USA > Maine > Aroostook County > History of Aroostook. vol. I > Part 11
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Socially, morally, educationally and agriculturally Presque Isle is a good town and has a promising future before it, when the completion of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad brings it into more direct communication with the markets of the country. The population of the town by the census of 1890 was 3,046 and the valuation $993,875, a greater valuation than any town in the County with the exception of Houlton.
ORIENT
The town of Orient, another of the coast towns of Aroos- took County, lies immediately south of Amity and is bounded on the west by the town of Haynesville, and on the south in an irregular line by the town of Weston. The Monument Stream, flowing here with considerable volume in a southeasterly course, forms the eastern boundary for some two miles and a half. This stream then empties into North Lake, which becomes the boundary for nearly a mile, the coast line running nearly in a southerly lirection until we come to the "thoroughfare," a narrow passage some half mile in length connecting North Lake with Grand Lake. The irregular coast of Grand Lake is then the boundary to the south line of the town. To speak more accur- ately, the channel of the lake is the exact boundary between the two countries, but this channel has not yet been definitely determined. The road from Houlton to Calais runs in a general southerly direction through the entire town, but the first settle- ment in the town was made near the shore of the lake a number of years before any road was built.
The first settlers who made a clearing on the town were William Trask, William Deering and James Lambert. These pioneers came in 1830. William Trask was from Kennebec County and he made his first clearing near the head of Grand Lake, a short distance below the thoroughfare, on the farm now owned by George Bubar. Mr. Trask made a farm here on the lake shore and lived upon it until about 1856, when he moved to Minnesota.
James Lambert came at the same time and settled on the lot next west of Mr. Trask. He remained on the lot until 1856,
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when with Mr. Trask, he removed to Minnesota.
W.lliam Deering moved from Hodgdon to Orient in 1830 and settled on the lot near the shore of the lake on which Mrs. Jacob Peters now lives. William Philbrook had made a small chop- ping on the lot, but did not settle on it. This was in reality the first chopping made upon the town. Mr. Deering cleared the farm and lived on it until his death in 1842. Jacob Peters af- terwards took this farm and lived on it until his death a year ago. His widow still lives on the farm.
Mr. Abram Longley was one of the pioneer settlers of Ori- ent and came from the town of Dover not long after the settlers mentioned above. He settled on the line of the Calais road in the southern part of the town. A small lake in the rear of his lot still bears the name of Longley Lake and discharges its wa- ters through a brook into Grand Lake. Mr. Longley was a well known resident of Orient for many years, and his house, after the Calais road was built through the town, was a well known stopping place for travelers and for teamsters upon the road. The old house is still standing but is now unoccupied and is one of the old landmarks along the road. Mr. Longley cleared a large farm and planted an extensive orchard which still bears quite abundantly. He died on the old place some twelve years ago.
Jeremiah Fifield came from Lee in 1836 and made a clear- ing in the extreme southern part of the town. He remained but a short time and returned to Lee.
Thomas and Robert Colyer were early settlers near the head of the lake and came not many years after Mr. Trask. Thos. Colyer settled on the lot on which Mr. Wm. H. McAllister now lives, and lived upon it until about 1856, when he removed to Wisconsin. Robert Colyer settled on the next lot north, where he made a farm and lived upon it until 1856, when he with Thos. Colyer, moved to Wisconsin.
Mr. Edwin Deering is one of the oldest settlers now living in the town. He is a son of William Deering and in 1835 settled near the shore of the lake on the lot now occupied by Daniel Bartlett. Here he cleared a farm and after living on it seven years moved to the lot near the thoroughfare, now owned by Mr. George Bubar. Mr. Deering lived on this lot fifteen years and then bought the Longfellow lot on the Calais road in the south part of the town, where he has since lived.
Mr. Marcus Peters came from New Brunswick about 1837 and settled on the lot south of the "Horseback," near where the
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road turns from the Calais road towards the head of the lake. Mr. Samuel Newman of Amity had made a small clearing on the lot. Mr. Peters cleared the farm and lived on it until 1849, when he moved to Amity, where he remained but two years, and then returned to his old home in Orient, where he continued to live until his death in 1878. Mr. Peters was a man of sterling character and was well and favorably known throughout southern Aroostook. He served as deputy collector of customs for six years, and was a leading citizen of his town. His widow and son Isaac Peters, still live on the old homestead.
Patrick Hodnet came from Machias in 1840 and settled on the Calais road north of Abram Longley. He cleared a large farm here and lived on it until some ten years ago, when he moved to Danforth and died there. Mr. A. A. Robbins now lives on this farm.
Mr. Israel Miller came from Nova Scotia about 1840 and settled on the lot next south of Patrick Hodnet. He cleared a farm and lived on it until his death in 1885. Mr. John Byers then bought the farm and died on it last year. His widow still lives on the farm.
Charles Longfellow came from Machias about 1840 and settled on the farm where Mr. Edwin Deering now lives. Wm. Hawkins lived on the place a short time before Mr. Longfellow came. After living on the farm some eight or ten years Mr. Longfellow removed to Kansas.
John Colyer came from Miramichi about 1840 and settled on the lot near the thoroughfare upon which Mr. C. L. Packard now lives. He afterwards sold the farm to Messrs. Gates and Wentworth of Calais, and removed to New Brunswick, where he died. John Colyer, Jr., settled on the lot on the Calais road now occupied by Mr. Victor Peters and Mr. Fred Smart. He made a clearing on the lot and lived on it a short time and sold to William Deering and moved to the lot next north of Edwin Deering's, where he lived many years. He then sold the farm to Abram Longley and moved to Haynesville, where he now lives.
Jeremiah Sprague came from Houlton to Orient in 1845 and bought part of the Trask farm at the head of the lake. He lived on this farm ten years and then removed to Houlton. He afterwards returned to Orient and died at the home of his son, William Sprague, on the Calais road. William Sprague first came to Orient with his father in 1845. About 1860 he bought the lot on the Calais road, opposite Mr. Fred Smart's. Mr.
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Sprague cleared this farm and lived on it twenty-five years. He then bought eighteen acres of Martin Longley near the turn of the Lake road where he built a neat set of buildings and where he now resides, but still owns the old homestead. Mr. Sprague has been a prominent man in the town during his residence there and held the office of postmaster for eighteen years.
As we enter the town of Orient in coming down the Calais road, after passing through Amity, we very soon come to the "horseback," upon which the road runs for a number of miles. This is a peculiar formation and seems to have been placed here by nature for the especial purpose of providing a roadway. It is a natural embankment of gravel, with broad stretches of low, swampy ground on either side for much of the way and for a number of miles forms the only route upon which a carriage road could be built.
Thomas Maxell was also one of the early settlers, and came from Gray about 1831 or 1832. He cleared a farm and lived upon it until his death in 1874. His son, S. P. Maxell, now has the farm.
In the southwest corner of the town on what is called the No. Nine road, are a few settlers and some quite good farms.
The town of Orient was formerly township No. 9, R. 1, and was incorporated as a town in 1856. Much of the town is still covered with forest and many of the farmers are more or less engaged in farming. Though there are some good farming sec- tions, yet the town as a whole would not rank as a first-class town for agricultural purposes.
BRIDGEWATER
The original settlement of the County of Aroostook was in a large measure due to the immense amount of valuable timber found in its magnificent forests and along the many grand rivers and streams flowing through every portion of this fertile region. Years before any settler entered upon the northern portion of the County for farming purposes, with the exception of the Aca- dian refugees upon the upper St. John, the camp of the hardy woodsman was built in the midst of these then almost intermin- able forests, and in springtime large drives of timber were float- ed down the many tributaries of the St. John which find their
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source in this northern county. It was the valuable timber, cut upon what was then disputed territory, that led to the troubles that culminated in the famous Aroostook War which drew in- creased attention to the rich lands of northeastern Maine. The march of the "posse" that came hither in martial array to exter- minate the Bluenose trespassers not only hastened the settle- ment of the boundary dispute, but was also the forerunner of that more peaceful march which has ever since been continued- the march of the hosts of hardy pioneers who have come to this fertile region to make comfortable homes for themselves and their families.
One of the finest of the many beautiful streams by which this great county is so plentifully watered is the Presque Isle of the St. John. Having its head waters in Fort Fairfield and the old town of Maysville, it flows southward through the towns of Easton, Presque Isle and Westfield, then turning more to the eastward it continues through Mars Hill and Blaine and enters the town of Bridgewater some two and a half miles west of its northeast corner and flowing across that corner, crosses the boundary line into New Brunswick about a mile and a half south of the above named point. Some three-fourths of a mile before it reaches the boundary it receives the waters of Whitney Brook, a strong flowing stream traversing nearly the entire ex- tent of the town of Bridgewater in a northeasterly direction, and a short distance below the junction of the two streams is a valu- able mill privilege. It was at this point that the first settlement was made in what is now the town of Bridgewater.
The town comprises two half townships lying along the boundary line, and is bounded on the north by Blaine, and on the south by Monticello. On the west is the unsettled township of Letter D., Range Two. The northern half of Bridgewater, from which the town afterwards took its name, was granted by the State of Massachusetts in aid of Bridgewater Academy, and the southern half was granted in aid of Portland Academy.
In the year 1827, Nathaniel Bradstreet, with his sons, John and Joseph, came from Palermo, in Waldo County, and pur- chased the mill privilege spoken of above on the Presque Isle of the St. John, a short distance west of the boundary line. The Bradstreets came up the Penobscot and Baskahegan waters, then crossed on the old trail to the St. John River, ascending that river to the mouth of the Presque Isle, thence up the stream to their new home in the wilderness. Here they at once pro- ceeded to build a dam across the stream and during the two
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years following built a mill in which they commenced sawing lumber in 1829.
Joseph Ketchum and James Thorncraft came from New Brunswick in 1829 and took lots west of the mill lot and com- menced clearing up farms. It is claimed that Mr. Ketchum cut the first tree upon the town for farming purposes, though the Bradstreets afterwards cleared up a large farm near the mill. Mr. Ketchum cleared up about 75 acres on his lot and on the 24th day of May, 1832, sowed the first wheat ever sown in the town of Bridgewater.
In the year 1835 Mr. Joshua B. Fulton came from New Brunswick, and in 1840 bought a lot south of what is now Bridgewater Corner, on the road now running from Houlton to Presque Isle.
At the time Mr. Fulton settled on his lot there was no road anywhere on the town, and his nearest neighbor on the north was at Presque Isle, some twenty miles distant. The road from Houlton was cut through soon after and Mr. Fulton and other early settlers paid for their lands at $1.50 per acre in labor upon this road. Here Mr. Fulton cleared up a fine farm and reared a family of six sons and one daughter. Three of the sons went into the Union Army and all gave their lives to their country. Another son, Charles K. Fulton, is the present landlord of the Bridgewater Hotel, and John W. Fulton now resides in Gardiner,
Me. The daughter is now living in California. Mr. Fulton still resides on the old place and is a hale old gentleman, and from him we received many reminiscences of the early settle- ment of this border town.
In 1840 Dennis and Orrin Nelson came from Palermo and took adjoining lots on the line of the Houlton road. Dennis re- mained but a short time and sold his lot to Mr. Fulton. Orrin Nelson cleared up the farm next south of Fulton's and re- mained there until his death, and his widow and sons still live upon the farm.
About this time Mr. John Young came to the town and set- tled near the mill and in 1846 removed to the town of Westfield, where his widow now resides.
A few years after Mr. Fulton commenced his clearing, Jona- than Loudon, John Burns and Thomas Kennedy came from New Brunswick and settled along the Houlton road in the Portland Grant, now the south part of the town. Mr. Loudon still lives with his son on the old farm.
Samuel Cook, Esq., of Houlton, was then agent for the
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trustees of the two academies and sold the land to settlers as they came in for $1.50 per acre. In 1840, Mr. Joseph Ketchum, who was then living upon his farm near the mill, bought 320 acres of land directly north of what is now Bridgewater Corner and commenced making a clearing. Work upon the road from Houlton to Presque Isle was commenced about that time and Mr. Ketchum built a frame house upon his new lot and at once started in the business of hotel keeping. James Thorncraft at the same time left his home near the mill and went into the wilderness some ten or twelve miles farther north on the line of the Presque Isle road, where he took up the lot in the town of Westfield now occupied by Mr. John N. Trueworthy. Mr. Ketchum cleared up a farm of about eighty acres near the hotel which he continued to keep until 1854, when he moved to the next lot above and there made a large farm, upon which he resided until his death in 1878. The hotel passed through a number of hands and was finally destroyed by fire in 1861.
In 1842 Mr. Samuel Kidder came from Kennebec County and took the lot next west of the Thorncraft lot, it being the third lot west of the mill. Here he cleared up a fine farm upon which he resided until his death in 1864. His son, James H. Kidder, afterwards kept the hotel at Bridgewater Corner and is the present efficient Register of Deeds at Houlton.
Mr. Cyrus Chandler came from Winthrop in 1844 and bought the Thorncraft lot upon which he made an extensive farm and built comfortable buildings. Mr. Chandler died about two years ago, his estate now being owned by his son, Mr. A. L. Chandler, the present Deputy Collector of Customs at Bridge- water.
Soon after Mr. Chandler came to the town, Mr. David Fos- ter, also from Kennebec County, came in and took up the lot upon which is now the farm of Joseph C. Smith. This is now one of the best farms in the town and has a very handsome set of farm buildings.
In 1841 Messrs. Harvey and Trask bought the Bradstreet mill, and about the same time Mr. Wm. Hooper and Mr. A. T. Mooers commenced trading at the mill. Mr. Mooers remained but a short time and removed to No. 11, now Ashland, where he has since resided, and has for many years been one of the principal business men of that town.
Mr. Charles Kidder, who has long been one of the prom- inent citizens of Bridgewater, came from the town of Albion, Ken- nebec County, in 1845 and worked one year for Mr. Cyrus Chan-
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dler. The next year Mr. Jesse Moulton bought the mill of Harvey & Trask and opened a store near the mill and Mr. Kid- der went into his employ as clerk, remaining in his employ for five years. Mr. Moulton built a clapboard mill which was af- terwards carried away by a freshet. He continued to operate the mills until 1851, when he sold the entire business to Mr. John D. Baird, and the place is still known by the name of Baird's Mills. Mr. Baird tore down the old mill and built the mill now standing, in which he put a gang saw and also a shin- gle machine. In 1856 he bu'lt a grist mill with two run of stones, one for wheat and another for buckwheat and feed. Mr. Ba'rd also continued business in the store until 1876, when he sold the mills and store to Mr. John E. Pryor. Mr. Pryor put in a rotary and another shingle machine and soon after sold to Hon. Geroge W. Collins, the present proprietor. Mr. Collins has made extensive repairs and additions to the mill and dam and has put in a planer, groover and other machinery.
In 1850 Mr. C. F. A. Johnson came to Bridgewater and commenced trading and buying shingles in a part of Joseph Ketchum's house. He soon afterwards built the store in which the postoffice is now located. This store was built near the Corner and has since been moved farther down the road toward the boundary line. Mr. Charles Kidder was employed as a clerk for Mr. Johnson during the whole time of his stay at Bridgewater. Mr. Johnson did a large business here and was extensively engaged in lumbering. In 1856 Mr. Johnson re- moved to Presque Isle, where for many years he did a very ex- tensive mercantile and manufacturing business, forming a part- nership at first with L. S. Judd, Esq., and afterwards with Hon. T. H. Phair. The firm of Johnson & Phair were at one time the largest manufacturers of potato starch in the United States. A year or two since Mr. Johnson removed to Salt Lake City, where he resided for a time and is now very pleasantly located at Riverside, Cal., at which place he has purchased a large orange grove with a view of making a permanent home.
Mr. Johnson sold his store at Bridgewater to Charles Kid der and Jacob Jewell, who continued in business for four years, when the store passed into the hands of Mr. Rufus Mansur of Houlton, who soon after sold it to Hon. George W. Collins. Mr. Collins moved the store to its present site and in 1861 built the large store on the corner afterwards occupied by Mr. Bedford Hume.
Mr. Hume commenced business in Bridgewater as clerk for
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John D. Baird about 1853. He remained with Mr. Baird some seven years and then purchased the Rideout farm opposite Mr. Cyrus Chandler's. Here he commenced the business of farm- ing and trading, being extensively engaged in buying and ship- ping shingles. In 1865 Mr. Hume removed to Blaine and built at the corner the store now occupied by Mr. John Bubar. Here he continued in trade for a year or two, when he returned to Bridgewater and purchased the Collins store in which he con- tinued to tade until his death something over a year ago. He was largely engaged in the lumber business, and also owned starch factories in company with Hon. Geo. W. Collins in Mars Hill and at Clark Brook in South Presque Isle.
Mr. Nathaniel Rideout came from New Brunswick in 1845 and purchased the lot opposite Cyrus Chandler's. He reared a family of eighteen children, his son John remaining upon the old farm until 1860, when he sold it to Mr. Bedford Hume. Members of this family still reside in Bridgewater, and the annual reunion of the Rideout family is an event always looked forward to with much interest by the citizens of the town.
One of the most stirring and energetic business men of Bridgewater is Hon. Geo. W. Collins, who is well known not only throughout Aroostook County, but also in other sections of the State. Mr. Collins came from the town of Ripley, in Somerset County, in the fall of 1860, and settled at Bridge- water Corner, where he leased the Johnson store and commenced trading. He soon afterwards purchased the store and a large tract of land adjoining. Here he built the new store and after- wards sold to Mr. Hume. After selling the store, Mr. Collins continued to do an extensive business of various kinds, being largely engaged in buying cattle and carrying on the large farm now owned by Mr. Fred Whited. He also had farms in Mars Hill. In 1871 Mr. Collins left Bridgewater, though still retain- ing much property in the town. He carried on business at a number of places and in 1876 returned and built a saw mill on Whitney Brook, at Bridgewater Centre. This mill had an up and down saw and shingle machine and was run by water power. He also built at the same place a tannery for the manufacture of upper leather, but had just got it in successful operation when it was entirely consumed by fire. He then sold the saw mill to Mr. T. G. Huntington and in a short time afterwards that was also burned. Mr. Collins then built a new mill near the site of the one burned and afterwards sold it to Mr. C. P. Church. He also built a new tannery for the manufacture of sole leather
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and this too he afterwards sold to Mr. Church. In 1882 Mr. Collins built a steam shingle mill at Bridgewater Centre, which he still owns and operates. In 1878 Mr. Geo. Hibbard built the starch factory at the Centre which three years later Mr. Collins purchased and still owns. In 1886 Mr. Collins purchased the Baird mills at the boundary line and here he still does a large business.
As a farming town Bridgewater is naturally well up on the list of good towns in Aroostook and only needs proper means of communication with the outside world to make it a live and prosperous town. The stage road from Houlton to Presque Isle runs in almost a due north course through the middle of the town and there are fine farms along this road for the entire dis- tance. From the Corner a road runs east to Baird's Mills near the boundary line. This is a very fine and well kept road and runs through a grand farming section. A substantial bridge some four hundred feet long is built across the stream above the mill and after crossing this bridge the road continues on away to the St. John River. A railroad is already in contempla .. tion from Woodstock to Baird's M.lls on the New Brunswick side and a subsidy of $100,000 has already been obtained from the Provincial government. Should this road be built it would be of great benefit to the town, but its value would be as nothing compared with that of a road directly across our own soll to our own markets. The road from Woodstock would make of Baird's Mills virtually a Provincial village, while the building of a direct line would infuse into it the Yankee push and enterprise needed to make it a wide-awake place. Nature has done much for it, and it only remains for the railroad across Maine soil, and the business enterprises sure to be built up by Maine citizens to do the rest. A large portion of the western part of the town is still unsettled and is yet covered with its original forest growth. In this section there are grand swells of fine farming land which some day will be cleared up and made to support a much larger population than the town has today. Throughout all this forest tract there is still much good lumber and a large extent of this portion of the town is still in the hands of proprietors. The trustees of the academies held the land with the exception of what was sold to settlers until about 1856 when the Bridgewa- ter grant was sold by the State for taxes and was bought by Isaac R. Clark of Bangor, who afterwards sold it to John D. Baird. Of this tract Hon. George W. Collins afterwards bought some 6,000 acres.
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Bridgewater was incorporated as a town in 1858. The pop- ulation increased from 143 in 1850 to 722 in 1880 and the recent census makes it together with the very few settlers upon the ad- joining township of Letter D., 030. The valuation of the town last year was $148,354, and the rate of taxation fourteen mills on the dollar.
CARIBOU
Caribou is one of the busiest and most thriving villages in Maine. Its situation is picturesque and reminds one of a Swiss village, as a large part of the thickly settled portion of the town is located upon the sloping hills which rise from the river and stream and give to the village a most beautiful background as one views it on entering by the road from Presque Isle. The village is situated on the Caribou Stream, a short distance above the point of its confluence with the Aroostook. The town of Caribou, like Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield, comprises two full townships and embraces an area of twelve miles long by six miles wide. The township in which the village is situated was originally known as H., Range 2. The Aroostook River enters this town on its southern border and flowing completely across the town makes an abrupt turn near the line between H. and I., Range 2, and doubling upon itself forms one of the "ox bows" so common on this tortuous river, and leaves the town on its eastern line, flowing into Fort Fairfield and thence to the St. John. A strip containing 10,000 acres on the east side of this township, H., was years ago granted by the State of Massachu- setts to Gen. Eaton of that State for meritorious services ren- dered during the war with Tripoli, and this strip was known for a long time as Eaton Grant, and was afterwards organized as Eaton Plantation.
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