USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Boothbay Harbor > History of Boothbay, Southport and Boothbay Harbor, Maine. 1623-1905. With family genealogies > Part 35
USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Southport > History of Boothbay, Southport and Boothbay Harbor, Maine. 1623-1905. With family genealogies > Part 35
USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Boothbay > History of Boothbay, Southport and Boothbay Harbor, Maine. 1623-1905. With family genealogies > Part 35
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WALDO SAMUEL BOYD, son of Samuel and Joanna (Phil- brick) Boyd, born at Boothbay Harbor, March 6, 1882 ; fitted for college in Boothbay Harbor High School ; graduated from
FREEMAN GROVER. 1807-1897.
409
SCHOOLS.
New York College of Pharmacy, with degree of Ph. G., 1903 ; in employ of H. H. Hay & Co., wholesale druggists, Portland.
HARRY HODGDON HOLTON, son of Willard Russell and Georgia E. (Hodgdon) Holton, born at Boothbay Harbor, June 9, 1881 ; fitted for college in Boothbay Harbor High School ; graduated from the New York College of Pharmacy, 1904; took post graduate work of one year in chemistry, with degree of Ph. D. ; in the employ of Clarence O. Bigelow, wholesale manufacturing chemist, New York City.
ROLAND LEE TURNER, son of Capt. William A. and Susie H. (Marks) Turner, born in Orland; came to West Boothbay Harbor, 1895 ; fitted in Boothbay Harbor High School ; grad- uated from the University of Maine, 1904, with degree of C. E. He is now engaged as civil engineer for the American Bridge Company, East Berlin, Conn.
STEPHEN HODGDON PINKHAM, son of Fernando and Jose- phine (Decker) Pinkham, born on Barter's Island, August 1, 1878 ; fitted for college in the Boothbay schools and Lincoln Academy ; graduated at Bowdoin College, A. B., 1905 ; in the employ of the Western Electric Company, New York City.
FRANK DAY, son of Warren P. and Clara J. (Decker) Day, born July 17, 1876, on Barter's Island ; fitted for college in the Boothbay schools and Lincoln Academy ; graduated at Bow- doin College, A. B., 1905. He is now a teacher in Connecticut.
ARTHUR LEWIS McCOBB, son of Willard H. and Bertha (Miller) McCobb, born at Boothbay Harbor, September 23, 1883 ; fitted for college in the Boothbay Harbor High School ; graduated from Bowdoin College, A. B., 1905 ; now teaching in Elizabeth, N. J.
STUDENTS NOW IN COLLEGE COURSES.
CARLTON BELL NICKERSON, son of Capt. Stephen E. and Imogene (Smalley) Nickerson, born in Boothbay Harbor, Jan- uary 15, 1885 ; fitted for college in the Boothbay Harbor High School ; now in Clark College, Worcester, Mass., class of 1906.
SIDNEY BAXTER ORNE, son of Zina and Lizzie (Thompson) Orne, born in Southport, March 24, 1886 ; now in University of Maine, class of 1907, specializing in marine engineering.
PERCY GLENHAM BISHOP, son of Willard F. Bishop, born in Eastport, residence in Boothbay Harbor ; fitted for college in the Boothbay Harbor High School and Coburn Classical Institute ; entered Bowdoin College, 1905, special course.
CHESLEY WILBUR NELSON, son of Clark L. and Laura B. (Grover) Nelson, born in Southport, December 1, 1885 ; fitted
27
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HISTORY OF BOOTHBAY.
for college in the Boothbay Harbor High School ; now in Bates , College, class of 1909.
ARTHUR LEWIS PINKHAM, son of Capt. Benjamin E. and Abbie (Lewis) Pinkham, born in Boothbay Harbor ; fitted in part in the Boothbay Harbor High School ; now in Bates Col- lege, class of 1908.
CARL RUSSELL HOLTON, son of Willard Russell and Geor- gia E. (Hodgdon) Holton, born at Boothbay Harbor, Septem- ber 12, 1884 ; fitted for college in the Boothbay Harbor High School ; now in the Rhode Island State College of Agriculture and Mechanics' Arts, class of 1909. The redrafting of the maps in this volume, of date 1857, is work of his execution.
CHAPTER XXIV. SUMMER RESORTS AND CARRYING COMPANIES.
B EFORE wealth and fashion had made pleasure resorts of the favored places along the coast of Maine they were to some extent looked upon and visited as health resorts. In the report of the State geologist, Doctor Jackson, 1837, he says, speaking of Boothbay : "This place is one of the most frequented harbors on the eastern coast of the State, and is a favorite resort for invalids during the summer season, on account of the purity of the air and the facilities for bathing in clear sea-water." John Hayward, of Boston, published a gazetteer of New England in 1839. In his mention of our locality he says : "Boothbay is a fine watering place, and many visit it, in summer months, for health or pleasure. Here may be found all the enjoyments of sea air and bathing, fishing and fowling, ocean and island scenery, for which Nahant, in Massachusetts Bay, is justly celebrated."
This was nearly three-quarters of a century ago. Summer vacations had not become a part of the system or plan of con- ducting affairs. Separate establishments, supported as summer homes, were almost unknown. The country was in its infancy, in a comparatively crude and undeveloped condition. With development have come great fortunes, and moderate ones as well, and a convenience of transportation from one part of the country to another, and with it all an alluring influence to shift the scenes at different seasons, with a consequent opportunity to use and expend a part of the income. An annual outing combines health and pleasure and is in fashion -a combination that can hardly fail to make it permanent.
The great resorts of the country came along in the train of development and wealth. Wealth depended upon development, and that only set in, in real earnest, in the United States, at
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HISTORY OF BOOTHBAY.
the close of the Civil War. About 1870 there was a marked movement along the coast of Maine in the matter of establish- ing summer homes. That movement has progressed without let or hindrance to the present day, now more than a third of a century. All that started, however, have not succeeded. Some have gone down a sore disappointment to their founders ; others have succeeded beyond expectation. But the aggregate growth of the Maine resorts has been a monumental success, and never was the perspective brighter than now.
Prior to about 1870 such as came among our people were those who came on so economical a plan that it afforded slight patronage. They either boarded in private families or camped on the shores, and any expenditures made by them were so small as not to be noticeable in the business affairs of the community. With this in general I will proceed to mention the start, growth and accomplishments of each separate resort in our locality ; for here, unlike most other places of a similar nature, the entire region abounds in summer colonies.
SQUIRREL ISLAND .- The earliest owner from whom a trace of succession to the present can be made was Samuel Ball. He had two sons, Levi and Thomas, and a daughter who married Amos Gray. Ball's children were marrying in town as early as 1788, therefore it is probable that he settled on the island at about the close of the Revolution, though he may have done so earlier. He let his son-in-law, Amos Gray, have it, and Gray exchanged it with William Greenleaf, in 1825, for a farm in Starks. Squire Greenleaf died in 1868, and early in 1870 his heirs sold the island to Hon. J. B. Ham, Lewiston, for $2,200, the purchaser acting for a proposed association. An act of incorporation was approved February 3d, and in June the organization was completed and the following officers elected : President, J. B. Ham ; Treasurer, Nelson Dingley, Jr. ; Direct- ors, J. B. Ham, O. B. Cheney, M. V. B. Chase, G. S. Preble, W. H. Stevens, H. B. Furbush. Fourteen cottages were built the first year ; the next saw a new landing, sidewalks, bowling alley and other small improvements. The chapel was added in 1881 and the Squirrel Island House in 1882. The summer post office and reading room dates from 1877. Hotel Eastern, with a capacity for 200 guests, was built in 1894-95, and
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SUMMER RESORTS.
opened the latter year, June 20th, by Keyes H. Richards, proprietor. He had been proprietor of the old Chase House, which was burned in 1893. The name of Hotel Eastern was changed to Squirrel Inn at the close of the season of 1895. Mr. Richards is still proprietor and the house has had crowded seasons ever since its erection.
A summer sheet, called the Squid, was established and ran seven or eight weeks each season from some time in the early seventies until about 1888, when it was changed to the Squirrel Island Buoy. The former was conducted by the late Parke G. Dingley, the latter usually by Bowdoin College students as lessees of the old plant. It was discontinued about 1900, since which time a special effort has been made by the Boothbay Register to chronicle the Squirrel news. A casino was built in 1890. In 1904 a new library was opened, which was the gift of A. H. Davenport, who has been president of the asso- ciation for several years and a leading real estate owner there. Water from the Boothbay Harbor plant was conducted across by laying a submarine pipe from the end of Spruce Point and a sewer system partially constructed in 1904. A telegraph, by submarine cable, has existed several years. The island sur- veys 131 acres. From the first a liberal policy has been pur- sued toward the island by the town of Southport, of which it is a part. Carefully drawn articles of association and wise administration of the affairs of the colony have kept out all objectionable features. Since 1903 they have received extra powers through a special charter granted them by the Legisla- ture. The first store on Squirrel was kept by a man named Ring. He was followed by one named Barker, afterward becoming the firm of Barker, Ham & Mitchell. Then fol- lowed Charles E. Kendrick, the present proprietor of the Boothbay Register, who was succeeded by Keyes H. Richards, who still conducts it.
At present Squirrel Island possesses a hotel, chapel, casino, post and telegraph offices, library, store, Spa, water and sewer systems. There are 115 cottages, and among these are many modern and expensive structures, much in contrast with the humble beginnings in the seventies. A census in the season of 1905 showed the visitors upon the island to number 910
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HISTORY OF BOOTHBAY.
persons, representing 114 cities and towns, twenty-two States and four foreign countries.
MOUSE ISLAND. - As early an owner as can be found for this island, and probably the first person to build and live upon it, was John Andrews, Jr. After selling his property at the head of the Harbor he built upon Mouse Island, which evidently had belonged to the estate of his father. This may go back to 1794, when John Andrews, Sr., first came from Ipswich to Boothbay. The house was built in 1858 and lived in until 1864, when Andrews sold to Alexander Johnson, Wiscasset. Johnson built the stone house in 1870 and about three years later sold the property to John and Charles Cameron, of South- port. They, in 1875, sold to a company of twelve persons from Skowhegan. The next year a move toward corporate organization, with the building of an extensive summer hotel a part of the program, was made, but never fully carried out. The Samoset House was built in 1877 and since that date has annually been opened in summer, under several lessees. The leading parties iu interest have been L. L. Morrison, R. W. Haines, S. J. Walton and George N. Page, all of Skowhegan. It is still owned by an association.
CAPITAL ISLAND .- Robert Reed, who lived at Pig Cove and was a son of Col. Andrew, of Boothbay, settled at that point about 1785. It was then and for many years after called Pig Cove Island. Reed sold the island to Moses Riggs, of George- town, and he, in 1844, to Freeman Grover, who that year set- tled at Pig Cove. Grover sold to Charles A. White, Gardiner, who acted for a company which was organized in 1878 and built the Capital Island House, or by some termed the Sidney House, for John Sidney was first proprietor. The early story of our summer business can hardly be written and leave John Sidney out. He was born at Kalma, Sweden, but came to America with his parents at the age of twelve. They soon died and at thirteen he was left an orphan. He chose the sea and sailed in nearly every quarter of the globe, under nearly every flag. He was shipwrecked several times, passed through scores of adventures of which any one told at length would make an interesting story, fought through the Civil War with more than one full share of hardships and then engaged in sein-
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ing. This brought him into our locality, and upon the pur- chase of Squirrel Island he took up his abode there as keeper. He was termed the third king of Squirrel-Samoset being first, King William (Squire Greenleaf), second, and Sidney became King John. In this position he remained until the house was built at Capital, when he went there to complete his career. He had seen and experienced that side of life by which all law was turned to license. A newspaper article upon him once said that he "had all the charms of the wild Indian and all the vices of tame civilization." He was generous and kind, but what he wanted he took if within reach. He was, in fact, a whole-souled, kind-hearted old sinner and will long be remem- bered. Capital has about thirty cottages owned by individuals, other property being still in association ownership.
SOUTHPORT. - The advantages of mainland and island are afforded this town since the bridge was built. Beautiful spots, where Nature has been lavish in her attractions, abound about its shores, and summer homes are springing up at all points. Crossing from Boothbay Harbor one of the first places in view is that of Mrs. Rhoda Thompson. It is the old homestead, remodeled and fitted as a summer hotel, with a capacity for about forty guests. A little farther westward, at the junction of the roads, is Cove Cottage, Capt. Alphonzo Dyer, proprie- tor, with a capacity of from forty to fifty guests. It was first opened in 1889. Its patrons are mostly from New York and New Jersey. In 1897 M. H. & H. L. Thompson built the Lawnmere. It was erected for the purpose and is located so as to command a view of Samoset River and the entire travel between Bath and Boothbay. It is a well-finished structure inside and out. Its capacity is for about sixty guests, with extensive additions already arranged to be added for 1906.
Where "Skipper" John Pierce conducted a thrifty bank cod establishment, enlarged and increased by his sons-in-law, Thomas and Nahum Marr, from whom the harbor at West Southport took its name, J. Dana Payson now runs the Cozy Harbor House. It is the old home of Thomas Marr, remod- eled with additions. Its capacity is for forty to fifty guests.
Three miles more to the southward and the Newagen House, Courtland Wilson, proprietor, is reached. It is the old Wilson
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HISTORY OF BOOTHBAY.
home, with all former semblance gone. The house was first built by Ebenezer Preble in 1816. On the grounds of this place is the renowned "Chaple's Chair," a description of which has found its way into print by nearly every space writer and searcher after the curious who has visited Cape Newagen. This house has dining capacity for fifty persons, with rooming for thirty-five.
The largest and one of the oldest summer establishments on the island is that of Abial Gray, a little more than a mile north of Cape Newagen, situated on Boothbay Harbor, nearly oppo- site Squirrel. It has no name, it is simply "Gray's"-that said and it is known. The capacity is about seventy-five. Northerly from this establishment is that of Charles S. Gray. It is known as the Point of View House, and accommodates about twenty-five guests. It was opened in 1895. On high land overlooking Capital Island Cove is Bay View House, Daniel B. Strout, proprietor. This house was opened to the public in 1876, since which time it has been rebuilt with addi- Besides the tions. It accommodates about forty guests. houses mentioned are several others which are able to accom- modate fifteen to twenty guests each season. A hall was built a few years ago on the shore at the end of the bridge, and in summer a store with the specialties of the season is run in connection. A short distance northerly from "Gray's," near Devon Rocks, a chapel was erected by subscription among the guests during 1905. it is twenty-five by fifty-two feet, con- tains twenty-two pews, and was built by Charles S. Gray. The architecture is modern and it is a very attractive building. It is known as "All Saints Chapel by the Sea," and is Episcopal. Boating facilities are unsurpassed wherever one goes about Southport, and, in the past few years, a great improvement is noticeable on all the roads. This is directly traceable to the erec- tion of a bridge, as was predicted by its supporters at the time.
BOOTHBAY HARBOR VILLAGE has the Menawarmet, built and equipped specially for the summer trade, by the Boothbay Land Company, in 1889. It was later sold to Capt. Oscar S. Yates, Round Pond, who has since become a resident. It has been run annually, by either Captain Yates or a lessee, during each season since building. Excepting Squirrel Inn and the
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SUMMER RESORTS.
Oak Grove House it is the largest summer hostelry in the entire region, accommodating more than 100 persons. Previous to building the above the Boston and Boothbay Land Company erected a small hotel at the southerly projection of Spruce Point, where the telegraph cable and water pipe leave the mainland for Squirrel Island service. This house has a capacity for thirty guests. The all-the-year-open houses are the Booth- bay House and Weymouth House, the former accommodating about 100 guests, the latter fifty. Additional to these are some private residences open only to regular boarders during summer.
On the road leading to Southport, on the shore of Camp- bell's Cove, is situated the Oak Grove House. This house was opened in 1896, under the management of its present proprie- tor, W. H. Reed. It is modern in every respect and has enjoyed a patronage up to its capacity each season. It accom- modates from 100 to 125.
ISLE OF SPRINGS, originally known as Thirty Acre Island, and then, during the occupancy of the Swett family, as Swett's Island, was purchased during 1887 of Harvey Swett by an association of Kennebec and Androscoggin parties and rechris- tened. In 1888 nine cottages and the Ne Krangen House were built. This house took its name from a local one in the Indian language. Townsend Gut, just below this island, which sepa- rates Southport from the main, was by the natives known as Ne Krangen, variously translated as "gateway," "in the open," etc. An association was duly organized immediately after pur- chase, similar to that existing at Squirrel. Four members of the association purchased the hotel in 1902 and enlarged it from twenty-four guests' rooms to fifty. One of the valuable as well as extraordinary features of this island is that twelve distinct springs of pure water appear upon it, distributed at different points. There are now about twenty-five cottages. The casino was built in 1892. The only other public resort on the Sheepscot side is the Sawyer Island House, which for the past few seasons has been under the proprietorship of Elton H. Lewis, who also conducts a store in connection. This is the old home of Zina H. Hodgdon, and summer boarders were taken for several years before it went into Mr. Lewis' hands.
BAYVILLE is one of the largest and most important summer
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HISTORY OF BOOTHBAY.
colonies in the locality. The neighborhood where stands the Boyd residence and others, at the junction of the road to Bay- ville and that running between East Boothbay and the Harbor, was formerly called Hardscrabble. It is often so referred to in the town records of fifty to sixty years ago. The Booker family, shown by old records to have been a numerous one, lived there. Samuel Murray owned the land nearer the shore, where the Bayville colony now inhabits and easterly along shore, including Murray Hill. In 1840 Samuel Boyd purchased what is now the estate of the late Thomas Boyd and all of Bay- ville, of Murray, making his home there afterward. At that date an old cellar was plainly visible just east of the present settlement, but it is not known who the early settler was. Thomas Boyd, who had lived for several years in Dorchester, Mass., came back and took the homestead, and soon after 1870, when, as we have seen, the tide of summer travel commenced to set in toward Boothbay, he was quick to grasp the situation and to recognize the value of what he possessed. A private way was opened to the shore from his residence and a single cottage built, which Isaac Reed took. Another was soon built, known as the Greenleaf cottage. But little, however, was done before 1884. Prof. G. M. Harmon, of Tufts College, came there first in 1886. Mr. Capen had been there the previous year. At that time there were the Reed, Boyd, Marsh, McDon- ald, Tufts, Dorchester, Blaxton and Boyd and Capen cottages. Prof. W. R. Shipman, of Tufts, came in 1887. Since that time the leading promoters of the colony have been the firm composed of Professors Harmon and Shipman. In 1890 Grif- fin & Bourne purchased land of Mrs. Mary Sproule, from the original Leishman farm, abutting on the west, and built four cottages and also sold two lots where cottages were built. In the carly nineties three cottages were built there by the late Charles Chick, of Augusta. The Gables has been owned by Harmon & Shipman since 1892 and run as a public house. There are now thirty-six cottages ; eight are owned by Harmon & Shipman, five by Griffin & Bourne, six by the Boyd estate and the rest individually. A casino was built in 1904 at a cost of $1,500, owned jointly between the Bayville and Murray Hill colonies. This is used through the week for various pub-
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lic amusements and Sundays for religious services. Near the casino is the floating stage, seventeen by seventy feet, with a boathouse. The steamboat has no landing here, but makes one at Murray Hill, one-fourth mile distant.
MURRAY HILL was purchased by Charles Capen, Stoughton, Mass., in 1886, and while in a sense connected with Bayville is still a separate summer colony. There are several attractive summer homes there in an unsurpassed location. The two Capens, Cochrane and Brown purchased about seventy acres easterly from Murray Hill in 1886 and erected four cottages upon their purchase, christening the place Paradise Point. Bay- ville has a summer postal service, while the two latter neigh- borhoods take mail and are tributary in trade to East Boothbay.
EAST BOOTHBAY, throughout the region covered by this volume, is only second to Boothbay Harbor as a trading center and supply station for the summer colonies as well as the resi- dent population; and, like the Harbor in another respect, while not of itself a leading summer location still has its admirers and accommodates them. Several private houses are opened in summer. Among the principal places of this class are the following : Seavey House, Mrs. Granville J. Seavey ; McDougall House, James McDougall ; Forest House, Walter McDougall ; Reed House, Mrs. E. Ella Reed.
At points along the way leading over the ridge road to Ocean Point, by which one traverses the entire length of Line- kin Neck, development is often discernible in the form of new summer homes and hotels which have sprung up. The Mount Pleasant House, at that place, has its location near a regular steamboat landing. A little farther to the south is the Ledge Lawn House, built by E. S. Linekin, 1890, situated on a beautiful spot on the shore of the bay.
OCEAN POINT, on the identical spot where stood the ancient settlement of Corbin's Sound, dates its birth as a summer col- ony among the first along our coast. It took its start early in the seventies. Perhaps no two persons among the many who have taken a strong interest in the welfare and growth of this place have done so much as Dr. L. J. Crocker and the late Hon. P. O. Vickery, both of Augusta. They were among its earliest admirers and have been among its most loyal and con-
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HISTORY OF BOOTHBAY.
stant supporters. In 1895 there were twenty-nine cottages. That year John R. McDougall, of East Boothbay, who for fif- teen years had sent a team there daily in summer from his home store, built one at the Point with a forty-four foot front- age on the street and a twenty-two foot depth, with public hall above. About that date the town made an appropriation of $1,025 for building a street about the shore of the Point, and since then a healthy growth has been noticeable annually in both numbers and improvements of buildings. The Ocean Point House, near the steamboat landing, was one of the earli- est houses built there for summer use. There are now about seventy cottages and two hotels, C. E. Hoxie and J. W. Har- low being proprietors.
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