USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Harpswell > History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine, including the ancient territory known as Pejepscot > Part 62
USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Brunswick > History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine, including the ancient territory known as Pejepscot > Part 62
USA > Maine > Sagadahoc County > Topsham > History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine, including the ancient territory known as Pejepscot > Part 62
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The house erected by John Dunning, a few years later, is the one still standing on the corner of Union and Pleasant Streets, and is now known as the Samuel Jackson house.
What is now the back portion of Mr. S. S. Wing's house, on O'Brien Street, once belonged to old Timothy Weymouth, a wheel- wright, and a very eccentric man, who lived in it about 1802. In 1806 this house was moved into the woods to make way for the then new meeting-house of the First Parish. It was afterwards removed below Mr. Daniel Stone's house, and still later was moved to its pres- ent location.
The present residence of Doctor Nathaniel T. Palmer was originally a one-story building, erected by Ebenezer Nichols. He afterwards added another story and lived in it, following the trade of a shoe- maker. It was afterwards purchased by Secomb Jordan, a deputy sheriff, who fitted it up and improved its appearance, and sold it to
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HISTORY OF BRUNSWICK, TOPSHAM, AND HARPSWELL.
David Stanwood, who continued to live in it until it was sold to Abner Bourne. From the latter it passed to Doctor Solomon Cushman, and from him to Doctor Palmer.
The gambrel-roofed house on Centre Street, near Federal, now occupied by Mrs. Pierce, was originally connected with the residence of Doctor Goss, at Maquoit. It was hauled to the village early in this century, by Doctor Page, and was used by him as an office, and was then situated in his yard, just south of his house. It was afterwards removed to its present location.
The house now owned by the heirs of Rodney Forsaith, on Maine Street, was built, in 1794, by Major Swift, father of Dean and John L. Swift.
The house now owned and occupied by Captain L. J. Joyce, on Noble Street, was originally the old tavern which stood in the north- west corner of the college yard, and was afterwards taken down, and rebuilt in its present location. It was originally built in 1803.
The old house just north of the residence of Theodore S. Mclellan, on Maine Street, was moved there from Maquoit, previous to 1802, by a tanner by the name of Heath. This old house has had many occupants. It is now owned by Mr. Mclellan, and leased by him as a tenement.
The Page house, next south of the Mason Street Church, which is now occupied as a boarding-house, with stores below, was built in 1804 for a store, and was occupied by Jacob Abbot and Gustavus Goss. It was subsequently owned and occupied by Doctor Jonathan Page.
The Cleaveland house, on Federal Street, now the summer residence of Honorable Peleg W. Chandler, of Boston, was built in 1806 by the late Professor Parker Cleaveland, then a tutor in Bowdoin College.
There are doubtless other houses than those that have been enu- merated, which might be entitled to mention on account of their age or because in some way noted, but the foregoing are all in regard to which any thing definite has been ascertained.
FORTS, GARRISONS, ETC, IN TOPSHAM AND HARPSWELL. 651
CHAPTER XXIV.
FORTS, GARRISONS, CHURCHES, AND OTHER BUILDINGS IN TOPSHAM AND HARPSWELL.
FORTS AND GARRISONS.
THERE is a statement in the Pejepscot Papers to the effect that the first fort erected in this vicinity was on the Topsham side of the river, and tradition speaks of an Indian fort on the ledge at the end of the bridge near where the old toll-house now stands. In 1684 Wharton ratified his treaty with the Indians at Pejepscot Fort.1 This could not have been Fort Andross, which was not erected until 1688, nor Fort George, which was built still later. It is therefore not improba- ble that the Indians had a fortification at or near the spot upon which tradition says there was one, and that it was there that Wharton rati- fied his treaty. There is no evidence that there was an English fort here at that time, and there is nothing to warrant such a belief. The tradition in regard to an Indian fort on the Topsham Island is not only mentioned by Williamson and other early writers, but is also con- tained in a statement made by John Merrill, Esquire, which is pre- served in the collection of Pejepscot Papers. His statement was as follows : -
" In answer to the Several Questions asked can only answer at present :
" I came to Topsham first in April A. D. 1760. The fort taken by Capt" Church, as I was informed by Mr. Samuel Wilson, was some- where near where the Bridge now is and he said he had seen some of the remains of said fort and I saw an old cellar on the Island near where the bridge is, supposed to be an Indian Cellar. There were marks of a settlement where Merrill point so called, now is, - I don't know what built of - where was part of a gun or guns and a number of Indian knives of stone, - near a dozen I think, - made very curi- ously, one of which I gave to Bowdoin College."
1 See Part 1, Chapter 2.
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HISTORY OF BRUNSWICK, TOPSHAM, AND HARPSWELL.
The statement that the fort taken by Church was at Pejepscot is proved by Church's own journal to be an error. Williamson, MeKeen, and others have made the same mistake.
There were formerly quite a number of garrisons in this town, though not so many as in Brunswick. Near the spot where Mr. James Wilson's house now stands, there was at one time a block-house which had a tower, in which the women used to sit and spin while the men were at work in the fields. If Indians were seen approach- ing, the women would blow a conch shell to warn the men. Shot, weighing three or four pounds each, have been ploughed up at different times in the surrounding field.
There were several garrisons on the " Foreside," near Merrymeet- ing Bay, the precise location and date of erection of which are not positively known. One of these was erected in 1756 and was under the charge of Captain Lithgow.
A garrison-house was built by a Mr. Gore about where Mr. Collins Purington now lives, near the railroad station.
There was another garrison on the vacant lot east of the village burying-ground, in front of the residence of Mrs. F. T. Purinton, and one on the hill above the Free-Will Baptist Meeting-House. The late Mr. Rufus Rogers dug up numerous Indian arrow-heads and other implements of war near his residence.
GUN-HOUSE. - The gun-house of the artillery company, which was built about 1808, perhaps earlier, was, after the disbandment of that company, sold to the proprietors of the Topsham Academy, and was used for a wood-shed until the destruction of the Academy by fire, in 1857, after which it was purchased by the late Reverend Doctor Wheeler, and was converted into the carriage-house connected with his residence, where it still remains.
CHURCHES.
In 1759 the frame of the first meeting-house in Topsham was erected by the settlers. The agreement between the proprietors and the settlers was that the latter should erect the frame of the building and that the proprietors should complete it. It was the wish of the proprietors to pay for the work of finishing the meeting house by the sale of lots, and owing to the difficulty in obtaining pay for their lots, the work upon the meeting-house was delayed, and in October, 1761, it had not been boarded over. At that time Dr. Noyes wrote Mr.
1 Dester, Church's " Philip's War," pp. 50 to 56.
2 Pejepscot Records.
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FORTS, GARRISONS, ETC., IN TOPSHAM AND HARPSWELL.
Freeman, "I expect the meeting-house will be covered before winter. John Patten sent to me for 15M shingle nails which are sent pr Stan- wood. Nothing further, at present, is intended than to secure the frame."1 In April, 1763, Dr. Noyes writes, " I have the sashes for the meeting-house in my custody, but until I receive money due from the settlers I cannot get them done." In June, of the same year, he writes, " By repeated complaints of the people I do not find that John Patten takes any care about the meeting-house, that the window- frames have lain exposed to the weather, the shingle nails rusted, and I can't persuade him to act in this service as I expected from him. The men that undertook to shingle the roof have not yet completed it." 2 Precisely when the meeting-house was finished is not known, but it was probably shingled and clapboarded and partially finished inside during the summer of 1764. This building stood about two and one half miles east of the village, on the road to Bowdoinham, where the old burying-ground is. It was similar in construction to the meet- ing-houses of Brunswick and Harpswell. After the erection of the second meeting-house of the First Parish this building was allowed to go to ruin, and was carried off piecemeal by different persons for fences and other purposes.
The second meeting-house of the First Parish was built in 1821. It stood on what is now the High-School lot. It was about on a line with the present residence of Deacon David Scribner and the Frank- lin Family School building. It was built mainly by individuals resid- ing in the village, and was presented by them, conditionally, to the First Parish. This meeting-house was, both externally and internally, very different from the old one. It was much larger, and had a tall steeple upon which was a handsome vane. The windows were large and long, so that they lighted both the body of the house and the galleries. The galleries extended the length of the building on both sides and across the north end. They were supported by pillars. The north gallery was for the choir, and here, subsequently, was placed a really fine organ. which was presented to the society by Major William Frost. It was the first organ used in Topsham. The pulpit was quite high, being almost on a level with the galleries. A flight of stairs on each side led to it, and beneath, just in front, between the stairs, stood the communion-table and chairs. Behind the pulpit was a large window, hung with heavy drapery, which opened into the ves- try. The vestry was a room over the entry, and was reached by the
1 Pejepscot Papers. 2 Ibid.
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HISTORY OF BRUNSWICK, TOPSHAM, AND IIARPSWELL.
stairway on either side that led to the galleries. The pulpit was of mahogany, and was considered a nice piece of workmanship. There were two longitudinal aisles and one broad, transverse one in front of the pulpit. There were sixty pews in the body of the building, and about forty-two in the galleries. Those in the body of the building were oblong box-pews, and the doors were fastened with brass buttons. There was one pew in the gallery, occupied by Mrs. Fields, that was higher than the rest and had windows in front, over which curtains could be drawn. The gallery pews were nearly square. The aisles were nicely carpeted, and the house was warmed by two large box-stoves. In the centre of the ceiling was a large dome, which was always a source of wonder to the children. There were two doors to the meeting-house on the outside, and two to correspond to these on the inside. Around the front of the gallery extended an iron rod, upon which were slid- ing curtains, which could be closed or opened by the occupants of the lower tier of pews. The belfry never contained a bell, that in the Court House near by being used on Sundays to assemble the congre- gation. The Court House bell was the first bell ever placed upon any building in town, and was purchased by subscription. There was a lightning-rod upon the meeting-house, which rod for many years the daring youth of that period, regardless of danger to life or limb, were wont to ascend. Some of the companions of his youth still live, who will remember many an earnest conversation with the writer while he was seated upon the gilded ball above the bell-deck. Their conversation. it is perhaps needless to say, was usually of a serious turn, the lofty situation not being conducive to levity.
This meeting-house was, about 1855, taken down, and rebuilt at one of the Brunswick ship-yards for a boarding-house for the workmen. In 1875 this building was taken down and from the material a double house was erected on the lot on the west side of Union Street, at the corner of McKeen Street, Brunswick.
The present CONGREGATIONAL MEETING-HOUSE was built in 1836. The meeting-house of the First Parish having passed into the hands of Unitarians, the Orthodox Congregationalists, who composed a majority of the church of the First Parish, united in building a new meeting-house. The following is a copy of the subscription paper which was signed by those who contributed to the erection of the new building : -
" Whereas the First Parish in Topsham, in the County of Lincoln and State of Maine, are destitute of a suitable and convenient house of worship, and the Congregational Church therewith connected and
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FORTS, GARRISONS, ETC., IN TOPSHAM AND HARPSWELL.
others are contemplating purchasing a lot of land and erecting and completing a suitable and convenient house of public worship for the particular use and benefit of the Orthodox Congregational Church : and whereas in pursuance and in execution of an agreement hereto- fore made by us and others for this purpose, a committee has been raised and appointed, consisting of John Barron, Nahum Perkins, John Tebbetts, Alfred White, Hugh Patten, and Given Jameson, who have already purchased materials and made other purchases, contracts, and arrangements to carry into execution the purposes aforesaid :
" Now know all persons that we whose names are hereto subscribed do hereby severally, each for himself and not for the others, covenant, engage, and agree to and with said committee and the survivors of them and their legal representatives to take the share or shares herein by us respectively subscribed for in said meeting-house, and to pay to said committee or any one of them, or other agent by them appointed, our just and respective proportions of the cost and expenses of pur- chasing a lot and building a house as aforesaid ; and we hereby au- thorize and empower said committee to go on with and complete the purchase of land and building a house aforesaid in such way and man- ner as they may think best, hereby ratifying and confirming whatever they may do in the premises.
" Witness our hands and seals at Topsham this nineteenth day of October, A. D. 1836.
" JOHN BARRON,
three shares.
NAHUM PERKINS,
.6
JOHN TEBBETTS,
two
ALFRED WHITE,
four ..
HUGHI PATTEN, two 66
ALFRED S. PERKINS,
66
STOCKBRIDGE HOWLAND,
WILLIS SPRAGUE,
66 66
LEMUEL THOMPSON,
MATHEW PATTEN,
one
JOSEPH PATTEN,
66
6.
JOSHUA FOY,
66
ISAAC L. COOK,
66
JOHN II. ALEXANDER,
JOHN B. LARRABEE,
two
JOSEPH BARRON,
66
GIVEN JAMESON.
66
DAVID ALEXANDER,
one
JAMES HI. SANDFORD,
two
66
66
66
JAMES MCKEEN,
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HISTORY OF BRUNSWICK, TOPSIIAM, AND HARPSWELL.
" A true copy of the original.
" Attest :
" ISAAC P. TEBBETTS."
The bell on this meeting-house was the gift of General Veazie. It cost about seven hundred dollars. Subsequently it was cracked and recast.
The first BAPTIST Or "OLD YELLOW MEETING-HOUSE" was built in 1795. It was situated about two miles west of the village in the lot adjoining the old burying-ground. It was forty feet long and thirty feet wide. It was built chiefly by Joseph Haley, Captain Actor Pat- ten, 1st, John Merrill, Pelatiah Haley, and James Purington. It was unused for many years, and was finally taken down, and rebuilt for a boarding-house at one of the ship-yards in Brunswick.
The BAPTIST VESTRY was built in 1819. It was situated opposite the village burying-ground, on the corner of the grounds now occupied by the Franklin Family School, and was built over the brook, which is still to be seen there. It was a long, low, one-story building without a steeple. In 1840 it was purchased by the town for a town-house, and was used as such for many years.
The present BAPTIST CHURCH was erected in 1835. The first meet- ing held in it was in May of that year. When first built and until 1870 there was a gallery over the porch ; the pews were oblong with doors, and the pulpit was quite high. In 1870 the building was greatly improved both internally and externally, and it was enlarged by an addition of some five or six feet in front. The gallery and pulpit were taken down and a new pulpit erected, the pews were remodelled, and the building thoroughly repaired, at a cost of upwards of $2,500. The bell on this church was purchased in 1836 by sub- scription, the larger portion of the cost being paid by Deacon David Scribner.
The FREE. WILL BAPTIST MEETING-HOUSE was erected in 1837. The cost of the building was about $3,000. It has been kept in good repair, but it remains to-day substantially as it was first built, having never been remodelled.
COURT HOUSE.
The Court House was built in the year 1800. It was situated about midway between the residence of Deacon David Scribner and the Franklin Family School building. The illustration shows the appear- ance of the building previous to 1835, at which time it was remodelled. In 1848, Topsham being no longer a half-shire town, the building was
FORTS, GARRISONS, ETC., IN TOPSHAM AND HARPSWELL. 657
sold to the proprietors of the Topsham Academy. It was again remodelled, and was used as an academy until a short time before its destruction by fire. which was on December 3, 1857.
COURT HOUSE.
TOWN-HOUSE.
In 1840 the town purchased of Joshua Haskell the Baptist vestry and lot for the sum of two hundred and twenty-five dollars, and paid three hundred and seventy-five for finishing the building inside and outside, and also paid forty dollars for a stone drain, to secure the town-house and road from washing. This was the first and only town- house owned by the town, and its total cost was only six hundred and forty dollars. It was finally torn down in 1864, the town having made arrangements with the Sagadahoc Agricultural Society for the use of their hall for town-meetings.
OBSERVATORY.
An observatory was built upon Mount Ararat, at some time between 1830 and 1840. The project was started by the late Doctor James McKeen, and the structure was built by subscribers. The observatory was about fifty feet high. It was made of four trees, hewed, and set
42
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HISTORY OF BRUNSWICK, TOPSHAM, AND HARPSWELL.
up slanting. The trees were fastened together with joists and were boarded over. Inside, a flight of stairs led up to the " lantern " or standing-place, which was large enough for three or four persons to occupy it at one time. From this observatory a fine view of Casco Bay could be obtained, and sometimes the White Mountains could be seen from it. This structure remained standing some seven or eight years. when the stairs having become somewhat rotten, it was thought unsafe, and was consequently given to a poor man, who used a portion of the lumber for a pen for animals and the rest for firewood.
OTHER BUILDINGS.
The oldest house now standing in Topsham is probably the " OLD RED HOUSE," about two miles from the village on the road to Bow- doinham. Precisely when this house was built is not known, but it
"OLD RED HOUSE."
must have been previous to 1770, as it was at that time occupied by John Hunter as a tavern. The same grooved clapboards, split out by hand. which were originally used on it, are to be found. on it to-day. The interior, finished in panel-work, is novel to those living in modern houses.
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FORTS, GARRISONS, ETC., IN TOPSHAM AND HARPSWELL.
The FOSTER HOUSE on the "Foreside" road, near the Narrows, was built in 1775, or very soon after, by Mr. Joseph Foster. The door fastenings and hinges were picked up by him in Portland, at the time that town was burned in 1775, and were used in the house that he was then building.
The present MERRILL HOMESTEAD Was erected in 1785 by John Mer- rill, and is yet in excellent condition. Previously to building this house, Merrill lived in a log-house, which was situated a short distance in the rear of the present building. The log-house was built in 1760.
The house now occupied by SWANZEY WILSON, situated on the Bowdoinham road, just beyond Cyrus Purington's, was built about 1794, by James Wilson, for Doctor Emerson, who occupied it for sev- eral years. After him, Doctor Parker lived in it for a few years.
Another very old residence is on the bay, or " Foreside " road, about three miles from the village. It is now occupied by WILLIAM DOUGLASS. Whether or not it is the original house first built on the place is uncertain. The original house was once barricaded for pro- tection from the Indians.
Another of the old houses is the ROGERS HOMESTEAD, situated on the Bowdoinham road, about three miles from the village. The main house was erected about the year 1773, and was for some eight or ten years used as an inn. The huge chimney now standing, said to be the first brick one ever built in town, was put up by Mr. Andrew White- house, a mason of the first order. His plastering upon the walls excited the admiration of all who came from far and near to see it. This house was afterwards made into a double tenement, and occupied by his son, the late Honorable George Rogers, and is now occupied by the family of the late George A. Rogers.
The house now owned and occupied by JAMES WILSON was built by his father, James Wilson, previous to 1792.
The COFFIN HOUSE, on Main Street, nearly opposite the old bank, was occupied by Francis Tucker as early as 1800, and for many years after. It was originally a one-story building, and Tucker added the second story when he converted it into a public house.
The MAJOR FROST HOUSE, now occupied as the FRANKLIN FAMILY SCHOOL-HOUSE, was built in 1806 by Captain Daniel Holden, the Freemasons paying largely toward defraying the expense for the privilege of having a lodge-room in it. Mr. Nathaniel Green kept a tavern in it, between 1831 and 1836, to accommodate persons attending court. Dancing-schools were often kept in the hall after it was vacated by the Freemasons. From Green's hands it passed to
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HISTORY OF BRUNSWICK, TOPSHAM, AND HARPSWELL.
Major William Frost. It was sold by the widow of the latter, in 1856, to Warren Johnson, who converted it into a boarding-school house.
The house now occupied by Daniel A. Hall, on Elm Street, was formerly the residence of Nathaniel Melcher, and was probably built previous to 1800.
The STOCKBRIDGE HOWLAND HOUSE, on Elm Street, was occupied by James Stone, father of the late Colonel Alfred J. Stone, in 1802. At the time of his residence there was open land, under cultivation, owned by Gideon Walker, to the north and east of it. The date of erection of this house, and by whom it was built, is not known.
What is known as the RACHEL PATTEN HOUSE was formerly occu- pied by Joseph Swett, who married a daughter of Captain Actor Patten. It was built as early as 1800. .
The house now occupied by COLLINS PURINGTON, near the depot, was built in 1810, by Captain Ezekiel Purington. John Jameson was the master workman.
The CHARLES THOMPSON HOUSE, on Green Street, near its junction with Main Street, was built by Isaac Johnson, not far from the year 1800.
The PORTER HOUSE, on Elm Street, nearly opposite the graveyard, was built by Doctor Porter in 1802. When he moved to Camden in 1829 the house passed into the hands of Governor William King, who was his brother-in-law. While Governor King owned it, Mrs. Field occupied it for some years for a school. In 1843, Francis T. Purinton purchased it, and it has ever since been occupied by his family. It is on one of the best locations in town, and was, doubtless, at the. time it was built and for many years thereafter, one of the finest homesteads in the village.
The WALKER HOMESTEAD, on the corner of Main and Elm Streets, was built, in 1809, by Major Nathaniel Walker, who was married and moved into it the following year, and resided there ever after until his death, in 1851. The French roof was placed upon it for a picture- gallery, in 1867, by the present proprietor, Colonel Wildes P. Walker. Other improvements were also made upon the outside, and to the grounds, which render it now one of the handsomest residences in town and an ornament to the village. The interior has been pre- served substantially as it was originally built.
'T here are probably other houses in town as old as those mentioned, but nothing definite has been learned concerning them.
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FORTS, GARRISONS, ETC., IN TOPSHAM AND IIARPSWELL
2
is si
"WALKER HOMESTEAD," TOPSHAM, (Sagadahoc County,) MAINE.
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HISTORY OF BRUNSWICK, TOPSIIAM, AND HARPSWELL.
HARPSWELL.
FORTS AND GARRISONS. - The only fort ever constructed in Harps- well was made during the war of 1812, on the land now owned by Woodbury S. Purinton, at the mouth of New Meadows River. It was a simple earthwork, the foundation of which was made of logs. A mound of earth and a few decayed logs mark its location
There was a garrison or block-house for defence against the Indians, on the north end of Bailey's Island. It was at the Narrows, between Garrison Cove and the main bay, within twenty feet of the shore. The stone foundations have been seen by some of the older inhabitants ; but when the land was put under cultivation, all the stones were rolled over the bank, and there are now no traces of the garrison to be seen.
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