History of Cumberland Co., Maine, Part 18

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 780

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PHYSICAL FEATURES.

House. The light-house is a granite tower, sixty-six feet in height, which shows a fixed white light, varied by red flashes once every minute, from a height of eighty feet above sea level. The light is of the third order of Fresnel, and visible in ordinary weather fifteen nautical miles. The geographical position of the light-tower is latitude 43º 39' 21" north, longitude 70° 02' 13" west.

Portland Head Light-House is built upon Portland Head, a prominent headland of Cape Elizabeth, three miles and a hall' above the pitch of the cape. It is a white tower, sixty-nine feet high, and shows a fixed white light from an elevation of one hundred and one feet above sea level. This light is of the second order of Fresnel, and is visible in ordinary weather fifteen nautical miles. Close by the light- house appears a pyramidal structure painted white, and about thirty feet high, standing at the base of the light- tower. This is the bell-tower, and contains the fog-bell and machinery for striking it. There is also another fog-signal, a second-elass Daboll's air-trumpet, giving blasts of eight seconds at intervals of forty seconds. It is placed in a building adjacent to the bell-tower. The keeper's dwelling, which is a white stone building, is connected with the light-house by a wooden porch. Portland Head Light- House is in latitude 43º 37' 42" north, longitude 70° 12' 29" west.

Cape Elizabeth Lights are two towers to the southward of Portland Head. They stand three hundred yards apart on a line northeast-by-east and southwest-by-west, on the pitch of the cape. The eastern tower (called East Light) is of stone, striped white and red, there being four broad red horizontal stripes. It shows a fixed white light of the second order of Fresnel, from a height of one hundred and forty-three feet above sea level. The keeper's dwelling is a whitewashed stone building, connected with the tower by a wooden walk. The Western Light-House is a white stone tower, with one vertical stripe on its seaward face, showing a revolving white light of the second order from a height of one hundred and forty-three feet above sea level, and has also a keeper's dwelling connected with it by a wooden poreh. Both towers are fifty-three feet high. In foggy weather a steam-whistle, ten inches in diameter, gives warn- ing by two blasts of five seconds each, with an interval of eight seconds between them, and then a pause of forty-two seconds every minute.

Buck Cove .- On the north side of the city of Portland, between it and the main land, is a large, nearly circular eove, called Baek Cove. It is nearly all dry at low water ; but a narrow passage leads to the southward along the eastern side of the cove to a large pier covered with warehouses, situated on the north side of Portland Peninsula, and on the south shore of the cove. The entrance to Back Cove is crossed by two bridges. The easternmost is a railroad bridge ; the other, which is a quarter of a mile to the west- ward, is called Tukey Bridge. Both have draws. The passage for vessels to this cove is well marked by buoys, and twenty feet at low water can be taken as far up as the bridge.

Cape Elizabeth .- The shore-line of Cape Elizabeth, like that of most of the coast which we have thus far examined, is much indented by coves, the principal of which, begin-

ning at the pitch of the cape, are Broad Cove, Zeb Cove, Pond Cove, Ship Cove, and Simonton, sometimes called Gurry Cove. Broad Cove is about three-quarters of a mile above Dyer Point, which is the north point of the pitch of Cape Elizabeth ; Zeb Cove is a mile and a quarter above Broad Cove; Pond Cove is a mile below Portland Head ; Ship Cove is a small indentation making in on the north side of the head; Simonton, or Gurry Cove, is a mile and a half above the head, and just below Spring Point, on which is built Fort Preble. This structure is a large gran- ite fort, surmounted by heavy sod traverses, and, with its barraeks and officers' quarters, presents a picturesque and imposing appearance. Opposite Fort Preble is House Island, containing an old square fortification called Fort Scammel.

The southern extremity of Cape Elizabeth is a somewhat precipitous bluff, called IFigh Head, and is three-eighths of a mile south of the light house. The south shores of the cape take a westerly direction from High Ilead to a grassy, sloping point called Mckinney Point. From this point the shore-line turns abruptly to the northward, and, sweeping gradually round to the west and southwest, forms a large semicircular cove a mile and a quarter wide. The name usually given to it is Seal Cove. It is rarely ever used as a harbor, but its eastern shore is quite a noted place of sum- mer resort, a large hotel having been built there.

Richmond Island .- The western point of the cove, which is low and sandy, is connected at extreme low tide by a sand-bar with Richmond Island, which lies south-southeast of it about eight hundred yards. This island is of a moderate height, bare of trees, with the exception of a very small grove near the summit, about a mile long and eight hun- dred yards wide in its widest part. Its eastern extremity is called East Point, and is one mile southwest of High Head. The island bas upon it a house and out-buildings.

The harbor of Richmond Island is on the north side, between it and the southern shore of Cape Elizabeth, and is a mile in length, measuring from east to west, by about three-quarters of a mile in width. It has but few obstrue- tions to navigation, and may be safely entered at all times. To the south of Richmond Island, and between it and the main land, lie the small islets, Stephen's Rock and the Sis- ters; and west of the sand-bar, about the same distance from the main land, lie the group called Ram Island, the Brothers, and Chimney Rock. These, with Watt's Ledge and West Ledge, constitute the chief dangers to the passage into Richmond Island harbor.

Spurwink River .- Passing westward along the main shore, we come next to the mouth of the Spurwink River, which is a deep indentation, or arm of the sea, several miles in length. This river, being of no importance to naviga- tion, has been overlooked in the coast survey. The entrance to the Spurwink is bounded on the east by Surwick Point, and on the west by a small point at the upper end of llig. gins Beach. The width of the river at its mouth is about three-fourths of a mile, and its length to the head of tide- water about two miles. The coast westward from the mouth of the Spurwink is sandy, and is known as Scar- borough Beach.

Prout Neck .- The last prominent feature of the coast-

HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.

line of this county, as we complete our inspection of it westward, is the castern headland of Saco Bay, known as Prout or Libby's Neck. This is a peninsula or neck of land extending in a southerly direction into the ocean. It is three miles west of Richmond Island, and a little over five miles from Cape Elizabeth. The land is low, and the cen- tre of the neck is occupied by a thick grove of spruce and fir, the rest of the surface being dotted thinly with various kinds of trees. Seen from the westward, one or two houses and some cleared land show on its western shorc.

On the western side of this neck enters Dunstan or New River, a small, shallow stream of no commercial importanee, and nearly dry at low water. Its shores are low and sandy, with a thin growth of spruce and pine and other trees scat- tered along their length. Several branches enter this river above tidewater. Its mouth, between Pine Point and Ferry Rock, is quite narrow, resembling the neck of a bottle. Its chief affluents near the coast are the Nonesuch and Libby Rivers.

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE INTERIOR.

The general topographical features of the interior of the county are marked by no great hills or mountains, the highest elevations being those northwest of the bed of Sebago Lake, in Bridgton and on the county line. The longest distance across the county from north to south-from Prout's Neck, the southern extreme of Scarborough, to the northern limit of the town of llarrison-is about forty miles. The great- est distance east and west is from the northeastern line of Brunswick to the west line of Baldwin, on the Saco River, and is about thirty nine miles. These are the extreme points. The average width of the county is about twenty miles, and its average length, from southeast to northwest, about thirty-six miles. It has, therefore, an approximate area of about seven hundred and twenty square miles, or, including the islands, capes, ete., about eight hundred square miles.

RIVER BASINS, RIVERS, AND WATER-POWER.

Cumberland County has several important river systems, which are included wholly or partly within its limits. These are the Androseoggin, the Presumpscot, the Royal, the Nonesuch, and the Saco. The importance of these in a manufacturing point of view leads us to consider them somewhat at large in this chapter.

The Androscoggin River, which forms a portion of the northern boundary of the county, has an extensive drain- age area occupying the, region of country between the ocean and the northerly outposts of the White Mountains. In its southern portion it is separated from the Saco basin by the hydrographic area of the Presumpscot and Royal Rivers, but in its northern portion is conterminous with it. The basin of this river, from the ocean to its extreme sources, is one hundred and ten miles ; its greatest breadth, from Randolph, N. 11., to Fayette, Me., is seventy miles ; its dimensions in Maine are two thousand seven hundred and fifty square miles; in New Hampshire, about eight hundred and fifty ; making a total of three thousand six hundred square miles.

Its elevation is considerably greater than that of any

other hydraulic district in the State, its northern portion being uplifted upon the outlying highlands of the White Mountains. Nearly the whole of its area is located above the lowest mill-privileges, and contributes to the immense water-power of the main river. The following table will show some of the principal elevations above tide, although the points being situated mainly upon the river and upon railroads, do not show the height of portions of the sur- rounding country :

Localities. Feet.

Localities.

Feet.

Danville Junction ..

180

Mechanie Falls. 270

Auburn Station. ...

210

Oxford Station .. ...

310

Lewiston

212

Gilead

700

East Livermore

360

State Line (G. T. crossing)

690

South Paris.

370

Gorham Station (N. II.) ..... 802

Locke's Mills Station.

710

llead of Berlin Falls ( N. 11.) 1048

lead Ruinford Falls

600

llead Androscoggin River .. 3000

Bethel Station.

640

Northeast head Magalloway

River ....

2640

White's Corners

659

Mount Pleasant River.

632

Northwest head Magatto- way River ..

2917

Leeds Station

260

Umbagog Lakes. 1511

The Androscoggin proper takes its origin and its name only from the point of confluence of the Magalloway and Umbagog Lake waters, Its length is 157 miles. It is fed by 83 principal lakes and ponds, whose aggregate surface measures 156.25 square miles. It is estimated that this river, after deducting one-fourth for evaporation and infil- tration on its way to tide-water, in its total descent of 1256 feet, will yield a gross power of 200,000 horse, for eleven hours a day, 312 days in the year.

The only water-power on this river within the limits of Cumberland County is that at Brunswick, or " Pejopscot Falls," at the head of tide-water. The total height of the fall at this point is 40.83 feet above mean high tide, with a horizontal distance of 1980 feet. The fall can be in- ereased to 55 feet by raising the upper dam, involving a comparatively small damage from flowage, the land on both sides of the river for eight miles, to Little River vil- lage, being mostly high. The rock composing the falls con- sists of coarse graphic granite and gneiss. Upon the middle fall, the rock projects considerably above the water at many points, serving as a natural abutment to the several sections of the dam. The lower fall is divided about mid- way by Shad Island, on which mills were formerly built. There are three pitches, the lowest having a vertical descent of 15.49 feet, the middle 14.04, and the upper 11.30.

The volume of water available for manufacturing at Brunswick has been carefully estimated at 125,000 cubic feet per minute for eleven hours per day at extreme low run in dry seasons. This is an amount equal to 9676 horse-power, or 397,000 spindles. By raising the dam to 55 feet, it would give a gross power of 12,980 horse, or 519,200 spindles.

The advantages for building manufactories are unsur- passed on both sides of the river, affording ample accommo- dations for a large manufacturing city. On the Brunswick side below the village, the ground lies in three extensive levels of such height and form as to admit of improvement without grading, and there would be little rock excavations required in admitting the water to any amount of machinery. The privilege is owned by about fifteen proprietors resident in the vicinity. The proportion of the power now used is very insignificant, although there is a fine cotton-mill located

Androscoggin at Bethel

620

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

on the middle dam on the Brunswick side, of twenty-five thousand spindles, which employs five hundred hands in the manufacture of fine and coarse sheeting and drills, two flour-mills, and two saw-mills. It is not our purpose, however, to mention the manufactories in this chapter ; partieulars with reference to these will be found in the town histories.

Basin of Presumpscot .- This may be described as lying between the Saco and the southern part of the Androscog- gin basins. So far as hydranlie facilities are concerned, it is the most important basin in the county. It is highly elongated, and diminishes in breadth at its head, its greatest length being fifty-two miles, its area five hundred and twenty square miles.

The streams setting, from the immediate vicinity of the northern part of thisbasin, north towards the Androscoggin at Bethel, and east into Greenwood, have, at their point of discharge, a height of about six and seven hundred feet, respectively, above sea level Songo Pond oeeupies, of course, one of the lowest points, is two feet higher than the Androscoggin near the mouth of Pleasant River (as shown by the canal surveys), or about six hundred and thirty feet. Sebago Lake, midway of the basin, has usually been esti- mated at two hundred and eighty feet above tide, but has been found by J. F. Anderson, chief engineer of the Port- land and Ogdensburg Railroad, to be two hundred and sixty- seven feet above mean low water in Portland Harbor; so that as a whole the district is considerably elevated, and the fall of its surplus waters correspondingly large.

We give, in this connection, the table of elevations at different points along the Portland and Ogdensburg Rail- road within the bounds of this county, as furnished by Mr. Anderson, upon a base of mean low water as established by engineers of the United States Coast Survey, the initial point of distanees being the west end of the Portland and Kennebec Railroad Company's freight-house in Portland :

Localities.

Dist. Height feet.

miles.

Crossing of rolling-mills track in Portland 1 22.5

Crossing of Portland and Rochester Railroad track in Westbrook

5.4 75 Crossing of highway at Cumberland Mills in West brook 5.5 72 Ice-surface of Presumpiscot River above Cumberland Mills 5.64 43

Ice-surface of Presumpseut River at mouth of Ink- Iforu Brook, Windbam ..

7.33

Ice-surface of Presumpscot River at mouth of Colby Wright Brook, Windham. 9.7

Ilighway at Mallison Falls of Presumpseot River,

112

11 Ice-surface of Presumpscot River at mouth of Black Brook, Windham. 113

Ilighway at Gambo (Oriental Powder Company ), Windham. 12 163 Ice-surface of Presumpscot Crossing above Gambo, 13₺

Windham 12.6

Otter Ponds, Standish. 15.17

303

Ice-surface of Half- Moon Otter Pond, Standish. 16.1 Ice-surface of Sebago Lake, six hundred feet from shore, Standish 17

267

Ilighway Crossing at Richville (plains), Standish. 20 319 Surface of Richville Pond, Standish 284

Divide between Sebago Lake and Saco River, Standish 92

348

Highway at Steep Falls of Saco River, Standish 24.5

309 Surface of Qouker Brook (outlet of Dyer Pond, Bald- win) ... 96

316 268 llighway crossing on plains at East Baldwin. 26.3

Localities.

DiNI.

Height feet.

Ilighway crossing, Baldwin

321

Surface of Snco River at the mouth of the Ossipee, Baldwin 32

250

Surface of Dug-JFill Brook, Baldwin ..... 32.8

291

Surface of Break-Neck Brook, Baldwin ... 31

326

Surface of Ingalls' Pond, near the head of Great Falls of Sneo River, Baldwin. 35. 1

352

Surface of Saco River erossing Iliram nud Baldwin line. 36.1 352

Surface of Saco River, freshet of 1870. 360

Surface of Saco River, freshet of 1811.

364

To the above may be added the heights in several other localities, taken from the " Water-Power of Maine," the elevations being given above high water at Portland, which we change to mean low water (a difference of nine feet) to correspond with the above :

Feet.

Turtle Pond, Windhanı. 291

Saturday Pond, Otisfield.

513

Divide between Presumpscot and Androscoggin ... 673

llorsebeef Falls

Boody's Tavern, Windham.

288

Gorham and Buxton Boundary.

183

Parker Pond

417

Cumberland Station.

Falmouth Station.

Gorham Station

211

Pund north of Saccarappa.

The course of the Presumpscot River is very nearly south- east, and, regarded as continued in Crooked River, remark- ably direct, or free from extensive windings from its souree to its mouth, so that its drainage area is very long in pro- portion to its breadth. But the main stream above Sebago Lake is to an extraordinary degree diversified with local and minute sinuosities, which parallel fully the eccentricitics of course of the celebrated river of the east, Meander. The Presumpseot proper, from Sebago Lake to tide-water, by the course of the river, is only about twenty-two miles long. Crooked River is estimated at forty-two miles long, follow- ing the course of its windings. The annual receipt of moisture in its valley is estimated in cubic feet fifty-one billions, and its yearly discharge of waters is twenty billions four hundred millions cubic feet. The variations in volume, even in a state of nature, would be comparatively small in the Presumpseot proper, owing to the great extent and com- pensating influence of the grand reservoir at its head. But in addition to this, the natural uniformity of the stream is assisted by the artificial control of the delivery of the lake, so that for the practical purposes of extensive manufactur- ing it is constant throughout the year. The volume em- ployed at Cumberland Mills, estimated from the statement of George W. Hammond, Esq., is about fifty thousandl cubie feet per minute. This run continued throughout the working days of the year for ten hours a day would earry off about ninety-five billions eubic feet. The range from lowest to highest water is found to be, on the several dams in Westbrook, from four to five feet, at the Outlet dam four to five feet. The descent of the river from the lake to tide -two hundred and forty-seven feet in twenty-two miles-is at the mean rate of 11.2 feet per mile, or 7'.3 circular meas- urement.

From the sea to Sebago Lake the basin of the Presump- scot is underlaid chiefly with mica schist ; the river itself, however, for nearly half the distance flows in a narrow belt of gneiss. Around and above Sebago Lake granite prevails exclusively. Excellent building stone is abundant in all

Windham .. 10 Highway at Little Falls of Presumpscot River, Wind- ham. 137

Crossing of highway and water-supply pipe, White Rock Station, Gorham 13.5 Tee-surface of Long Otter Pond, Standish. 16 Natural surface of drift formation around and between

214

253

260

miles.

HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.

parts. The southern portion of the basin is undulating, moderately hilly ; the northern rugged and mountainons. The surface materials predominating are sandy and gravelly. The southern part has been pretty thoroughly cleared of forests, while the northern is still in many places heavily wooded.

The affluents of the Presumpscot are important only as connecting the river with several of its reservoirs and as furnishing sites for many small water-powers. The total number of lakes in this basin-system is forty-five, whose combined area is ninety-seven square miles, or one square mile of lake surface to each five and three-tenths square miles of the basin. The lakes average two and one-tenth square miles in surface. The following table will show the principal reservoirs for water-power of the Presump- scot River, the areas being given approximately in square miles :

Sebago lake 50.00 1

ITolt's Pond 0.30

Trickey Pond.

0.75

Stearns "

1.00

Peabody "

1.50

Anonymous Pond

0.75

Brandy

1.25

Woods

1.50

Long

12,00

Thomas

1.15

Pleasant

9.25

Long Pond, Waterford. 1.00

Panther's "

2.75

Bear Pond

0.75

Rattlesnake, two ponds.

2.75

Moose "

0.75

Little Sebago Pond

5.00

Songo

0.85

Crotched Pond

2.75

Stone, two ponds 1.10

Adams

0.30

Twenty -three ponds, 90.45 square miles.

There is a dam eight feet high at the outlet of Sebago Lake, by which a head of four feet is now commanded over the whole surface. It is capable of being raised four feet more without incurring more than very trifling damages for flowage. A head of six feet, giving a volume of 8,363,520,000 cubic feet, would supply 41,600 cubic feet per minute for the ordinary working hours of the year. This ( the storage alone, be it observed) would yield on a fall of' 20 feet-as at Cumberland Mills-a gross power of 1688 horse for the time specified. It would yield in its fall of 247 feet to the tide a gross power of 20,846 horse, -833,810 spindles throughout the year. To this requires to be added the natural low-run volume of the river to arrive at the constant aggregate of its manufacturing power from Sebago Lake to the sea.

W. II. Jackson, Esq, president of the Oriental Powder Company, wrote for the " Water-Power of Maine," in 1871 : " I have run water at Westcott's Falls, where the lake waters enter the river, for thirty-two days, through four gates four feet square each, and one six feet square, under a ten-foot head, with a flow four feet deep over the dam eighty feet long, and even then have not succeeded in pre- venting the water from rising six to nine inches above the four-foot head on the dam, which is all the dam will now safely carry." These figures indicate an enormous waste of water, much the greater part of which, with a sufficient dam, could be reserved for manufacturing purposes.

The water of Sebago Lake is shown by analysis to ap- proach as near to absolute purity as any mass of water of large volume in the world, so far as known. It is, there- fore, particularly adapted to use in chemical and bleaching works, as well as to the purpose of supplying the city of Portland with an abundance of pure and wholesome water. (See Portland Water-Works. )

Royal, Nonesuch, and Stroudwater Rivers .- That por- tion of the county drained by the Royal River and its branches is situated between the southern points of the Presumpscot and Androscoggin basins. It is about twenty- one miles long by twelve broad, and contains an area of one hundred and seventy square miles. The surface is undu- lating or moderately hilly, but in no place attains to a very great elevation. The following are some of the heights at different points :

Localities. Feet.

New Gloucester Station ..... 100

Summit, Yarmouth & Cum-

Pownal Station ... 120

berland, Grand Trunk

North Yarmouth Station 95

Railroad

113

Yarmouth Junction 75

The surface materials of this section are chiefly loam and clay. More than one-fourth of the surface is wooded. Gneiss underlies the southern part of the basin ; mica schist the northern three-fourths. The Royal is the principal stream of this section, and is twenty-eight miles in length, including its chief windings. The total number of streams represented on the map is thirty-eight. There are six small ponds. The range from lowest to highest water is six feet at Yarmouth. The annual rainfall is about 16,500,000,000 cubic feet, of which about 6,000,000,000 are discharged by the rivers. Large artificial reservoirs have been con- structed at the head of the main river.

The Nonesuch and Stroudwater Rivers drain a tract of about one hundred and twenty-five square miles south of the Presumpscot basin. Two small ponds appear in this basin. The estimated discharge of waters is 4,800,000,000.

Lake Sebago .- The scenery about this lake has been made classie by Whittier and Longfellow. The former, in his " Funeral Trio of the So Ko Kis," says,-

" Around Sebago's lonely lake There lingers not a breeze to break The mirror which its waters make.

" The solemn pines along its shore, The firs which hang its gray rocks o'er, Are painted ou its glassy shore.

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History of Cumberland Co., Maine, Part 18

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 780

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 780