USA > Maine > Aroostook County > History of Aroostook. vol. I > Part 19
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About three miles above Fort Kent village is the farm of Mr. Daniel Harford, one of the best farms in the town. A broad and fertile intervale stretches along the river front and the high- er land in the rear is level and smooth. Mr. Harford is the son of John Harford, one of the earliest American settlers on the river. Mr. John Harford came from Saco about 1818 and first settled at the mouth of Baker Brook, some five miles below Fish River on the New Brunswick side. There was at one time quite a number of American settlers at that place in the early days when the question of the boundary was in dispute, and the little settlement played quite an important part in the history of that period. About 1820 Mr. Harford moved about eight miles above Fish River and settled on the American side in what is now the plantation of St. John. Here he cleared up a farm and was for many years engaged in farming, hunting and lumber- ing. His latter years were spent with his son, Daniel Harford, on the farm in Fort Kert.
Continuing on up the river we soon enter the plantation of St. John, and find the road here running somewhat south of west across this town. This township is not much settled except along the river road, where there is some very good land and a number of fine farms. A few miles above the town line we come to what was formerly the Savage estate, comprising a large tract of land on the main land and a very large and fertile island in the St. John River. Mr. Daniel Savage, who built the first mill on Fish River at Fort Kent, took up this tract of land many
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years ago and lived upon the island, where he reared a large family of children. In company with his son, Gilman Savage, he afterwards built the large house on the mainland opposite the island and lived here until his death in 1854. The property was then divided and Mr. Robert Savage owns the east half of the large island. Mr. Gilman Savage afterwards moved to Fort Kent and engaged in trade, still retaining his interest in this property, and died at Fort Kent about twenty years ago.
A few miles above here we come to the large estate of Mr. Jesse Wheelock, upon which is one of the finest and most pro- ductive intervales upon the river. Mr. Wheelock is the son of Mr. Jesse Wheelock, who was for many years one of the promin- ent business men of this section. He came from Northborough, Mass., to the city of St. John, N. B., many years ago, and en- gaged in business there, owning largely in vessel property. About 1830, he removed to the upper St. John, settling first at Baker Brook. Soon afterwards he removed to what is now St. John Plantation and settled on the large intervale now owned by his son. A small stream, known as Wheelock Brook, enters the river near here, and upon this the elder Wheelock built a grist mill and also a saw mill for the manufacture of clapboards and shingles. He engaged in farming and lumbering here until his death in 1837, when his son, Jesse J. Wheelock, took the proper- ty and continued to operate the mills for a year, when the estate was divided and Mrs. Duncan Sinclair, a daughter of Mr. Jesse Wheelock, came into possession of the mill property. Mr. Dun- can Sinclair, who now carries on the mills, is a son of Mr. John Sinclair, who came from Restigouche, N. B., about 1840, and settled at the mouth of Little Black River. Ten years later he moved to a farm in St. Francis, where he lived until his death in 1884. Mr. Sinclair was of Scotch parentage and though a naturalized citizen of the United States, never lost his feeling of loyalty to Great Britain. When nearing his death he requested Mr. Robert Conners to procure a British flag in which his body might be enshrouded for burial. This wish Mr. Conners com- plied with and the old man's body now rests enveloped in the flag of the country he loved so well.
Opposite Mr. Wheelock's, on the New Brunswick side, is the store and fine establishment of Mr. Robers Conners, one of the largest lumber operators on the upper St. John.
The present survey of the Temiscouata Railroad terminates near Mr. Conners' store, but the line will probably be continued further up the river. Continuing up the river on the American
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side, we pass the farm of Mr. Samuel Russell, who came from Kennebec many years ago and who always has a yoke of noble big oxen, and come to the Hunnewell farm on the line between St. John and St. Francis. Mr. Barnabas Hunnewell came from Solon, in Somerset County, to St. John, N. B., about 1820. He afterwards removed to Baker Brook and in 1830, came up the river and settled on the large island now known as Hunnewell's Island, and included in the plantation of St. John. He also took up a tract of land on the main land, where he afterwards built his house and carried on a large farming and lumbering busi- ness. The country in this section was covered with a heavy growth of pine and the manufacture of pine timber was a most profitable business at that time. "Squire Hunnewell," as he was always called, was a justice of the peace for many years and was a man of much ability. His death occurred in 1868 and his widow still resides upon the old farm with her daughter and son-in-law. The Hunnewell residence is in the plantation of St. Francis, though the island and a large part of the farm is in St. John Plantation.
Continuing up the river road through St. Francis, we pass the farm of the late Mr. John Sinclair and soon come to Mr. Charles McPherson's, one of the oldest residents of the town. He came here with his father sixty-one years ago, and has lived at St. Francis ever since. His father, Mr. Charles McPherson, was born in Rhode Island, whence he removed to Restigouche, N. B., and came to St. Francis in 1829. He lived here some twenty years, and then removed to Mattawamkeag. His son Charles, the present proprietor of the farm, remained at St. Francis, where he has ever since been engaged in farming and lumbering and is one of the principal citizens of the town. He is now seventy years old but is hale and hearty.
Opposite the mouth of the St. Francis River which enters the St. John about fifteen miles above Fort Kent is the large estate owned and occupied for many years by the late Martin Savage, Esq. This estate consisted of three large and very handsome islands and a large farm on the main land. The house is a handsome two story building, built and finished in the most thorough manner and conveniently arranged in every part. On the opposite side of the road are a number of large barns and stables in which Mr. Savage always kept a fine stock of horses and cattle. Years ago, when Mr. Savage was living and his family circle was unbroken, this was one of the pleasantest homes in Aroostook. Here unbounded hospitality reigned and
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friends were always sure of a cordial and warm-hearted welcome. Many merry parties have gathered around that ample board and joined in social pleasures within those spacious and handsome- ly furnished rooms. Mr. Savage was the son of Daniel Savage and moved to St. Francis about 1850. He engaged extensively in farming and raised large crops of grain which found a ready market in the lumber woods. He also carried on lumber opera- tions to a considerable extent and was for many years engaged in trade at St. Francis. He also owned an interest in the starch factory at Frenchville and at the time of his death, which oc- curred in 1888, was possessed of a large property. After his death the estate at St. Francis was sold by the heirs, and his widow and three daughters, all that remain of a large family, are now living in the State of Washington. That part of the farm lying upon the main land is now owned by Mr. Neal Mc- Lean, an old resident of the town who has long been engaged in lumbering operations upon the upper St. John. The islands have been purchased by parties living upon the Provincial side of the river.
A short distance above Mr. McLean's the road runs along the summit of a high "horseback" formation thrown up to a con- siderable height from the midst of a beautiful plain. The view from this point is very fine, and as one looks down the river from this "horseback" the landscape scenery, consisting of river, islands and large cultivated fields, forms a picture of rare beauty. Aroostook is full of grand views and beautiful lar.d- scape pictures, but nowhere are they more beautiful than upon the upper St. John.
Above the mouth of the St. Francis the St. John is wholly within the State of Maine. The St. Francis is the boundary river from that point to the extreme northern point of the State, which is the northwestern corner of "Big Twenty," that town- ship running entirely across the State and being bounded on three sides by Canadian territory. The plantation of St. Fran- cis comprises Township 17, Range 9, and is thickly settled along the river, but has few settlers upon other parts of the town. There is much good land along the river but the land further back is not so fertile. Not far from Mr. McLean's is a deposit of slate of fine quality and lying so as to be very easily quarried.
The Catholic Church of St. Charles is located in this planta- tion and was build by Father Sweron in 1870. The population is 461, a majority of whom are French.
The Allegash Plantation above St. Francis is still another
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organized plantation and there are many fine farms with large and costly buildings both upon the main river and upon the Alle- gash. Though these farmers are far distant from the business centers and their products cannot be shipped to outside markets, yet the large lumber business carried on in their immediate vicinity creates a demand for all their surplus products and brings a good cash market to their own doors. On this account their business has been a prosperous one and many improve- ments have, within the last few years, been made in the farms and farm buildings of this section. A large extent of country, including the Allegash and Little Black settlements, has been organized as Allegash Plantation and thus the settlers are per- mitted to exercise the right of suffrage and also to raise money for school purposes and to draw their proportional part of the State stipend. This plantation has a population of 83, a large majority of whom are of English descent.
The turnpike road road extends up the river some four miles above the mouth of the St. Francis, and beyond that point the travel in summer is wholly by boats upon the river. The road has been laid out, however, by the County Commissioners as far up as the mouth of the Allegash; and justice to the set- tlers in this upper country demands that it be opened for travel. In the winter a good road is kept open on the river as far up as Seven Islands and large quantities of supplies are hauled up the river to the lumber camps above. A few miles from the mouth of the St. Francis, if we cross to the north bank of the St. John, we find a "portage" which leads through the woods some two miles to Fall Brook. This is a rough and noisy little stream flowing in a northeasterly direction across Township 17, R. 10, and emptying into the St. Francis a mile or two above the mouth of that river. The portage strikes the stream at the falls where the water dashes down over steep ledges, foams and rushes among large bowlders so near together that we can leap from one to another and cross the brook to a fine camping ground on the other side. Here, we think, may be found today a tall pine stump hewn smooth on its sides and inscribed with the names of a merry party of some forty men, women and chil- dren who camped here for two nights twenty years ago. Six miles above the falls on this stream is a small lake in which trout are found in great abundance.
The Allegash River enters the St. John from the south some twelve miles above the mouth of the St. Francis. It is a large, strong, flowing river fed by numerous lakes, and with its many
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tributary streams drains a large timber producing region.
At the mouth of the Allegash is a large farm where many years ago lived Mr. Samuel Bolton, father of the present sheriff of Aroostook County. Here Mr. Bolton raised large crops of hay and grain for the lumber woods and his house was a place of entertainment for lumbermen on their way to and from the camps.
Three miles above the mouth of the Allegash we come to the mouth of Little Black River, which rises away up in Canada and flowing in a southeasterly course enters the St. John on its northern side in Township No. 17, R. 11. The country in the vicinity of the Allegash and Little Black has been considerably improved within a few years and the good farms and substan- tial farm buildings give evidence of the prosperity of the set- tlers upon the newly organized Allegash Plantation.
Formerly the larger portion of the supplies for the lumber camps and also for the stores along the river was boated up the river from Fredericton. The boats used were large, flat bottomed scows with a cabin built upon the after end in which the boat- man ate and slept, and upon the top of which the helmsman stood and steered the boat by means of a huge rudder. Some of these boats are capable of carrying two hundred barrels of pork, and are drawn up the river by horses. Two horses are attached to each boat by a long warp and are guided by a rider on the back of the near horse. The horses travel upon the beach whenever a "tow-path" can be found, but are often obliged to wade in deep water and in many places to swim the river as the tow-path changes from side to side. In the late fall when ice begins to form it is cold work for men and horses. Since the extension of the railroad to Edmundston supplies have been forwarded to that point and they will now come to Clair station opposite Fort Kent, and thus the tow-path will be very much shortened. Many supplies for the camps on the upper St. John are also brought by the Grand Trunk to L'Islet and St. Jean Port Joli on the St. Lawrence and thence hauled through the woods to Seven Islands and from there to the different camps.
Further on up the river, above Big Rapids we come to the Simmons farm on the north bank of the St. John. This farm was cleared many years ago for the purpose of raising hay and grain for the lumber woods, but latterly it has not been so well cultivated. A few miles further on brings us to Seven Islands. We are now some seventy miles above Fort Kent, but find the St. John nearly as wide here as at Woodstock. Seven Islands
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has for many years been the most important point in all this forest region and has long been the depot of supplies for large lumbering operations. The old Cary farm is situated on the north bank of the river and includes also the islands which give the place its name, some of which contain many acres of fertile land and produce large crops of hay and grain. Many years ago Hon. Shepard Cary of Houlton carried on an immense lumber business on the St. John and Allegash and cleared up this farm for the purpose of producing supplies and also to serve as a depot for his extensive operations. The house is a large story and a half structure standing near the river bank and containing a number of ample rooms, the largest of which is the big dining room, with its long table, at which many hungry men have been fed. In the kitchen is a huge stone fireplace with its long iron crane upon which are hung the big pots in which many a tooth- some meal has been cooked. There are a number of large barns upon the farm, the boards with which they are covered having been sawed with a whipsaw from the clearest and soundest of pine lumber. Upon the main land above the house is a large tract of level land of great fertility and under good cultivation. This large farm was for many years the property of the firm of Cary & Cunliffe, and afterwards of the firm of Cunliffe & Stev- ens, during which time large numbers of fine blooded animals were kept upon the farm. The estate now belongs to Mr. Arthur DeChaine, a former resident of Canada, who is extensively en- gaged in farming and lumbering.
On the opposite side of the river is the large farm of Mr. Frank Currier, which consists of many acres of fine, productive land and has commodious and well constructed buildings. Mr. Currier has lived here for many years and has engaged quite extensively in farming and lumbering, in which business he has been very successful. There are a number of other farms in the immediate vicinity, making quite a little settlement, the farthest from tide water on the upper St. John. The settlers were at one time organized as the Plantation of Seven Islands, and for a number of years the returns from Seven Islands were anxiously looked for before the result of an election could be formally declared. The present proprietor of the "Big Farm" not being an American citizen, the plantation a number of years ago lost its organization and Allegash now has the honor of be- ing the farthest up river precinct to which politicians devote their attention. From Seven Islands a good road leads out across Black River to the Canadian border and continues on to
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the St. Lawrence, the distance from Seven Islands to L'Islet being about forty miles.
Should we continue our journey up the St. John we should find that we have left behind us the last settlement in Aroostook County in this direction, and must conclude that at last we are in the woods. We may yet push on for more than twenty miles by the river before we reach the confines of Aroostook, for our course is now a southerly one, and when we cross the County line we find ourselves in the northern part of Somerset County. A few miles farther on we come to the forks, where the two branches of the river unite, and if we continue on up the St. John the boundary between Maine and the Dominion of Canada but now upon the western instead of the northeastern border of the State.
As we have reached at Seven Islands the Ultima Thule of Aroostook settlements upon the St. John we will return and make our way up the Allegash and see what we can find there in the way of cultivated improvements. The Allegash for some distance above its mouth is a rapid, noisy, strong flowing river during the open season, but we have travelled alone on its glassy surface in winter, when the bright sun of a quiet Sabbath morning was just tinting the tree tops on its rugged banks, and when hardly a sound was heard to break the stillness of Nature's grand solitude. At such times we were always reminded of Cooper's matchless tales and we think it must have been from just such scenes as can here be found that he derived much of his grand inspiration.
Twelve miles above the mouth we come to the falls, where the river dashes and tumbles over a rocky precipice and sends great islands of foam floating down the swift current below. On the face of the rock visitors have cut their autographs, one bearing date as early as 1833. Above the falls a number of settlers have made clearings and have comfortable homes. Jos- eph Gilbert, Thomas Moore, Thomas Larry and George McKin- non have here made openings in the forest and established their homes far from any road except in winter. Away to one side of the beaten track these families lead a quiet, peaceful life, while the busy, noisy world with its weary strife and endless contests moves on all unheeded and uncared for.
Three miles above the falls we come to the farm of Mr. Finley Mclellan, who settled here many years ago and has now a good farm and comfortable buildings. It is a hospitable home and the traveller on reaching here is always sure of a kindly wel-
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come. Being the last house for many miles it is a landmark in this section and distances are reckoned as so many miles from 'Finley's," as from a point of departure.
We passed the mouths of numerous small streams and twelve miles above the falls came to the mouth of the Musqua- cook, a river of considerable volume flowing northward into the Allegash from a long lake which extends away down into Piscataquis County. Large lumber operations are carried on upon this stream and many logs are driven from it every spring. Mr. S. Walter Stevens has cut about seven millions upon Mus- quacook each year for a number of years and will this winter cut about the same quantity. Mr. W. H. Cunliffe's operation this winter will be upon the Allegash on Township 14 and 15, Range 11 and 12, 13, 14 and 15 R. 12. Both these operators have a large number of men and horses already in the woods, and with a favorable winter will have large drives.
LIMESTONE
Directly north of Fort Fairfield in the tier of townships lying along the boundary line lies the flourishing town of Lime- stone. Unlike many of the comparatively new towns in Aroos- took County, the first opening made upon this forest township was for manufacturing instead of agricultural purposes.
In the year 1845 Gen. Mark Trafton of Bangor, then Custom House Officer at Fort Fairfield, conceived the idea of building a mill upon the forest tract to the north of that town for the purpose of manufacturing clapboards to be shipped to Boston market. The township was then known as Letter E, Range 1, and was wholly in its original wilderness state. A strong flow- ing stream ran through the township and emptied into the Aroos- took River a short distance above its junction with the St. John. In the report of the Scientific Survey this stream was denomin- ated Limestone Stream, from the geological formation near its mouth, and was so named on the Maine charts, though known in New Brunswick as Little River.
Gen. Trafton associated with himself Mr. B. D. Eastman of Washington County, who was at that time living at Fort Fairfield, and having previously obtained from the State Legis- lature a grant of 1600 acres of land in aid of building the mill,
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commenced in June, 1845, to clear a tract of land on the bank of Limestone Stream, upon which it was proposed to erect the mill. Mark Trafton, Jr., a son of Gen Trafton, was also admitted as a partner in the enterprise, and the new company was called the Limestone Mill Company. With a party of axe men to clear the way through the forest, and with one pack horse to carry their provisions, they crossed the Aroostook River at Fort Fairfield and travelled through the forest in due north course until they struck the Limestone Stream. A large clearing was made during that summer and the next year, the summer of 1846, the new mills were built. A substantial dam was built across the stream and upon this dam was erected the saw mill con- taining an up and down saw, clapboard machine and shingle machine, and also a grist mill with one run of stones. The shingle machine was a Muzzy machine built in Bangor and hauled by ox team to Houlton, thence across to Woodstock, whence it was boated up the St. John and Aroostook Rivers to Fort Fairfield and hauled through the woods to the mill. The grist mill was built because the company had faith that the town would soon be settled and that then the mill would be needed. In the fall of 1846 the mill was completed and the business of sawing clapboards was commenced. A road was cut through the woods from the mill to the St. John River at a point called Merritt's Landing, about ten miles below Grand Falls, and over this road the clapboards were hauled during the following win- ter, and in the spring of 1847 they were rafted and floated down the river to Fredericton, whence they were shipped to Boston.
In the following year the road was made passable for wag- ons in the summer time. In 1847 the Traftons sold their in- terest in the enterprise to Mr. George A. Nourse, a son of Dr. Nourse of Bath, who had come to the forest of Aroostook for the benefit of his health. In 1848 the new firm of Nourse & Eastman built another small clapboard mill about a mile up- stream from the original mill, and in 1849 undertook the haz- ardous experiment of driving bunches of clapboards down the stream with the intention of taking them from the water when the drive reached the St. John River and there rafting them. They turned 400,000 of pine clapboards in bunches into the stream and started to drive them down the stream as they would a drive of logs. The experiment proved unsuccessful and re- sulted in the loss of nearly the entire lot of clapboards. This, with other misfortunes, caused the failure of Nourse & Eastman
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in 1851, and for a number of years not much business was done at the mlils.
In 1847 the township was lotted and opened for settlement. In that year Andrew Phair took up a lot on the hill near the mill and Bernard Mclaughlin took a lot some two miles distant, at what is now known as the "Four Corners." They were the first settlers who came upon the township for the purpose of farm- ing, although some crops had already been raised by the Mill Company on the tract of land cleared near the stream. In the same year Orrin Davis took up a lot on the road opened from the mill to the St. John River, about a mile distant from the mill. At that time lots were sold to actual settlers for $1.25 per acre, 50 cents of which was to be paid in money and the remainder in road labor.
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