USA > Maine > Aroostook County > History of Aroostook. vol. I > Part 26
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Mr. James Libby also came from Old Town in 1838 and settled on the lot where Mr. Frank Libby now lives. He cleared this farm and built the buildings and lived there until his death in 1875. Mr. Chas. Kimball came from Hiram at about the same time and settled on a lot a short distance south of the Macwahoc Stream. He cleared a farm and d'ed there many years ago. His son, F. P. Kimball, now lives upon the farm, which is on the Kingman road a short distance south of the corner.
A short distance after entering Macwahoc Plantation, we come to the large farm and hotel so long known as the Reed place, and also to old-timers on the road, as the Ramsdell place. Mr. John Rollins made the first clearing on this place about 1848. He built a two-story house and a large stable and opened a hotel. He afterwards sold to Mr. James Emerson, who in turn sold to Col. William Ramsdell. After a few years Col. Ramsdell sold the property to Mr. Hugh Reed, who kept the hotel for many years. Stage passengers from Bangor to Houl- ton, who made the trip away back in the "fifties," can well re- member the cold ride from Mattawamkeag Point to the Reed
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place before breakfast on a winter's morning, and also the glowing fire and good warm breakfast that awaited them on their arrival about daylight. After Mr. Reed bought the place the house was burned. He built a new house and that also, together with the stable, was afterwards burned. Col. Eben Webster of Orono then bought the place and built a small house upon it and raised hay and grain upon the farm for his lum- bering operations. He afterwards sold to Mr. Frank Stratton, who enlarged the house and kept a hotel until a year ago, when he sold to Mr. S. S. White, the present proprietor.
A short distance below Mr. White's we come to the old Martin farm. Mr. William Martin came here from the western part of the State and commenced a clearing many years ago. He made a good farm and lived on it until his death some fif- teen years ago. His son, John Martin, a veteran soldier, now lives on the old homestead.
From Mr. Martin's the road runs for some two miles through the woods to the mill, where the road crosses the Macwahoc Stream. After crossing the bridge we come to the Donnelly farm on the west side of the road. Mr. Alexander Donnelly came here in the early days of the settlement and cleared this farm and lived on it until some five years ago, when he moved to Wisconsin and there died. His son, Mr. Frank Donnelly, now has the farm.
Macwahoc Plantation lies on the line of Penobscot County and has Reed Plantation on the east and Molunkus on the west. The Molunkus Stream runs d'agonally across the corners of Townships No. 1, Range 5, and No. 1, Range 4 (North Yar- mouth) and continues on in a general southerly direction across Macwahoc Plantation. A portion of the lower part of Molunkus Lake is in. Macwahoc, the outlet being by a stream less than a mile in length, which empties into the Molunkus Stream near where that stream makes an abrupt bend to the east. The Mac- wahoc Stream, flowing down from North Yarmouth Grant, con- tinues across the plantation to which it gives the name, and empties into the Molunkus Stream a short distance below the Military road. There are numerous other brooks and streams in different portions of the town which give it a plentiful water supply.
Macwahoc was organized at a plantation in 1851. The village, near the junction of the Macwahoc Stream with the Molunkus, is but six and a half miles distant from Kingman Station, and is a neat and evidently growing village. A part of the town is
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still unsettled, but there are some very good farms and hand- some residences in the settled portions of the town. The popula- tion in 1890 was 216 and the valuation was $36,193.
CRYSTAL
Crystal Plantation, formerly township No. 4, Range 5, lies next to the Penobscot County line bordering on Patten. Fish Stream, a tributary of the west branch of the Mattawamkeag, runs through the middle of the town and empties into the west branch a short distance west of the village of Island Falls.
Mr. Wm. Young was the first settler who brought a family to the township. He came from Searsmont in 1839 and settled on a State lot a mile and a half east of the Patten line. The whole country east of Patten was at that time an unbroken wil- derness. Mr. Young cleared up a large farm and built a good stand of buildings and lived upon the farm until 1851, when he sold to Mr. S. P. Bradford and moved to a farm which was taken about 1837 by Mr. John Hammond of Patten. Some ten years ago Mr. Young removed to the West, where he afterwards died. Mr. William C, Hackett now lives upon this farm.
In 1839 Mr. Isaac Webber came from the town of China and settled on the lot next west of Mr. Young, where he made a farm upon which he lived unt'l his death, some two years ago. Mr. Albert Corliss now lives on this farm.
The same year Mr. John Bell came from Belfast and set- tled on the lot east of Mr. Young's, where he lived until his death some six or eight years ago. His widow still lives upon the farm.
Mr. George W. Hackett came from Vermont the same year and took a lot on the south side of Crystal Stream, which flows down from a lake in Hersey Plantation, next township north of Crystal, and empties into Fish Stream a short distance east of the center of the town of Crystal. Mr. Hackett cleared up a large farm and lived on it until his death some ten years ago. His son, George Hackett, now lives on this farm.
The same year Mr. James Cunningham came from Sears- mont and settled on the lot east of Mr. Bell's. He cleared up a fine farm here and built a good set of buildings and lived on the farm until two years ago, when he moved to Patten. Mr. Robert McKeen now lives on this farm.
In 1841 Mr. Hiram Hersey came from Foxcroft and took a lot west of Mr. Young's, where he lived for many years and
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then moved to a farm in the west part of the town, on what is no called the Cow Team road. Mr. Hersey afterwards moved to Patten and has for a number of years been engaged in the lumbering business.
Mr. William Ward came from Franklin County about 1841 and settled on a lot a half mile east of the Patten line on what is called Fobes' hill. Mr. Ward lived on this farm until his death a number of years ago. Mr. Brad. Kenney now lives on the farm.
Mr. Bela Chesley came from Lincoln in 1841 and settled on the lot next west of Hiram Hersey's, where he lived some ten years or more and then removed to the West, where he after- wards died. The same year Mr. Jonas Drury settled on what is now the lower road from Island Falls to Patten on the east side of Crystal Stream. He made a farm here and lived on it a number of years and then moved to Ohio.
Mr. John Conant came from Franklin County the same year and settled on the lot north of Mr. George W. Hackett. He lived on this faim unt'l about the time of the war, when he removed to Bangor. He was an officer in the army during the war and afterwards settled in South Carolina. Mr. Eugene Thorn now lives on this farm.
Mr. S. P. Bradbury came from the town of Windsor in 1841. He was then a young man with no family and worked for a number of years in the woods and on the river. In 1851 he bought the William Young farm and lived upon it until 1867, when he moved to a farm on the lower road and in 1885 bought the farm near the junction of the roads which he has recently sold to Mr. William Hackett. Mr. Bradford is a prominent citizen of the town and was a soldier in the 1st Maine Cavalry.
In 1842 Mr. Jedediah Fairfield of China built a mill on Crystal Stream near Mr. George W. Hackett's. This mill had an up and down saw run by water and furnished lumber for the settlers in Crystal and Island Falls. Mr. Joseph Kimball after- wards bought the mill and ran it for a number of years, when it was abandoned and went to decay. Five years ago Mr. Roscoe Noyes built a mill on the same stream a short distance above the site of the old mill.
The stage road from Island Falls to Patten runs through the northern part of Crystal and crosses Fish Stream a short distance from the east line of the town. The old road ran directly west on the lot lines over the high ground in the north part of the town. About six miles from the town line a road
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now branches off to the south for about a mile and then runs in a westerly course across the town to Patten village. Near the turn of the road on a fine elevation is the Free Baptist meeting house.
In 1843 Mr. David Coffin came from Waterville and bought a block of one thousand acres of land in the western part of Crystal next to the Patten line. He cleared up a large farm and lived on it until his death in 1875. Mr. Whitmas Coffin now lives on this farm.
Crystal was organized as a plantation in 1840 and is one of the best townships in Western Aroostook. The population in 1890 was 297 and the valuation $73,739.
REED
As we journey down the old Military road, every mile of which brings back recollections of "ye olden time" when this was the grand thoroughfare of northeastern Maine, after passing through Glenwood we come to Reed Plantation, the northwest corner of which is crossed by this road. A short distance below the north line of the township we come to Happy Corner, where the Baskahegan road intersects the old Military road.
The old hotel here is now owned by Mr. George W. Win- ship, who came here from Amity some twenty years ago. Con- nected with the hotel is a farm of eighty acres of tolerably good land, with some forty acres cleared. The buildings are now considerably out of repair and, like nearly all the old landmarks along this road, show unmistakable signs of neglect, caused by the withdrawal of travel and traffic from the road.
Below Happy Corner the road runs through the woods for nearly three miles, when we come to the Clifford Settlement, on a very handsome ridge of fertile land, where the first opening was made in the township.
The first settler who brought a family to the town and made a clearing in the wilderness for the purpose of farming was Capt. John S. Clifford, who came from Dover in 1832 and set- tled on the lot on which his son, Mr. Jonas Clifford, now lives. He was captain of a militia company in Dover and was a man of stalwart build, standing six feet, four inches in his stockings. Capt. Clifford cleared a large farm, upon which he lived until his death some thirty years ago. He built a good set of build- ings and kept a public house for many years and was a man well and favorably known throughout this section.
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Mr. Levi Prouty came from Dover soon after Capt. Clifford and settled on the lot now owned and occupied by Miss Judith Plummer, a mile north of the Clifford place. Mr. Prouty and Capt. Clifford both married daughters of Mr. Seth Spaulding before moving from Dover. Mr. Prouty made a clearing on his lot and built buildings and lived there until his death in 1837. He was a carpenter and millwright by trade and was a man of some education and a great lover of books. After his death his widow and sons carried on the farm for a number of years and kept public house, as in fact did nearly all the settlers along this portion of the road at that time.
A short time before Capt. Clifford made his settlement on the town Mr. Gorham Rollins came from Belgrade and built a log house and stable for the purpose of putting up teamsters and travellers upon the road, as the transportation of supplies for the garrison at Houlton had already caused considerable business on this road. Large lumber operations also were car- ried on in this vicinity, bringing in many men and teams and making lively business for these primitive houses of entertain- ment. Soon after coming to the town Gorham Rollins married a daughter of Mr. Seth Spaulding, and after his death in 1835 his brother, John Rollins, married the widow and continued to live upon the place until his death in 1850. His son, Mr. Green- wood Rollins, now has the farm. Mr. Elijah Norton came from Belgrade with Gorham Rollins, but did not make any settlement in the town, and after remaining a short time, returned to Bel- grade.
Mr. Seth Spaulding came from Dover in 1833 and made the first chopping on the farm at Happy Corner. He did not settle on the lot, however, but went to a lot a few miles farther north in the adjoining township of Glenwood, where he made his settlement and was the pioneer of that town.
Mr. Abram Niles came from Vermont about 1840 and took the lot at Happy Corner. He built a house of hewn timber, neatly dovetailed at the corners, and a framed barn. Mr. Niles cleared a farm here and kept a hotel for some fifteen years and then removed to Houlton, where he died about twelve years ago.
Mr. Jeremiah Thompson came from Bancroft in 1847 and married the widow of Mr. Levi Prouty. He lived upon the farm until his death in 1857.
Mr. Jonathan L. Plummer was one of the early settlers of Glenwood and had moved from that town to Levant, where he resided until he settled in Reed Plantation. He continued to
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reside upon this farm until his death in 1872. His daughter, Miss Judith Plummer, now owns the farm and resides upon it. Miss Plummer was for four years an army nurse under Miss Dorothy L. Dix, and was with the army of the Potomac in the field and hospital. She was at the battle of Gettysburg and re- lates many interesting reminiscences of that great battle. At the close of the war she was appointed to a clerkship in the treasury department, in which capacity she served until 1882, when she was obliged to resign her position on account of an affection of the eyes which very much injured her sight. Miss Plummer is a lady of much culture and relates in a most inter- esting manner her eventful army experiences.
Mr. Benj. Condon came from Penobscot County about 1860 and bought the farm at Happy Corner. He built a two-story house and a large stable and kept a hotel for five years or more, when his brother, Sumner Condon, took the hotel and kept it some five years. The property has since gone through a num- ber of hands and is now owned by Mr. George W. Winship.
From Happy Corner the Baskahegan road runs in a south- westerly direction across the northeast corner of Reed, and, crossing the Mattawamkeag River in Bancroft, continues on until it intersects the Calais road in the southern part of the town of Weston. This road runs through the forest for the en- tire distance across Reed Plantation. Below Happy Corner we ride through the woods for nearly three miles and come out to the farm of Miss Plummer, situated on the west side of the road and containing 137 acres of good land, with something over 25 acres cleared and a comfortable set of buildings. A short dis- tance below on the opposite side of the road is the farm of Mr. Peryel W. Clifford, a grandson of Capt. John S. Clifford. Near here is the Clifford family cemetery, neatly enclosed and well kept. Next below on the west side of the road is the farm of Mr. Seth S. Clifford, a son of the first settler. These farms are all situated on a handsome swell of dry land and produce well. Mr. Clifford has in former years engaged in the lumber busi- ness to some extent, as indeed have nearly all the settlers in this vicinity. A short distance below, on the east side of the road, is the old Capt. Clifford homestead, now owned and occupied by Mr. Jonas S. Clifford, the oldest living son. This is the best farm in the settlement and contains 250 acres, with something over 60 acres cleared, a large house in good repair and large and well kept barns and outbuildings. Adjoining Mr. Seth Clif- ford on the south is the farm of Mr. Greenwood Rollins, con-
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taining eighty acres, with forty acres cleared. From Mr. Rol- lins's to the town line, a distance of about a mile, the land is unsettled.
The line of the E. & N. A. Railway (now the Maine Cen- tral) runs across the southeast corner of Reed Plantation and at Wytopitlock Station quite a little settlement has been built up. Mr. William Staples and Mr. Bruce Springer have stores here and Mr. Horace Rand has built a large new store. The hotel is kept by Mr. Gorham Rollins. There are three blacksmith shops, a schoolhouse and postoffice. Mr. Wm. Staples is the present postmaster.
In 1889 the north part of Drew Plantation in Penobscot County was annexed to Reed Plantation and a bridge is now be- ing built across the Mattawamkeag River a short distance from the station.
The Wytopitlock Stream runs for some distance quite near to the west line of the township, then turns to the southeast and empties into the Mattawamkeag a short distance south of the old courty l'ne.
With the exception of the settlers on the military road and on the line of the Maine Central R. R., the town is wholly cov- ered with forest and is owned by non-resident proprietors. When Capt. Clifford first settled upon the town it was owned by Messrs. Pickering and Morrill, but was afterwards sold to Mr. Harvey Reed of Bangor, from whom the plantation took its name.
In 1890 Reed Plantation had a population of 203 and its valuation was $45,451.
CARY
Directly south of the town of Hodgdon and lying along the New Brunswick line, is the plantation of Cary, formerly known as No. 11, Range One. The mail route from Houlton to Calais runs through Cary and it is settled for nearly the entire distance along this road. The plantation of Cary comprises but a half township, being s'x miles east and west and three miles from north to south. It is bounded on the north by Hodgdon, east by New Brunswick, south by Amity and west by Letter A Town- ship.
It is generally conceded that the first man who made a chopping upon the town was John Allen, who as early as 1824 commenced a clearing on what is now known as Skidgell Ridge, in the north part of the town, about a mile and a half east of
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the Calais road. Allen was an old English soldier and fought under Wellington at Waterloo. He did not make any perman- ent home upon the lot and a year or two after coming to the town was taken sick and went to live with Mr. David Moore, at whose house he died in 1833. Probably the first man who made a permanent settlement on the town was Mr. George Robinson, who came to No. 11 in 1825 and settled on what was afterwards better known as the Putnam lot, though it is still referred to by old settlers as the Robinson lot. Mr. Robinson cleared a large farm here and lived on it until about 1842, when he sold to Joshua and J. Varnum Putnam of Houlton, and after living in Amity for a short time, moved to Smyrna.
Mr. Robert McFarland came the same year (1825) and set- tled on the lot now owned by James Oliver on the horseback, west of the Meduxnekeag Stream. Mr. McFarland commenced a clearing on this lot, but soon afterwards sold his improvement to Edward Dority, and never afterwards had any settlement in the town. He remained a few years, living with Mr. Hugh Smith, and then removed to the Bay of Chaleur.
Mr. David Moore came from Hodgdon to No. 11 in 1825. He had lived for two years on the farm now owned by Mr. Chas. Nickerson in Hodgdon, next to the No. 11 line. Mr. Moore first settled on the lot afterwards owned by Mr. James Duffy in the north part of the town, where he lived two years. Mr. Hugh Sharp made a chopping on a lot in the south part of the town, and in 1827 Mr. Moore exchanged lots with him and moved to the farm on which he lived so many years. Mr. Sharp lived but a short time on the Duffy place. Mr. Moore cleared the farm in the south part of the town and built a comfortable set of build- ings, and was a well-known citizen for many years. He died at his home in 1871. His son, David Moore, lives upon the old homestead, and James Moore, another son, lives upon the farm oppos'te.
Mr. Hugh Smith emigrated from Ireland to Fredericton, N. B., and in 1826 moved to No. 11 and settled on the lot where William Smith now lives. Here he cleared up a farm and built a log house and a frame barn. He lived upon the farm until 1845, when he moved to Amity, where he died in 1859. Mr. B. F. Nickerson of Linneus then came into possession of the farm, and in 1850 Mr. William Smith, a son of Hugh Smith, bought the old homestead and has lived upon it ever since.
Mr. John Reed also emigrated from Ireland to New Bruns- wick, and in 1827 came to No. 11 and settled in the south part
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of the town on the lot adjoining Mr. David Moore's. The town was not at that time lotted and the first settlers were merely squatters upon the land. The half township was lotted in 1831 by John Webber and was then opened by the State for settle- ment. Mr. Reed cleared the farm upon which he first settled, and continued to live on it until his death in 1861. The farm was then divided between his two sons, William and Alexander, who still reside upon it.
Mr. Hipps Dow moved from New Brunswick in 1827, and settled on the lot next west of Mr. Hugh Smith. Here he made a farm upon which he lived for some 20 years, and then moved to Bancroft. Mr. Samuel Seamans now lives on this farm.
Mr. James Dow also came from New Brunswick in 1827 and first settled on the lot where Mr. Truman Williams now lives. He was a blacksmith by trade, and afterwards lived in a number of places in the town and finally returned to New Brunswick.
Mr. James McClinchy came from New Brunswick in 1827 and settled in the east part of the town on what is now the Fanjoy lot, where he made a clearing and lived there until his death many years ago.
Mr. Jonathan Tracy came from New Brunswick in 1828 and settled on the lot next west of Mr. George Robinson. He cleared a farm and lived on it nearly twenty years and then returned to New Brunswick. His farm is now a part of the Putnam farm.
Mr. Edward Dority came from Ireland and settled in No. 11 in 1827, on the lot afterward owned by James Duffy. He made a large clearing and lived on the farm until his death in 1845.
Mr. Daniel Neal, the first settler in the town of Linneus, was also an early settler in No. 11. Mr. Neal settled in Linneus in 1828 and a few years later moved to No. 11 and settled on the lot where Owen Scott now lives. He built a house of hewn pine timber, nicely dovetailed together at the corners, and lived in it some ten years and then moved to Jackson Brook.
The above named are all the early settlers of the town of whom we have any reliable account, and if there were any others they were but transient men who never made any permanent settlement upon the township. No other settlers came to the town for a number of years and the hardy pioneers mentioned above were in the midst of the forest and obliged to depend largely upon their own resources for subsistence. There were no roads for years after these first settlers commenced to make
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their farms in the wilderness and their families were subject to all the hardships and privations that fall to the lot of the pio- neers of a new country. The first road opened through the town was a somewhat circuitous route, running from Westford hill in Hodgdon some distance to the eastward of the present County road. The road from Houlton to Calais was opened in 1836 and was built through No. 11 by Mr. Jonah Dunn.
In 1842 Mr. Joshua Putnam of Houlton moved to No. 11, and in company with his brother, J. Varnum Putnam, bought the Robinson farm. They afterward bought the Jonathan Tracy farm, adjoining on the west, and here Mr. Joshua Putnam made a large farm upon which he lived for some twenty years and then returned to Houlton. The farm was then divided between his sons, Varney and Otis. Mr. Otis Putnam had the north half of the farm and lived upon it until his death in 1873. He served about two years in the army and returned with broken health. He was a good citizen and was much respected by all who knew him. Mr. Joshua Pollard now owns this farm.
Mr. Varney Putnam was also one of the substantial citizens of the town. He had the south half of the homestead farm and lived upon it until his death some twelve years ago. His widow still lives upon the farm with her son, Mr. B. H. Putnam.
Mr. Truman Williams moved from Hodgdon to No. 11 in 1842 and settled on the lot where he now lives. Mr. Hugh Smith had made a small clearing on the lot, but it was for the most part covered with forest growth. Mr. Williams cleared the farm and has lived upon it ever since. He is now advanced in years and his son, Moses Williams, has the active management of the farm.
Mr. Ebenezer Williams moved from Hodgdon in 1849 and took the lot east of his son Truman's. He cleared this farm and lived on it until his death in 1868. His sons, James and Cyrus Williams, now live on the old homestead.
Mr. James Merrill settled in No. 11 about 1842. He was a cooper by trade, and had a small clearing on the Calais road a short distance south of the Hodgdon line. He lived there un- til 1872, when he returned to the western part of the State. His son, Putnam Merrill, was a soldier in the old Sixth Maine Bat- tery, and nobly did his duty. His service in the army shattered his health and he did not live long after his return. He was a brave and faithful soldier and an honest man.
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