USA > Maine > Oxford County > Paris > History of Paris, Maine, from its settlement to 1880, with a history of the grants of 1736 & 1771, together with personal sketches, a copious genealogical register and an appendix > Part 8
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WM. WALKER of Worcester, Blacksmith, June 14. 1800. bought of Barnabee Faunce of Paris, the southerly half of lot No. 25 in the 8th.
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
DANIEL SHAW of Paris, Sept. 11, 1799, bought of Benj. Stowell, No. 22 in the 6th range.
SOLOMON SHAW, Bridgewater, Aug. 15, 1795, bought of Jacob Gurney, the southerly half of No. 6 in the 7th range, and of 6 in the 8th.
JEREMIAH ROLFE, Buckfield, bought of Stephen Robinson, Apr. 2, 1799, No. 29 in the 7th range.
CALEB BRYANT of Plymouth, Sept. 15, 1800, bought of Sylvanus Robbins, lot No. 26 in the 8th range.
MOSES BUCK of Paris, bought of Jonathan Bemis, June .1, 1798, lot 19-20 in the 3d range.
JOSIAH BARTLETT, JR., Norway, January 9, 1798, bought of Bartlett Holmes of Hebron, lot No. 29, in the 1st range.
MOSES TWITCHELL of Paris, bought of Levi Hubbard, Dec. 24, 1804, the easterly half of lot No. 11 in the 4th range.
JOHN DANIELS, January 18, 1783, bought of Lemuel Jackson, lot- No. 10 in the 6th range.
EBENEZER HUTCHINSON of Walton's Plantation, (east part of Woodstock), bought of Stephen Robinson, Apr. 2, 1799, the southerly part of lot 27-28 in the 6th range. This man built the mills in the northeast part of the town, and subsequently moved to Ohio.
EPHRAIM FIELD of Bridgewater, June 4, 1794, bought of Luke Bemis of Watertown, No. 19-20 in the 2d range. January 28th, 1795, he bought of Wm. and Josiah Brown of Boston, lot No. 15-16 in the 4th, and March 7, 1796, he bought of Reuben Hubbard, lot No. 8 in the 4th.
JAMES BROOK, Tailor, Hebron, Oct. 15, 1789, bought of Israel Whittemore of Weston, lot No. 14 in the 2d range. This man's name in the town records, is variously spelled, "Broke," "Lebroke," "Le Brook" and "Brook." The earliest and best authenticated orthography, is "Le Brook." In 1784, James Le Brook of Pem- broke, Mass., bought of Alexander Shepard, Jr., a lot of land in Hebron. For some reason, no deed was given of the land at the time, and in 1791, after the death of Shepard, a deed of the land was given "Le Brook," by his executor.
GEORGE BERRY bought of Samuel Briggs of Sumner, in 1810, the northerly half of lot 27-28 in the 2d range. In 1811, Berry sold to
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
Daniel Cummings of Norway, and two years later Cummings sold it to Levi Berry, who settled upon it and lived there many years. Briggs sold the southerly half of this lot to John Robinson in 1803. Levi Berry sold that part of the northerly half lying south of the river, to Alexander Hill, in 1819.
TILDEN BARTLETT, in 1805, bought of John Willis, lot No. 28 in the 1st range, and settled upon it.
WM. BERRY about 1810, bought No. 27-28 in the 3d range, and spent his life there. He sold a part to Foxwell Swan, and Swan a part of his to Elijah Swan.
In the list of more than one hundred purchasers of real estate, are doubtless the names of many who did not settle upon the lands they bought. Indeed some of the lots changed hands several times before they were settled, and in quite a number of cases the same lands were sold to different parties, to be accounted for probably in the fact that the first purchasers failed to pay. It was not intended by this list to locate the early settlers ; that will be done in another place. This list is made merely to show who the early real estate owners in Paris were, when they first purchased as appears of record, and their place of residence at the time. Doubtless a few early purchasers neglected to have their deeds put upon record which accounts for the fact that some persons sold lands where no other evidence can be found that they ever owned them. Only such per- sons are contained in this list whose deeds are recorded in the Cum- berland county records. The Registry in Oxford county was established in 1806. Possibly some of the old deeds may be found recorded in the Oxford County Registry.
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
CHAPTER XIV.
"TOWN OF PARIS."
Act of Incorporation .- Warrant for the First Town Meeting .- The Return .- The Meeting and its Doings .- Subsequent meetings of the year.
"COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
In the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three.
An Act to incorporate the inhabitants of a plantation known by the name of No. 4, into a town by the name of Paris.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that plantation known by the name of No. 4, in the county of Cumberland, bounded on all the parts by the Commonwealth's land, as follows, viz. : Beginning at a hem- lock tree two hundred and fifty-two chains from the south corner of Sylvester Canada, thence north fourteen degrees west, seven hundred and seventy-seven chains to a stake and stones, thence south sixty-eight degrees and thirty minutes west, three hundred and sixty chains to a stake and stones, thence south fourteen degrees east seven hundred and seventy- seven chains to a stake and stones; thence north sixty-eight degrees and thirty minutes east three hundred and eight chains to the hemlock tree first. mentioned, with the inhabitants thereon, be and hereby is incorporated into a town by the name of Paris, with all the powers, privileges and immuni- ties that towns within this commonwealth do or may enjoy. And be it enacted by the authority aforesaid that Isaac Parsons, Esquire, be and hereby is empowered to issue his warrant directed to some principal inhabitant of said town, qualified as the law directs, to assemble and meet at some suitable time and place in said town, and choose such officer or officers as towns by law are empowered to choose at their annual meeting in the month of March or April.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 19, 1793.
This bill having three several readings, passed to be enacted.
WM. TUDOR, Speaker pro tem.
Passed the Senate and approved June 20, 1793.
Copy, Attest : W. WARREN, C. H. R."
WARRANT.
Cumberland ss .- To Jonathan Hall of the Plantation formerly called No. 4, in the county of Cumberland and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, now incorporated into a town by the name of Paris, and one of the prin- cipal Inhabitants of said town.
GREETING :
You are hereby required in the name of the Commonwealth aforesaid, to notify and warn all the inhabitants of Paris aforesaid, qualified as the law
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
directs, to meet and assemble together at the house of Reuben Hubbard in said Paris, on Tuesday the sixteenth day of this instant July, at nine of the clock in the forenoon, to act on the following articles, viz. :
First. To choose a moderator for said meeting.
Second. To choose a clerk for said town.
Third. To choose all other town officers required by law for towns to choose at their annual meeting in the month of March or April.
Given under my hand and seal at New Gloucester the second day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three.
1 Justice of the Peace for the county ISAAC PARSONS of Cumberland, and pursuant to an act of the General Court.
RETURN.
Pursuant to the foregoing warrant to me directed, I have notified and warned all the inhabitants of said town to meet and assemble together, at the time and place and for the purposes mentioned in the foregoing warrant.
JONATHAN HALL.
Paris. July 16, 1793.
THE FIRST TOWN MEETING.
At a meeting of the freeholders and other inhabitants of the town of Paris. regularly assembled at the dwelling house of Mr. Reuben Hubbard of said town, on the sixteenth day of July 1793, to act on the articles set forth in the warrant for calling said meeting, the meet- ing being opened, they made choice of Mr. Lemuel Jackson for Moderator, and made choice of the following persons for town offi- cers, viz. :
Josiah Bisco for town clerk, who was duly sworn by the mod- erator.
MESSRS. ISAAC BOLSTER, LEMUEL JACKSON, Selectmen. NATHAN NELSON, MESSRS. JOSIAH BISCO, JOHN BESSEE. JOHN WILLIS,
Assessors.
Mr. Daniel Stowell, town treasurer.
Then the town voted to let out the collection of taxes at vendue, to the lowest bidder, and being put up were struck off to Mr. John Daniels for three pence half penny upon the pound. he being the lowest bidder.
Voted to choose nine surveyors of highways and made choice of Robert Wightman, Abijah Hall, Stephen Robertson, Thomas
.
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
Stevens, Nicholas Chesley, Lemuel Jackson, Merodach B. Smith, Elias Chase and Levi Hubbard.
Surveyor of lumber, Solomon Bryant.
Surveyor of shingles and clapboards, Merodach B. Smith.
Fence viewers, Thomas Stevens and Caleb Cushman.
Tythingmen, Jonathan Hall, Nathaniel Haskell, Wm. Swan, Benj. Hammond and Seth Carpenter.
Sealer of Leather, Daniel Stowell.
Deer Reeve, Benj. Hammond.
Hogreeves, Phillip Donohue, John Daniels, Samuel Durell and Henry Hill.
Field Driver, Daniel Whitney.
School Committee, Isaac Bolster, Abner Shaw, John Willis, Seth Carpenter and Merodach B. Smith.
Constable, John Daniels. A true Record, JOSIAH BISCO, Clerk.
The next meeting was held at the dwelling house of Lemuel Jack- son, on the 21st day of October. Lemuel Jackson presided and it was voted to raise thirty pounds for the support of preaching, fifty pounds for the support of schools, one hundred pounds for the repair of highways and ten pounds for defraying town charges.
At a meeting at the same place. on the 18th of November, the town voted not to send a representative or delegate to sit in a con- vention in Portland, to consider the subject of separation from Massachusetts. It was voted to accept the road and school dis- tricts. agreeably to the report of the selectmen. and that each school district should have the benefit of the money raised in it for the support of schools ; also that each district should build a school- house or otherwise provide a place for keeping the school. It was voted not to assess the money raised for the support of preaching until the next annual meeting.
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
CHAPTER XV.
DESCRIPTION OF PARIS.
Its Metes and Bounds .- Changes in its Lines .- Its Hills, Streams and Ponds .- Its Geology and Mineralogy -Its Flora and Fauna, and its Agricultural Capacities.
The town of Paris as originally laid out, was seven hundred and seventy-seven chains of four rods in length, by three hundred and sixty chains in breadth. In the act of incorporation, there is a manifest error which gives the southerly line on Hebron and Oxford lines only three hundred and eight chains. According to this measurement, the town is four and one-half miles wide by nine and three-fourths long, (a small fraction omitted) and contains a little short of forty-four square miles. But the allowance for the "swag" of the chain is not probably all included in the above, nor the allow- ance for ponds and rivers, and the dimensions of the town are probably considerably larger than they are here given. In fact, the evidence goes to show that this tract was laid out for two townships in the first instance, but trouble arising about the division, No. 4 proprietors bought out the other parties who located elsewhere. Changes have been made in the lines on each side of the town since the tract was first surveyed. In some instances land has been set off and in others added, but on the whole, Paris has more than held her own. In 1817, lots one in the eighth range and one in the ninthi were set off to Hebron. In 1825, the estates of John Gray, Jr., and John Starbird, being lots numbered six and seven in the east part of Woodstock, according to Smith's survey, were set off to Paris. In 1838, the westerly half of lot number one in the first range, was set off from Paris and annexed to Oxford. In 1841, lots number twenty-nine in the second, and twenty-nine in the third range, were set off from Paris and annexed to Woodstock. In 1828, Benj. Woodbury, Asa Thayer, Caleb Cushman, Jr., Bela Farrar and Ziba Thayer, with their estates, were set off from Buck- field and annexed to Paris. This set-on included five lots of land and the road leading from America Thayer's to Sumner line. In 1859, lots numbered six, seven and eight in the first range, were set off from Paris and annexed to Norway. In 1861, all that part of lots numbered six, seven and eight in the westerly range of lots belonging to Paris before the set off in 1859, which lay easterly and
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
southerly of the following described line, were taken from Norway and reannexed to Paris : "beginning in the northerly line of said lot number eight, and at the center of the old Rumford road, so called ; thence following said center southerly till it intersects the road from South Paris to Norway ; thence in a straight line through the agricultural grounds to the southeast corner thereof; thence in a straight line to the northeasterly corner of Titus O. Brown's home- stead farm, so called ; thence to the easterly line of his said farm to the Little Androscoggin river, and thence by said river westerly to the original line between Paris and Norway." By an act approved March 9, 1880, the estate of Caleb Fuller was set off from Wood- stock and annexed to Paris. This was part of the two lots, number twenty-nine in the second range and twenty-nine in the third taken from Paris in 1841.
Paris is bounded north by Woodstock, east by Hebron, Buckfield and Sumner, south by Hebron and Oxford, and west by Oxford, Norway and Greenwood. Paris abounds in steep hills and the sur- face is generally very uneven. There are no high mountains, and in fact no elevation that hardly deserves the name of mountain within its limits. Streaked mountain near the southeast corner, is in Hebron and Buckfield, though a small portion of its western slope and foot-hills are in Paris. No. 4 Hill near the southeast corner of the town and westerly from Streaked mountain, was formerly all in Paris and named from the Plantation or Grant, but its southerly side was set off into Hebron in 1817. Northwest of this is "Singepole," and near this is another considerable elevation without name. Along or near the eastern border are Crocker's Hill, Ones Hill and the Spruce Hills, while along through the center of the town from North to South, are Jump off Hill, Stearns Hill and Paris Hill. Mount Mica with its rare minerals is easterly from Paris Hill. Berry's Ledge which was once called "Old Bluff" is on the northern border next to Woodstock, and west of that is another cropping out of the same ledge which was once called The "Belfry." This was set off into Woodstock in 1841, but was set back in 1880. Then near West Paris is Robinson's Hill, and east of High street is a considerable Hill without name. Cobble Hill, so called from the early settlement of the town, is near the westerly side of the town near the northeast part of Norway. Besides those mentioned, there are two hills west of the North Paris mineral spring, and various others of lesser note scattered through the town,
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
that never have received specific names. Of course, where there are so many hills there must be corresponding valleys, and as might be expected. most of the roads in town lead "up hill and down hill." and are hard to build and expensive to keep in repair.
The Little Androscoggin is the only river in town, and this of small size. To this all the small streams in town except at the extreme southerly part, are tributary. The "Little Amariscoggin" was so called quite early for it is named in connection with the con- firmation of the grant to Joshua Fuller and others in 1772. Its head-waters are the Bryant Pond in Woodstock and Twitchell, Sheepskin. Oversett and other small ponds in Greenwood. It enters Paris from Greenwood near the northwest corner of the town, and flowing southeasterly it approaches nearest to the center of the town from east to west, when at or near Snow's Falls. Then it curves gradually to the west and passes into Oxford about two miles from the southwest corner of Paris. After passing into Oxford and running about a mile, it makes a sharp curve and again enters Paris, but reenters Oxford as abruptly as it leaves it. Its first important tributary after entering Paris is the East Branch, which comes down from Woodstock and unites with the west branch or river below West Paris. Farther down it receives the brook from High street and next the outlet of Moose Pond from North Paris. Below Bisco's Falls, it receives Stone's and Smith's brooks, and at South Paris, Stony brook, which is its last tributary received in Paris. Below . South Paris, where the Androscoggin is the boundary between the two towns, the river receives from the Norway side an important tributary, the outlet of the great pond in Norway. There are sev- eral falls on the river and its tributaries which have been utilized, and which will be more particularly described in another place. On the main river are water privileges above, and at West Paris, at Snow's and Bisco's Falls, at Jackson's and at South Paris. The mills at North Paris are on the Moose Pond branch. The falls on Stony Brook, near South Paris', were the first utilized and here Lemuel Jackson built the first saw and grist mills in town. The bed of the Little Androscoggin made it possible for a railroad to be con- structed through the town. The Grand Trunk road enters Paris from the south, near where the river goes out, and crossing it below South Paris, it follows its curve all the way to the northwest corner of the town, going out into Greenwood through the channel worn out by the river on its way into Paris. For ages, had this little
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
stream once much larger and probably marking the course of a large arctic river, been lowering its channel, making cuts through the hills and filling up the valleys and preparing the way for this great international thoroughfare of travel and traffic. There is in town a number of gravelly ridges formed by glacial or Kame rivers. The waters of the upper Androscoggin lake region once united in one grand stream which flowed from Lake Welokennebacook south- ward through a very low pass and down the valley of Black Brook and Ellis River. From Rumford Point, the course of the Kame is up the valley of the West branch of the Concord River, thence through a part of Bethel, and through a low pass in Woodstock to Bryants Pond .* The Kame through Bethel and through a part of Woodstock has been called the "Whale's Back" for a hundred years. It passes down the Little Androscoggin, enters the town at the northwest corner passes through it, and keeping straight on south- wardly passes through Poland, New Gloucester and Gray, at the latter point forming a series of reticulated Kame-plains. In its pas- sage through Paris, it does not have that regularity of form that it does farther toward the north, being frequently broken and divergent from a right line, yet sufficiently well defined for the practiced eye to trace it.
The only ponds, are Moose Pond near North Paris, and Hall's near the sontheast part of the town. The former is the larger, and besides receiving a supply from the watersheds formed by the hills in the vicinity, it has an inlet which rises in the Spruce Hills on the east line of the town, and which before reaching the pond, unites with one from Sumner and another from Woodstock. The water- shed formed by No. 4 Hill, Singepole and the hill north of it, sup- plies Hall's Pond, and its surplus waters flow southerly into Oxford. Near North Paris, is a chalibeate spring having a strong sulphurous taste and smell, and whose waters are quite popular with some for their supposed medicinal qualities.
The Geology and Mineralogy of Paris are much the same as those of the entire region of northern Maine west of Penobscot river. The rocks are the primary or azoic series above which the other series are wanting till we arrive at the tertiary clay, diluvium and alluvium. Some coarse limestone may be found upon the hillsides alternating in strata with gneiss. Granite is abundant both as a bed rock and in the form of boulders ; some of it is suitable for rifting
*Prof. Stone's "Kames of Maine."
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
and cutting for building purposes, but the great proportion of it is not. Dr. Jackson thus describes the geology of Streaked mountain : "It is composed of a coarse variety of granite which has burst through the surrounding gneiss that recline upon its sides, and form a large proportion of its mass. The granite appears in huge veins which run east-north-east and west-south-west. The gneiss alter- nates with granular limestone suitable for agricultural purposes. The granite veins are rich in large and beautiful crystals of beryl, black tourmaline and large plates of mica ; common garnets also abound, and quartz crystals line cavities in the rock. It will be observed by the geologist who may visit this mountain, that the strata of gneiss have evidently been forced up by a sudden and vio- lent eruption of the granite ; for not only are the strata turned up and contorted, but fragments of gneiss have been torn off by the intruding rock, and are seen imbedded in its mass. The strata also recline upon the granite through which passes the anticlinical axis of the strata." He thus speaks of the mountain itself: "Streaked mountain is an important landmark for the country around, owing to its commanding situation. From its summit a most interesting panoramic view may be seen of the towns, lakes and mountains around, and it has justly become a place of resort on account of its picturesque scenery." He found the height of the mountain to be 925 feet above Paris Hill and 1756 above highwater at Portland. This gives Paris Hill a height of 831 feet above the sea level. He found the bearings of several points from the top of Streaked moun- tain to be as follows : Pleasant Mountain in Denmark, north peak south 65 degrees west ; southern peak, south 60 degrees west and the central peak, south 64 degrees west. Kearsarge Mountain in New Hampshire, south 82 degrees west; Paris church, north 68 degrees west ; center of Norway village, south 77 degrees west ; Hebron Peak, south 30 degrees east; Singepole Hill, south 54 degrees west ; Norway pond was found to be two degrees and fifteen minutes below the horizontal line from the mountain. Bog iron ore exists in town ; Dr. Jackson speaks of finding it on the estate of Dea. Porter near Greenwood, but not in sufficient abundance to sup- ply a furnace. There is a tradition that bog iron ore taken from Ripley's hill, was taken to Boston on horseback, there smelted and a set of harrow teeth made from the proceeds, but this needs authenti- cation. The rare and valuable group of minerals found at Mount Mica by Elijah L. Hamlin. have a reputation among mineralogists
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
the world over. Dr. Jackson speaks of them as "plates of crystal mica from six to ten inches square, beryl of various shades of green, limpid and smoky quartz, black, green, blue and red tourmaline, rose quartz, feldspar, garnets, &c." Dr. Jackson was able to obtain a set of these minerals for the State cabinet. Speaking of these rare tourmalines in a later report, Dr. Jackson said : "They are green tourmaline, of a rich pistachio, olive and emerald green color, frequently transparent, and equalling the emerald in beauty." Since that time, many of these stones have been cut and are used for ornamental purposes. The Mount Mica tourmalines are in many respects unique, as admitted by all good judges. Besides these remarkable stones, the deposit has yielded many other minerals, some of which are interesting and rare. Among them may be men- tioned Cassiterite, Amblygonite, Lepidolite, Clevelandite, Spodu- mene, Zircon, Brookite, Cooksite, Beryl, Leucopysite, Garnet, Apatite, Smoky and Rose quartz, and other minerals of lesser note. Dr. Jackson also described a considerable deposit of the black oxide of manganese which he found near Abiathar Tuell's place. One more extract from this same report is of interest : "As we descend from Paris Hill, we come to a small stream on which there is a saw mill. At the level with its waters, the barometer stood (Sept. 20), 29.87 ; temperature 65. Ascending from this point to the summit of a hill over which the road crosses, barometer stood at 29.351, temperature 69 ; this indicated the rise of the hill above the stream to be 560 feet. Paris Hill is seen to the southeast nearly on a level with this place. Above it to the eastward is Streaked mountain, and further to the left, the mountains of Hebron. Speckled mountain in Peru, presents its lofty and abrupt escarp- ment to the north, northeast. Indeed, the whole landscape to the eastward is truly magnificent, composed of heaving masses of lofty mountains of granite, with richly wooded valleys, and here and there scattering houses relieve the wildness of the scene."
The Flora of Paris presents no points of special interest. The original growth was composed largely of hard wood of the various kinds usually found in this latitude. The beech, yellow birch and the sugar maple, were always conspicuous among forest trees, the white aslı upon the hills and the yellow and brown ash and the elm in the lowlands. Along the Androscoggin, the white pine grew luxuriantly and also the white maple and fir, while in some localities upon the high hills, the spruce and hemlock predominated. Among
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