USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Hallowell > Historic Hallowell > Part 8
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Miss Gilpatrick's love for Hallowell and its people was manifested in many ways, and she remained actively interested in civic affairs and educational mat- ters right up until the time of her death in January of 1962.
The above article about "Old Loudon Hill" was written at her home in Hallowell when Miss Gilpatrick was ninety-one years of age.
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FREEMAN'S OATH (From Hallowell Town Records --- Vol. I.)
I, A. B., do truly and Sincerely acknowledge Profess, testify and Declare that the commonwealth of massachusetts is and of right ought to be, a free, sovereign and independent state, and I do swear, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the said commonwealth and that I will defend the same against traiterous conspiraries and all hostile attempts whatsoever and that I do renounce and abjure all allegiance subjecture and obedience to the King of Great Britain and every other foreign power whatsoever, and that no foreign Prince, Person, Prelate, State or Potentate, hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, Superiority, pre-eminence, authority, dispensing or other power, in any matter, civil Ecclesiastical or spiritual within this Commonwealth, except the authority and Power which is or may be vested by their constituents in Congress of the United States: and I do further Testify and declare that no man or Body of men hath or can have any right to absolve or discharge me from the obligations of this Oath, Declaration or affirmation and that I do make this acknowledgement, profession, testimony, declaration, denial, renunciation and abjuration heartily and truly according to the common meaning and acceptation of the foregoing words without any equivocation or mental evasion or secret reservation what soever. So help me God.
Brown Emerson, Selectmen and
Eph'm Ballard, Assessors of
James Carr,
Hallowell.
William Howard,
Isaac Savage, 2d,
Constables of Hallowell.
Lincoln ss april 6, 1787 then Brown Emerson appeared & Tuck & Subscribe the within oath agreebly to Law
Before me Joseph North Jus. Peas.
Lincoln ss april 20th 1787 then the with in Named Ephraim Ballard & James Carr appeared & Tuck & subscribed the with in oath agreeable to Law
Before me Joseph North Jus Peas
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ACTIVITIES ALONG THE BOMBAHOOK (Vaughan Stream)
IN the early settlement of Hallowell, the area around the Point and Bombahook or Vaughan Stream was the scene of considerable activity. It is quite probable that the third or fourth dwelling erected in the section which is now Hallowell was that of Briggs Hallowell. He was the son of Benjamin Hallowell and came to look after the interests of his father. Contrary to the beliefs of some historians, this writer feels that there is some proof that Briggs had his dwelling on the Point. There is evidence that he was living in the area as early as 1768.
On the same Point soon after this, the beginning of a considerable period of commercial activity started. In 1793 the Vaughans completed their flour mill, and in 1796 John Shepherd started a brewery. Messrs. Howell and Whittemore also had a fine rope walk. The Vaughan flour and grist mill was located on the west side of Water Street just south of the brook, which later was where the whiting mill was located. This building burned about 1819 but was immediately re- built, and in 1890 when the street car line was built, the corner of the building had to be removed to make way for the cars.
On the Point itself, one of the earliest industries was a linseed oil factory. Later, on the same site was erected a tannery. Then in about 1860, George Fuller and Sons started their factory, which also included a machine shop and a wood shop for carpentry and pattern-making. They had been burned out of their previous location which had been on the east side of Second Street at the corner of Winthrop, where it was known as Prescott and Fuller. This was a large and prosperous business for many years, where they made all types of iron and brass castings, pipes, fittings, etc. They also made the print blocks for oilcloth and wall- paper, and they were very busy servicing the other in- dustries in the neighborhood. A picture of the oper- ation is shown on this page.
Also on the Point and across the street on Water Street between the lower section of Vaughan Hill and the brook was located the Eagle Iron Works, owned and operated by George and Frank McClench. This included an iron factory, machine shop, wood shop and blacksmith shop. The McClenches also had a resi- dence upon the Point.
GEO FULLER
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精米管版
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Sandpaper Mill Crossing
In 1879 on the end of the Point, the Knickerbocker Ice Company had several icehouses. Ice was cut from the river from an area approximately a mile up and down stream off the Point. It is said that the cost of cutting and storing this ice in the houses was approxi- mately 35c a ton. It was loaded on schooners and shipped to large cities like Boston and New York, and occasionally to Cuba and the West Indies.
The Elias Milliken's Sons sawmill was located in a cove to the south and adjoining George Fuller and Sons' property. It was in operation for many years, making anything of any dimension, from 2 x 4's to shingles. Certainly the logs for this operation were readily avail- able and the finished material was shipped out by schooners and by rail. There was a planing mill, also a big stable and a sawdust burner on the property. This operation had an interesting beginning in that the sawmill was originally on a raft and it moved up and down the river as its work was required in different locations. As the volume of work increased, Mr. Milli- ken decided to set up a permanent location, so one spring at high water, the raft was hauled up on shore and thus started the largest sawmill and the only planing mill for miles around. It was later the site of Glidden's Box Factory.
One of the earliest manufacturing concerns to locate on the Vaughan Stream above the railroad tracks was the Kennebec Wire Company, which began its oper- ation in the early 1870's. The wire used by this com- pany came from Portland and Boston in huge coils. The wire itself was approximately 1/4 inch in diameter, and the weight of the coils was less than one hundred pounds. The operation of the mill consisted of reduc- ing the wire to various sizes down to the finest known at that time. This operation continued into the 1880's,
and then the building was taken over by Ben Tenney for an isinglass factory. It was a seasonal business and operated during the latter part of the winter and the spring. The tongues and gills of fish, by-products of large fish-rendering companies, were processed to make this isinglass. The principal users of the product at that time were breweries which used it in the manu- facture of beer. This was a very lucrative business al- though it only lasted four or five years, and from their standpoint it was unfortunate that a more economical method of making isinglass was found.
Then the building was occupied by the Hallowell Light & Power Company, and it was the beginning of electric current being provided in Hallowell. After a few years of operation, this became known as the Ken- nebec Light and Heat Company and soon after changed its scene of operation to Augusta.
In the early 1870's further up the stream, Stickney, Page & Company had an operation commonly known as the slate mill. It is assumed that the slates which were manufactured here were school slates and also slates for shingles. They also manufactured plaster, whiting and putty. This business closed in the late 1870's and the building was taken over by Ben Tenney,
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Sandpaper Mill Men - Left to Right, Bill Overlock, Bert Blair, Frank Butler, Arthur Rich, Bert Grimes
becoming a part of his sandpaper mill. It was used as a quartz mill, and here the quartz was crushed which was used in the manufacture of sandpaper. For many years the sandpaper mill was one of Hallowell's prin- cipal industries. It was built and started by Mr.
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Tenney. It was later reorganized under the name of the Boston Flint Company, and a disastrous fire in April of 1893 nearly put them out of business.
It is interesting to note that Mr. Tenney experi- mented with numerous types of minerals which might be economically used on his paper. One of these that unfortunately proved to be unsuccessful was the at- tempt to use the flint which was mixed in with the chalk. the latter being shipped to this country from England and Belgium as ballast from ships returning to Amer- ica. This chalk in turn was shipped to Hallowell for use in the whiting mills and the flint was a waste prod- uct of the operation. It was finally determined that quartz was the finest product for the use in the manu- facture of sandpaper.
When Mr. Tenney was sole owner of the mill, he got his glue from the George Seavey Glue Factory which was located just over the Hallowell line in Farming- dale. In later years the American Glue Company ab- sorbed all the small glue manufacturers, and it also could be that they had an interest in the Boston Flint Company. This mill continued to operate until 1922. Two of the cuts show some of the employees at this mill. Also there is the interesting picture showing the old train going by the mill.
There was at one time a putty and whiting mill on the Litchfield Road opposite the Cascade owned by Fuller and Richardson.
Sandpaper Mill Crossing
The picture shown on this page depicts many of the industries just described. In the foreground is Milli- ken's sawmill, storage shed and barn; on the left beside the railroad track can be seen the sandpaper mill. In the center, part of the George Fuller and Sons' factory; then on the end of the Point with all the logs in the foreground are the Knickerbocker icehouses.
-- V. P. Ledew
Part of Sandpaper Mill crew - Back row: John Jewett, Con Murphy, Dan Redd, Harold Grimes, Rodney Frohock, Bob Chadburn, Frank Stevens, Tom Vautour, Mark Grimes. Next row: Del Carlton, Aaron Norton, Frank Butler, unknown, Alden Grimes, Ray Littlefield, unknown, Jim Cummings, Earl Littlefield, Carol Austin, Bert Austin, Fred Tenney, Rod Jordan, a Page boy. Seated: unknown, Charles Huff, Bob Grover, Arthur Baker.
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Other Industries in 19th Century
By Sally W. Rand
D URING the 19th century, in addition to the larger mills, several smaller businesses sprang up to cater to the needs of the local people. Three of these inter- esting enterprises were soap manufacturing, candy making, and a patent medicine business.
Tallow works were operated on either end of Stod- dard Lane between Water and Second Street in the north end of town for many years by Samuel E. Stod- dard and James T. Braley and his son, James E. Braley. The lye was made by putting wood ashes in a barrel and running water through it. Bones and fat for rendering were collected from householders and shops, and after boiling, mixed with the lye to make hard and soft soaps.
The residue was sold for fertilizer. The market varied from shipping of tallow to Boston, to soap sold to the paper mills in Gardiner, in addition to the local sale and barter of soaps for wood ashes and fats. That the business had its problems is seen from this news clipping: "The terrific odor generated by the steam di- gester at the Stoddard plant in which the fat was ren- dered aroused the neighbors of the tallow works to bring suit against it as a public nuisance." Having lost the suit, the business folded in 1900. Other soap fac- tories were reported run by W. F. Walker, O. D. Nor- cross, and a "William Livermore manufactured and shipped very large quantities of the salts of potash in his day."
CANDY MAKING
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Eugene Howe behind counter of candy store
A successful family business was the Howe Candy Kitchen at 208 Water St., run by Eugene Howe, whose father, Joseph Howe, Sr., born in 1807 in Temple, had had a very successful Bakery and Confectionery on Water St. for many years. Howe, Sr. had six carts which delivered his baked goods as far as Farmington. He learned to make candy from a "Mr. Bowditch," and taught his six sons the art in turn. After his father died in 1891, Eugene bottled beer and soda pop manu- factured by S. F. Davenport, and then turned once again to making candy. Boiled in a cauldron over a coal fire in the basement under the shop, and kneaded on a marble slab were molasses bars and a famous pea- nut candy. Also for sale were peppermint drops, al- mond sticks, lozenges, ribbon candy and salted peanuts. At Christmas time candy cones 15 inches high were dis- played in the windows, entwined with braids of ribbon
candy, and special candies were made in lead molds of various figures including a general on horseback! After Eugene Howe died in 1900, Mrs. Howe carried on the business for six years.
Eugene Howe and daughter Mina outside candy store
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U
H. P. Clearwater
Manufacturer and Distributor of Pharmaceutical Preparations
JENRY P. CLEARWATER was born June 13, 1879 in Hallowell, and was educated at the Hallo- well Classical School. At an early age he started to work for Major John Quincy Adams Hawes, a retired Army surgeon who owned a pharmacy where Tibbetts' Pharmacy is now located. He studied under him until he was able to take and pass the pharmacists' examina- tion. For awhile he worked in a drug store in Bath, Maine, but within a year returned to Hallowell to pur- chase the drug store here.
From the start, the business was a success. (Photo 3) It was the beginning of the advertising age, and Mr. Clearwater thought up all kinds of schemes to at- tract customers. Twice a week he sent his hired man into the surrounding towns to supply folks along the way with medicines and other products, many of which he compounded himself. He started to advertise by mail and sent out pamphlets from his little office on the second floor of the drug store. He started to specialize on a medicine for the relief of heart troubles under the name of The Heart Cure Co.
His business grew by leaps and bounds until he sold his drug store business and in 1905 moved across the street into what was then the Masonic Building, recently occupied by Dodge's Dollar Store. Here he specialized
in the manufacture and distribution by mail of a few of his preparations, perhaps the best-known being Joint- Ease, a counter-irritant helpful in rheumatic aches and pains. He concentrated mainly on cures for stomach, heart and joint troubles. His medicines were dis- tributed wholesale and retail and sold not only through- out the United States, but also in Great Britain, Africa and other foreign countries. During his best business years, Mr. Clearwater occupied the whole block for his laboratory and offices and employed around 100 per- sons, always giving preference to those living in Hallo- well. He had all his own machinery, and the entire operation - from mixing the formulas to packaging them and mailing them - was conducted on the prem- ises. All his medicines were patented. At the peak of the operation, they would ship out an average of one baggage car per day of these preparations. At the height of the business, some days as many as 25,000 circular letters would be sent through the local post of- fice, and it was this volume of mail which necessitated the building of the present post office. In addition to the 100 persons employed in his plant, he had twenty hand-copiers working for him in their homes addressing envelopes at $2 a thousand.
Mr. Clearwater died on January 27, 1952, and the business was liquidated.
Johnson Shoe Manufacturing Company
THE Johnson Shoe Manufacturing Company was founded in 1887 by William C. Johnson and Rich- ardson M. Johnson, twin brothers from Appleton, Maine who had learned the shoe business in Lynn, Massachusetts. Additional capital for the factory was provided by the following local men: Governor Bod- well, Emory A. Sanborn, Colonel Livermore, Samuel Currier, Jr., B. F. Warner, J. W. Fuller and others. A third brother, Moses M. Johnson, also lived in Hallo- well, but remained as salesman with the Douglass Shoe Company.
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The original factory was a three and a half story wooden building facing Central Street. (Picture bot- tom right preceding page.) Seven years later two wings were built, extending the building to the railroad tracks on the west replacing an old house, and to Second Street on the east, replacing the carriage manufactory building. A small brick ell attached to the northeast corner of the original building contained the boilers and fire pump.
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The fourth story loft of the original building was re- moved eventually, but the old wide door and triple windows on the first floor may be seen in this shot looking down Central Street from the tracks. The presence of the fire escape may be traced to the follow- ing in the Hallowell City Report of 1893:
"The board of Engineers (fire department) by order of the City Council have caused Fire Escapes to be put on the shoe factory building and on Wilson Hall. This was something in which nearly every citizen was interested."
Further fire precautions were fire buckets on each floor, a 5,000 gallon tank, erected in 1894, on the roof, and a 25,000 gallon reserve tank outside.
Johnson Shoe was a most successful business, doubt- less due to the energy and abilities of the owners, who
took great pride in the quality of their products. Wil- liam C. Johnson traveled over the country extensively as far as the Pacific coast as sales manager for the firm, while his brother, Richardson, managed the factory, employing upwards of 350 persons at "full blast" for forty years. It is said "Johnson's never had a union, and never needed one"! Ladies' shoes, high laced and oxfords, were made of fine leather, patent, and white kid. Cutting was done on the fourth floor, with stitch- ing, sole leather and finishing on the second and third floors, and shipping on the first. In this early picture (right) taken outside the main door on Central St. can be seen John Robinson, the superintendent and Harry Sands, shipping foreman in the window; also identified is Addie Leighton standing in the group to the left of the door holding a piece of material in her hands. In the next picture taken at the back, or ship- ping room door, Fred Bates (in hat) stands before the window, with Edith Kelso in a light banded sailor hat just in front of him, and Stella Kelso on their left, by three, in a black sailor hat. A Mr. Aldrich is in the front row with his hands clasped. In this view of the stitching room are Annie Walker on the left, and Lizzie Walker, second from the right.
W. C. Johnson died in 1912, and his brother carried on the business until April of 1927, when the factory was closed down. The building was leased from 1934 until March 1955 to Samuel Kleven who operated it first as the Kennebec Shoe Co. In 1940, the brick factory (originally the cotton mill) was acquired by Mr. Kleven and for a time both factories operated. The machines at the Johnson building were gradually moved to the brick factory, and, in the summer of 1953, the old wooden building was vacated, and used just for storage. In May, 1955, the building was torn down due to its unsafe condition.
OS
SHOE
MFG. CO
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Wilder Oilcloth
Sampson Oilcloth
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Oilcloth Industries
D URING the 19th century the oilcloth industry in Maine was concentrated in the Kennebec Valley region. Starting in 1830 oilcloth factories were oper- ated in Manchester, Hallowell, Vassalboro, Readfield, Winthrop, Monmouth, and for a brief time in Skow- hegan and Bath, but by 1910 only those in Winthrop Village and Winthrop Center remained. Alton Pope moved to Manchester Forks in 1831 with two or three men who produced the oilcloth and peddled their prod- uct by horse team around the region. The first oilcloth works in Hallowell were built on Hinckley's point in 1840 by Samuel L. Berry (picture at left). In 1852 they were operated by Stickney and Page and, in 1859, by Stickney Page and Co. In 1868, Dr. Amos Wilder bought into the business (then Page Wilder and Co.), and in 1872 he became the sole owner as A. Wilder and Co.
The other great oilcloth works in Hallowell was started about 1840 by Alden Sampson (who had bought out the Manchester works from Pope), associ- ated with his brother William Sampson and Colonel Elisha E. Rice. Alden Sampson's four sons, Edward, Henry, Pope and Alden also came into the business later, when it was known as Sampson and Sons. Built on the 12 acre plain at the north end of Middle Street, where the elementary school now stands, the factory was rebuilt after a fire in 1847, and then in 1862 greatly enlarged following the destruction of the Man- chester Works by fire (at left). At this time they decided not to rebuild in Manchester, but to establish a branch factory in Long Island, New York.
In 1851 a machine for stamping oilcloth was in- stalled on the second floor of the factory, and powered by a horse and endless chain in the basement of the building. Invented and patented by Simeon Savage, the machines are reported to have been made by Isaiah Mc- Clench in his shop at the south end of town. The Sampsons bought the patent rights through Colonel Rice after many improvements had been made, and the machines gradually drove out the factories making a hand product.
George Fuller and Sons of Hallowell made the large printing blocks for both hand and machine of hard wood with "teeth" that formed the figures. Fullers also made the sizing. Alden Sampson sent to Scotland for a sizing machine which sized the burlap and stretched it so that it would lie flat without crinkling. Dr. Amos Wilder used a different method of sizing, according to some sources, and the rivalry between the two plants may well be imagined. Seen in this interior view of the Wilder Plant (at left) are, from left to right, Charles Bailey, Frank Greeley and James Jones.
By 1873, Sampsons employed 55 men and produced 75,000 yards of carpct cloth per annum. Over two tons of paint were used in a day, and 4,000 gallons of oil a month. The obvious serious drawback in the manu- facturing of oilcloth was the danger from fires. The buildings were invariably constructed of wood, two to three stories in height, most substantial and heavily tim- bercd, as the machinery and goods to be supported were very heavy. Such was the inflammable nature of the oils used in manufacturing that practically every oilcloth plant in the state sooner or later suffered loss of one or more sets of buildings by fire.
Sampson Oilcloth Works closed in 1884, the day after Grover Cleveland defeated James G. Blaine of Augusta for the presidency. Local legend says the two events were not unrelated. It is said that Henry Samp- son was an ardent Republican, and, disturbed by his workers' support of the Democratic candidate, vowed to shut down the factory if Cleveland were elected. The fact remains that the mill did close then for good. The buildings remained empty and decaying for thirty years until torn down in 1913, when the Sampson Realty Co. formed by Judge Beane, Frank Wingate and Wallace Perry sought to establish a housing development in the area occupied by the old factory and its surrounding tenements, but failed, partly due to difficulties in ob- taining a right of way through the property to Page Street. The land was then bought by the Vaughan family and given to the city for a playground and park. In 1956 the present elementary school was erected on the site.
The Wilder plant continued in operation after the death of Dr. Wilder in 1895, but on January 13, 1900 fell prey to the usual scourge of the oilcloth industry:
"fire started at 9. A.M. in the drying rolls of carpet near the engine room of spontaneous combustion in the building saturated in naphtha and oil. The firemen made quick response to the alarm but the first men on the grounds found the flames shoot- ing up from the vicinity of the engine room about midway of the rest of the buildings. So closely connected were they that the fire soon worked its way north into the varnish house, and also into the building formerly occupied by the mammoth drum ... a wheel of 78 ft. circumference. The brick store house above was saved, filled with fin- ished goods. The office and a small store house, below, is all that remains. The large sizing ma- chines put in last season are probably damaged beyond repair. Twisted steam pipes are every- where. The contents of the naphtha house were quickly transferred to the ice on the river below the works and form part of the assets."
This was the end of the oilcloth industry in Hallo- well. Later the site of the Wilder plant was occupied by the Glidden Box Factory, The Tayntor Granite
TAINTOR STONE WORKS, HALLOWELL ME.
Works (above), and, since 1933, by the bulk plant of the Mobil Oil Company. The pipeline which sup- plies this plant starts in Portland, and at Litchfield swings toward Hallowell coming in north of the State School for Girls and following down the hill through Wilder Street to the plant, then crossing the river at this point on its way to Bangor. The Esso Standard (Humble Oil and Refining Co.) bulk plant, to the north on the Augusta line, is supplied by tankers which come up the Kennebec during the navigable season.
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