition, and knapsacks full of provisions ; and they marched 15 miles on the road to Boston and crossed the ferry into Portsmouth before the day closed. The war of 1812 was not popular on the sea-coast, but the town met all the require- ments of the government. In the war of the Rebellion, money was freely paid out, and every quota promptly filled.
When the province of Maine was purchased by Massachusetts, all unconveyed land and all rents of course reverted to Massachusetts. To settle the titles in York, Thomas Danforth, in behalf of the gov- ernor and council of the Commonwealth, in 1684, deeded to certain citizens of the town as trustees in its behalf, all land granted to it by the former proprietor, thus giving the town the right to dispose of the unconveyed lands as it saw fit. The consideration was that each fam- ily should pay two or three shillings annually to Massachusetts. Thus the town acquired its present boundaries, which are the sea on the east, Wells on the north, South Berwick on the west, and Eliot and Kittery on the south. The number of acres of land in the town is stated at 20,128. The bodies of water are Chase's and Folly ponds. Tho first, which is largest, is 3 miles long and } a mile wide, or 350 acres in area. The chief streams are York River, Chase's Stream and Josius River. On Chase's Stream at Cape Neddick is a factory pro- ducing woolen cloth and yarn. On a power lower down, having a fall of thirty-five feet, is a saw and grist-mill. There are other small powers in town which are used a portion of the time. At the Corner is an extensive brick-yard, and several other small manufactories. At each, Cape Neddick and York Village, are good harbors for the largest coasting vessels. The Knubble light-house, at Cape Neddick, has a fixed red light on a conical iron tower. The tower is painted red, the lantern black. The keeper's dwelling, a one and a half story house, painted white, stands fifty feet north of the tower. The town consti- tutes a customs district.
The principal occupations of the inhabitants are sea-faring and farming. One or more vessels are built in most seasons. There was formerly much oak and pine timber in the town; but the larger trees are now rare. The face of the country along the sea-shore is quite broken or rocky. In the north-west part of the town is Agamenticus Mountain, 680 feet in height, overlooking Chase's Pond at its verge. The United States Coast Survey erected an observatory upon its summit, from which an extended view of the country is obtained. There are two notable headlands, Bald Head Cliff and Cape Neddock. During storms, the sea beats grandly upon the massive blocks of stone that form the high precipitous shore. The beach is one of the best on the coast. Off the Nubble is a noted ducking ground. York has several hotels, of which a number are intended mainly for summer visitors. Its nearest railroad connections are Wells, South Berwick, Eliot and Kittery stations, the last being the nearest and connected by a daily stage-line.
The soil along York River is clayey and fertile, but gravelly in the interior. The proximity of the sea-shore fertilizers is quite an advant- age to the farms. The apple-tree flourishes well and bears bountifully. Large quantities of blueberries are picked. Cv ... , potatoes and hay are the principal crops.
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GAZETTEER OF MAINE.
One of the earliest of the distinguished men of York was Colonel Jeremiah Moulton, who served in the French and Indian wars, and commanded a regiment at the siege of Louisburg. He was afterward successively sheriff, councillor, judge of common pleas and of probate. David Sewell, a native of the town, and a graduate of Harvard College, was judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, and at his death, in 1818, was District Judge of the United States for Maine, having been a judge forty-one years. William P. Preble, another native, was United States Attorney for Maine, judge of the Superior Court, and minister plenipotentiary to the Hague under President Jackson.
The first Congregational church of York is said to have been or- ganized as early as 1672, by Rev. Shubael Dummer, whose ministry in the place began in 1662. A second Congregational parish was incor- porated in the north-western part of the town in 1730, which had been recently settled by Scotch emigrants. In 1732 a church was organized, and the Rev. Joseph Moody was settled as its pastor. The town has now two Congregational churches, two Methodists, one Calvinist Bap- tist, and two Christian chapels. The number of schoolhouses in town is fourteen, and the value of the school property is estimated at $5,000 The valuation of the town in 1870 was $771,776. In 1880 it was $716,798. The rate of taxationis 133 mills on the dollar. The pop- ulation at the same date was 2,654. In 1880 it was 2,463.
York County, forming the south-western portion of the State, grew into its present name and form by degrees, and during a long period. Its beginning may be considered to have been the estab- lishment of the government of the Province of Maine in 1640, by the proprietor, Sir Ferdinando Gorges. The limits of this province ex- tended from the Piscataqua River to the Kennebec. The province soon came to be considered as two districts, first spoken of as the East and West districts, or counties, of which the Kennebunk River was re- garded as the dividing line. The town of York being the shire town of the western section, that portion gradually came to be called York district, or county, the other being called Somerset, or New Somerset. The Kennebunk River also proved to be the western boundary of the temporary Province of Lygonia. In 1652, Maine came under the con- trol of Massachusetts, and the Isles of Shoals and all the territory northward of Piscataqua River to the White Mountains, and thence eastward to Penobscot Bay, were included in the re-named and ex- tended jurisdiction of Yorkshire. All this was overturned by the King's commissioners in 1664, who revived the divisions as established by Gorges, and formed the territory east of the Kennebec into the county of Cornwall. In 1677, however, Massachusetts purchased the Province of Maine of Gorges' heirs; and again Yorkshire was ex- tended eastward as far as the Kennebec. In 1716, the General Court ordered the extension of Yorkshire, so as to include all the settlements eastward ; and accordingly Penobscot Bay became again the eastern boundary. In 1735, courts were ordered to be held at York and Fal- mouth, and the county received its present name. The establishment in 1760 of the new county of Cumberland, gave York County its pres- ent boundary on that side. In 1805, Oxford County was formed, when York County first assumed its present limits.
The Saco River passes through the eastern section, then forms its
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boundary line for some fifteen miles on the north-east. The Ossipee River continues this line ten miles or more further to the New Hamp- shire line. The Salmon Falls River forms the western boundary line for about thirty miles, and the Piscataqua continues it some ten miles further to the sea. The other considerable rivers are the Little Ossipee, Mousam, Kennebunk, Great Works, Little and York. In the northern part there are numerous ponds; Little Ossipee-somewhat north of the centre of the county-being the largest, except Great East Pond, which is partly in New Hampshire. In the northern part the hills are numerous, several of which are near 1,000 feet in height. Agamenticus Mountain, 600 feet high, is the greatest elevation near the coast. The rocks of the region are chiefly granitic ; though at some points near the coast they are argillaceous. The soil of the southern and eastern parts of the county inclines to sandy loam, though clay, and clayey and gravelly loam are frequent. The latter increases to the north, where the soil becomes strong and productive, though often difficult to work on account of the stones. The Portland and Rochester railroad crosses the middle of the county from north-east to south-west, while the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth, and the Boston and Maine railroads follow a similar direction near the coast. The county contains twenty- four towns and two cities; and three United States Customs districts, Saco, Kennebunk and York, are within its limits. It has twenty-six towns and two cities. The shire town is Alfred. The valuation in 1870 was $22,442,875. In 1880 it was $22,423,960. The population in 1870 was 60,174 ; and in 1880, 62,299.
NOTE .- The following having been accidentally thrown out of its place on page 468, is therefore inserted here : -
John B. Brown was in early life associated in mercantile business with St. John Smith, both of whom acquired fortunes. Mr. Brown later became the founder of the well-known and esteemed banking house of John B. Brown & Sons. He was a man of great financial sagacity,- quick in thought and prompt in action. Having also much public spirit, he was a chief promoter of the railroads, and other lead- ing interests of the city, the builder of the Falmouth hotel, and was a large patron of the Maine General Hospital, and other charitable insti- tutions of the city.
APPENDIX,
GIVING THE MORE IMPORTANT CHANGES IN TOWNS AND PLAN- TATIONS SINCE THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS BOOK, TO THE PRESENT YEAR OF 1886.
Where the name of the town forms a part of the name of the post-office, the latter has not been given a special heading, as the town-name is a sufficient guide.
Further information in regard to the places and objects mentioned in this Appendix may be found by referring to the proper headings in the main portion of the volume.
Arnold, a post-office in Newburgh, Penobscot County.
Ash Point, a post-office in South Thomaston, Knox County.
Atlantic, a post-office in Swan's Island Plantation, Hancock County.
Bass Harbor, a harbor and a small village in Tremont, Mount Desert Island.
Brookton, in Washington County, was incorporated as a town, March 2, 1883. It was formerly Jackson Brook Plantation (which see). It has two schoolhouses, and its school property is valued at $2,000.
Burdin, a post-office in Wellington, Piscataquis County.
Burkettsville, a post-office in Appleton, Knox County.
Camp-Ground, a post-office in Northport, Waldo County.
Cary Plantation, previously known under the designation of Num- ber Eleven, Range One Plantation, Aroostook County (which see), was re-organized under its present name, Jan. 27, 1883. There have been added to its industries a starch factory and a steam saw-mill; and it has five schoolhouses, valued at $800.
Casco Plantation, - see New Canada, in Appendix.
Cedar Grove, a post-office in Dresden, Lincoln County.
Cousin's Island, an island and post-office in Casco Bay, Cum- berland County.
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Chesuncook is the name of a long lake, extending in north-west and south-east direction, and lying somewhat north of the middle of Piscataquis County. The name is also applied to Township Number Five of Range Thirteen, which embraces the northern end of the lake, where the west branch of Penobscot River enters it. The business is lumbering, with necessary farming.
Clark's Island, an island and post-office in Georgetown, Knox County.
Dyer-Brook Plantation lies twenty miles south by south-west of Houlton, on the road which passes through Smyrna Mills. It com- prises Township Number Five, Fourth Range, in Aroostook County. The township on the north bears the name of Merrill ; that on the east, Oakfield ; west, Hersey ; south, Island Falls. (See latter and Oakfield, for ponds and streams in the vicinity.) The manufactures are wooden pumps and carpentry. The population in 1870 was 129 ; in 1880, 172. In the latter year the polls numbered 42, and the estates were valued at $35,582. The township has three schoolhouses, valued at $800.
Eagle, a post-office in Charleston, Penobscot County.
East Lyndon, a post-office in Caribou, Aroostook County.
Edinburg, in Penobscot County, lies on the west bank of the Pe- nohscot River, opposite Passadumkeag, having Howland on the north, Lagrange on the west, and Argyle on the south. Two considerable streams run through the town from the north-west to the Penobscot. The town was incorporated Jan. 31, 1835. In 1850 its population was 93 : in 1860, 48, with 17 polls, and a valuation of $13,713 ; 1870, pop- ulation 55, polls 13, estates $19,436 ; 1880, population 45. polls 11, and estates $17,740. It has two schoolhouses, valued at $1,500.
Egypt, a post-office in Franklin, Hancock County.
Five Islands, a post-office in Georgetown, Sagadahoc County.
Franklin Plantation (No. 2), Oxford County, was organized in 1841. Its earlier settlers were from Livermore, Wayne, and Sumner. The first clearing was made in 1816, and the first permanent settlement in 1830. The plantation embraces portions of the territory of the Bux- ton. Bartlett, and Milton Academy grants. The town of Paris lies about 14 miles southward. Franklin Plantation has three public school- houses, the school property being valued at $800.
Frye, a post-office in Mexico, Oxford County.
Garfield Plantation, previously Number Eleven, Range Six, Aroos- took County, was organized for election purposes, April 13, 1885. It has Castle Hill Township on the north, Chapman on the east, and Ash- land on the west. Seapan Lake extends from a high hill at the centre of the township, southward nearly through Number Ten adjoining. Another large hill stands between the northern end of the pond and the
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APPENDIX.
north line of the township. A horseback extends along the eastern line of the town from near the middle southward. The population in 1870 was 51; in 1880 it was 80.
Gilbertville, a post-office in Canton, Oxford County.
Globe, a post-office in Washington, Knox County.
Golden Ridge, a post-office in Sherman, Aroostook County. Groveville, a post-office in Buxton, York County.
Haine's Landing, a post-office in Rangeley, Franklin County. Haley, a post-office in Boothbay, Lincoln County.
Halldale, a post-office in Montville, Waldo County.
Harding, a post-office and railroad station in Brunswick, Cumber- land County.
Head Tide, a post-office in Alna, Lincoln County.
Howard, a post-office in Willimantic, Piscataquis County.
Iceboro', a post-office in Richmond, Sagadahoc County. Indian Point, a post-office in Eden, Mount Desert Island.
Islesford, a post-office in Cranberry Isles, Hancock County.
Isles of Shoals, - see article on Kittery.
Jackmantown Plantation, Somerset County, has its name from its first settler. It occupies Township Number Three, Seventh Range, of Bingham's Purchase. Moose-River Plantation bounds it on the north. The population in 1870 was 65; in 1880 it was 95. The val- uation of estates in 1880 was $23,040. It has a schoolhouse and school- property to the value of $300.
Joice, a post-office in Whitefield, Lincoln County.
King's Mills, a post-office in Whitefield, Lincoln County.
Kineo, the name applied to the mountain and the land tract on the eastern shore of Moosehead Lake; also the post-office established there. See article on Moosehead Lake.
Kingsbury Plantation was formerly the town of Kingsbury, which 'see. The Act of incorporation was repealed in 1885.
Letter C Township lies at the southern extremity of the Rangeley chain of lakes, and is therefore one of the principal points by which
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APPENDIX.
they are reached. Welokennebacook, one of the prettiest of these lakes, occupies a large space of the northern part of the township. Andover Village is about fifteen miles distant southward from the south arm of the lake, and is connected with it by a new county road through a magnificent forest, with most attractive views of mountain and waterfall. At the lake are several hotels, whence there is steamboat connection with all points on the Rangeley group.
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