History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 225

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co.
Number of Pages: 1100

USA > Maine > Penobscot County > History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 225

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In 1849 the cholera raged with fearful violence in the country. It reached Milford, and though greatly feared there was but one death in the village. In the French settlement of the south end near Bradley it made great havoc, fourteen dying, a very large percentage, for the French inhabitants were few in number.

In 1850 Rufus Davenport resigned his position as agent for the Mill Company and was succeeded by Stephen D. Brown. Under Mr. Davenport's superin- tendence some changes had been made in the machinery of the mills. Four gangs of saws had been set up and single saws removed to make room for the same. These changes increased the capacity of the mills for the pro- duction of lumber. Such changes had taken place in most of the mills on the river, and proved necessary, as the cut of logs on the river was more than three times as great in 1850 as in 1840.

About 1853 a new road was laid out from Milford to Greenfield. It was laid out through the southern part of the town, and was begun in the spring of 1854, some two miles of the road being completed that season. It was a long and costly route. It required several years to complete it, and was quite a burden for so small a town to carry. About the year 1850 the need of suitable ac-

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

commodations for school purposes began to be felt in the southern part of the town. At the time of the incor- poration of the town the old school-house, the remains of which are still to be seen on the ledge near the river, in the upper part of the village, was the intellectual cradle in which the youth of the district were rocked, but it soon gave place to a new and more commodious school-house; this was in the outskirts of the village near the border of. the pine forest called Pine Knoll. It only contained one room, and by 1850 the scholars had be- come too numerous for its limited capacity, and besides improvement was the order of the day, and it was seen that an improvement could be made by organizing and grading the scholar into more than one school. For a few years primary schools were held in such rooms as could be obtained in various parts of the district. But this was only a makeshift, and did not give satisfaction.

In the spring of 1853 a small building was erected on Davenport street, by the combined efforts of dissatisfied parties, and a private school established. This was quite successful for a time, but at length a district meeting was called, and it was voted to build a new school-house, and money was appropriated for that purpose. The building was at once commenced, and in December, 1854, the lower story was occupied for the purpose for which it was intended. Two schools were established in the rooms on the ground floor. They were quite conven- iently arranged, and the district had now a school-house, of which it need not be ashamed. The old house near Pine Knoll was taken for a town house, and for a number of years was the Mecca towards which the countenances of the legal voters of the town were turned at least twice in the year, the annual meeting of March and September.

For a number of years efforts had been made in March meetings looking to the purchase of a Town Farm or Almshouse. In 1854 the sum of $500 was appropriated to purchase a lot and erect buildings thereon, and a com- mittee was appointed to make the purchase and expend the money. The committee was also authorized to hire $1,500 at six per cent., if necessary. The lot was pur- chased and buildings erected. It cost enough to be, and perhaps was, a profitable investment.

In 1854 the Bangor, Oldtown & Milford Railroad built a bridge across the Penobscot, and Milford became the northern terminus of that road. It was a good thing for the hotel-keepers and blacksmiths. Many teams were employed in transporting the freight to the up-river coun- try. In the summer the steamboats on the Penobscot River were employed in the business, but in the winter it was done by horses, and Milford had the benefit of this activity.

Milford at this time was a lively place. The war rag- ing in Europe had an enlivening effect on the business of the United States. A great demand was created for American breadstuffs and provisions, and the merchant marine of the country was the finest in the world. Maine, as the leading ship-building State of the Union, was especially prosperous. The year 1855 was one of the greatest activity, more lumber being rafted on Penob- scot boom than in any previous year, and the ship-build-

ing business of Maine was that year of surpassing mag- nitude.

But good times do not always last. Hard times come, no matter who is President, and in 1857 another period of stringency began. It affected the lumber business of the Penobscot seriously. The amount of lumber rafted on Penobscot boom in 1857 was 62,416,000 feet, a great fall off from the previous year, when the amount rafted was 143,271,000 feet. A shrinkage of values followed, and for a time the supply of labor was greater than the demand.

In 1858, on the petition of Stephen Call and others, a new road was laid out from the upper end of Milford village to Sunkhaze Meadow. It was several years in building, and the appropriations for this and the eastern road running to Greenfield, not yet finished, made taxes somewhat heavier than they had been.

In 1859 S. D. Brown resigned as agent for the Milford Mill Company, and was succeeded by Lewis Simpson, who held the position until said company sold out and dissolved in the fall of 1880.

The year 1860 was one of great political excitement. The Democratic party was divided against itself, and the Republican party, after a brilliant and exciting campaign, elected Abraham Lincoln President of the United States. Previous to the formation of the Republican party Mil- ford had been a Whig town, and upon the dissolution of the Whig party it naturally gravitated to the new organi- zation. In the Presidential election of 1860 the Lincoln electors received eighty-one votes, all others thirty, and the political character of the town remained the same for some years.

But the South chose to regard the election of Lincoln as a menace to slavery, and now came the crucial period of the Republic. War's fiery furnace was to test the strength of Republican institutions, and even the smallest hamlet was to be called upon to furnish victims.

When the first call was made for volunteers by Presi- dent Lincoln, a meeting of the legal voters of the town was called for the 13th day of May, 1861, and a sum of money was raised to provide for the families of volun- teers. Several of the citizens of Milford enlisted in the Second Maine, the first regiment to go from Eastern Maine, and fought valiantly at Bull Run and all the sub- sequent battles in which the regiment was engaged. But the South was terribly in earnest, and the war con- tinued. Call after call was made, and Milford was rep- resented in the various regiments that went forth to the conflict.

In 1862, when the terrible demand for men could not be supplied by volunteers and a draft was ordered, a public meeting was called and money was raised to hasten the filling of the quota of the town. But the war went on, and the call was men, more men. To every demand the town responded nobly, and the men were forwarded and money was voted without stint or hesitation. In 1863 the town was paying $225 for men in addition to State and Government bounty.

As the calls were made, town meetings were called and money voted to raise volunteers; but two drafts were

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

made, and those drafted from the town were placed on the same footing and had the same bounty as volunteers.

The war came on just as the country was recovering from the hard times that followed the crash of 1857. It was supposed that times would be the hardest ever known, and in fact the season of 1861 was a hard one for the lumbermen. The demand for lumber being so light the West Branch drive was not drove in to the boom that season, but was boomed into the lower lakes, where it remained until the following year. Part of the saws in Milford were run that season and business proved much better than had been expected. The vast expenditures of the Government, the withdrawal of so many men from their ordinary avocations to the services of the Govern- ment, and the issue of paper money, stimulated business of all kinds, and by the spring of 1862 business of all kinds was in the most flourishing condition. Even the lumber business that it was supposed the war would almost wholly cut off, shared in the general improve- ment and stood on the same footing as the rest. The flourishing condition of the country made a demand for lumber for home consumption, and a large demand was made for Maine spruce in the West Indies and South America in consequence of the blockade of Southern ports shutting off the supply of hard pine, that had before furnished those markets. The mills on the river were running full time, lumber continually increasing in value, labor was in great demand, and wages all the time tending upward ; and while the best and bravest of the country's sons were dying on the battlefield, while the country was running into debt with a rapidity that surprised the whole world, the sacrifices of the country were partially com- pensated by the flourishing condition of business of all kinds.

The year 1862 was a prosperous one, and 1863 was an improvement on the preceding year. Lumber continued to rise in value, and the wages of labor were constantly rising.

In 1864 lumber reached a higher point than ever before, and probably higher than it has reached since. It was a remarkably dry season. The water in the river was low and the saws cut out lumber slowly. Men were ex- tremely scarce and wages very high. All the mills on the river were running, many of them day and night. All the saws in Milford, one of which was so old and out of repair as to be considered almost worthless, were kept busy. It was a time of general activity and plenty, and but for the awful sacrifices of war it might be regarded as the most prosperous period of the Republic. In the winter of 1865 the last call of President Lincoln was filled, and in March and April they were sent forward. But the end was near. The most of those raised under the last call were stopped at Portland and Boston, and with the capture of Richmond and the surrender of Lee the supremacy of the Government was established. The absent ones were to return to their homes, and fathers, mothers, wives, sisters, and brothers were to be made happy by the return of their loved ones. But not all were to be thus favored. Seventeen of the sons of Mil- ford had laid down their lives on the battlefield, and

many of those who returned came back with constitu- tions weakened by exposure and disease.

The spring of 1865 opened with a good stock of logs in the river, but it was supposed that the price of lumber must go down gradually. And it did go down for a spell; wages, too, fell greatly, and it was thought by some that the supply of men would be so great that labor would command starvation prices, but by July every man that wished to work was employed, and labor and wages were both tending upward. It was a very dry season; the drought was severer than in the preceding year, and there was considerable difficulty in filling the orders for lumber. It continued to rise in value, and in the fall was nearly as high as in the previous year. The favor- able condition of business, and the demand for saws caused some improvement to be made in the mills at Milford, all the saws being put in a rentable condition.

The year 1866 was a remarkably good one for sawing lumber. There was no drought. The river was at good sawing pitch all summer. The whole mill was run, much of it day and night. There was a great demand for lum- ber, and a large stock of logs in the river; everything favored the manufacturer. It was a good year and every- body was making money. At this time considerable business was done in the forest in the southeastern part of town. A good deal of hemlock bark was peeled, and some railroad ties and ship knees were made, and hauled to the railroad station at Milford. The succeeding year, 1867, was also one of great business prosperity. Logs were plenty, lumber sold well, and the drought was not a severe one. The operators in the mills this year were P. D. Hathorn, who occupied the shore end, and F. M. Cunningham, who occupied the stream end.

The year 1868 was another prosperous one. The lumber business was brisk, and, in consequence, all other kinds of business carried on in the town were also pros- perous. The operators this year were P. D. Hathorn, Wilder Brothers, and F. M. Leavitt. The building of railroads was being pushed vigorously in all parts of the country, and the European & North American Railway (at the present time the most important in Eastern Maine) was commenced this year. The bridge at Mil- ford was finished this season, and regular trips to Milford were commenced in December of this year. At the same time the road was opened to Olamon. The next summer the European & North American Railway Com- pany purchased the line of steamers running from Old- town to Winn and operated in connection with their railway, running at first from Olamon, afterwards from Passadumkeag to the head of navigation. This cut off the Bangor, Oldtown & Milford Railroad from the up river country and made a vast difference in the status of that road in Milford. The freight and passenger busi- ness of that road dwindled down to a local business and this was shared with the new railway. The building of the new railroad made a gradual change in the manner of transporting to market the lumber manufactured at the mills. The river had always been used as a medium by which to transport lumber to Bangor, where it was shipped to such places as required it. Immense rafts

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE ..

were built at the foot of the mills, the various kinds and sizes being put into it, and when the water was at a good pitch for running these rafts they were deck-loaded with shingles, lath, and clapboards, and such other kinds of short lumber as the market required to be made. The current of the river then conveyed these rafts to Bangor in a very short time in high water, where they were broken up, sorted and surveyed previous to being shipped to buyers.

But the railway changed all this. At first the short lumber was shipped by rail, and afterwards the long lum- ber as well. In the year 1870 Messrs. Dillingham & Wing, of Oldtown, purchased the Butterfield lot on the river, in the upper part of the village, and erected a steam mill. It contained a circular saw for cutting long lumber, and three shingle machines. It was quite an important factor in the business of the town, being run for a time winter and summer. In the winter of 1871 machinery for making Excelsior was put in this mill, and quite a business was done in this line. In the fall of 1872 it was burned. It was afterwards rebuilt on a small scale to manufacture the stock on hand, but after the poplar in the storehouse was used up it discontinued operations, and the engine and other machinery was sold and removed.

Another steam mill was built in Milford at about the same time, on the Greenfield road, four miles from Mil- ford Station. It was put up by Rand & Ames, and did quite a business in staves and heading for a time, but it was not a paying investment, and the owners meeting with heavy losses it was shut down and never run after- wards.

The lumber business at this time was not so prosperous as it had been, and in 1873 the whole of the mills did not run, and the "panic" of that year and the hard times following made almost an entire suspension of manufac- turing. In 1874 and 1875 one gang and one single saw was in operation. Afterwards for several years no long lumber was manufactured, and but little short lum- ber.

These were the hard times that sat like an incubus on the whole country, and Milford felt these in all their stringency. Its mills idle, and no employment for labor, was particularly hard for a town where farming was of so little moment, and the manufacture of lumber almost the only resource. After several years of almost total in- action the idle wheels began to turn and the manufactur- ing interest began to recuperate. Heretofore the busi- ness of the Milford mills had been largely long lumber, but the hard times produced a change to short lumber. Shingles being especially in demand, machinery for manufacturing them was placed in the mills, and several Milford firms engaged quite largely in their manufacture. Although but a small part of the mill was in operation, quite a number of men were employed. The "Centen- nial" year, 1876, was one of the duilest years, but after this a gradual improvement took place. In 1877 there were six shingle machines in operation, and it was sup- posed the business of the town would be about the same as that of the previous year, but the burning of the mills

at Oldtown, in June, 1878, made a decided change in the business condition of Milford. The entire mill was leased to the firms that had been sawing at Oldtown, and Milford presented its old-time appearance. The mills being in demand, the owners began to improve them and make such changes as would adapt them to modern ma- chinery. The mills were put in connection with the rail- road, and lumber ceased to be conveyed by water to market.

The year 1878 made a great change in the political condition of Maine. For more than twenty years the Republican party had held complete control of the State, and Milford had rolled up large majorities for that party. The Greenback party now developed immense strength, and uniting with the Democratic party succeeded in wresting the State from the Republicans. The vote in Milford this year was tie on the candidates for Governor, the Republican party and the Fusion party each polling seventy-one votes.

In 1879 business in all departments continued to im- prove and there was employment for all the labor of the town at fairly remunerative prices.

The next year, 1880, was one of great prosperity. It witnessed a general revival in all branches of business and especially in lumber. A sharp and sudden advance in the price of lumber put every lumberman in the best possible humor. The saws were run to their full capac- ity and the only drawback was the long and extreme drought. This was the year of the Presidential election, and in Milford the Republicans made a decided gain from two years before, carrying the town by thirty-five majority.

Another event of some importance to the citizens of the town took place this year, the water-power mills and seventeen thousand acres of land within the limits of the township being sold by the proprietors, the Milford Mill Company, to a new company, known as the Milford Land and Lumber Company, for $85,000. On the land was a large amount of valuable timber which the new party proceeded to cut largely. They also made large improvements in the mills, putting in a new circular saw and otherwise increasing the capacity of the mill. The new firm is composed of Joseph R. Bodwell, Francis Cobb, W. H. Maling, J. W. Bodwell, and others, and it is to be hoped they design other improvements that will add largely to the business of the place. Owning a water-power equal to and superior to that of many of the largest manufacturing cities of the county, they have only to develop it to a limited extent to reap a rich harvest for themselves and to make for Milford an important place among the manufacturing centres of the State. The first year of their ownership has made a great change in the appearance of the town. More men are employed than ever before, and the general condition is one of thrift and prosperity.

Perhaps the liveliness of the present year is the har- binger of better things, and in the near future the natural advantages of Milford for manufacturing purposes may be utilized, and the town commence a new career of growth and business activity.

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

SKETCHES OF SETTLERS.

George N. Gerrish is the son of Amasa S. and Mahala T. Gerrish, of Milford. Amasa Gerrish was a native of Milford, his father, Nathaniel Gerrish, being one of the early settlers of the town. Amasa and Mahala Gerrish had four children, viz: Carrie E., now Mrs. A. B. Libby, of this town; George N., Tena A., and Maidee. George N., the only son of this family, was born in Milford April 18, 1858; after receiving a common school educa- tion, he went into the mercantile business for himself in 1879, in company with Mr. Simpson, under the firm name of G. N. Gerrish & Co., continuing in the business about two years, when he sold out to the Milford Land and Lumber Co., and has since been in their employ. He is at present Treasurer of the town of Milford.

Mr. S. C. Higgins, of North Milford, is a son of Reu- ben and Susan Higgins, nee Susan Dickey, of Thorndike, Waldo county, Maine. His grandfather, Isaac Higgins, came from Gorham, Maine. Reuben and Susan Higgins had six children, three sons and three daughters, viz: George D., deceased; Marshall T., now of Thorndike, Maine; Stephen C .; Esther, wife of Leonard W. Mann, of Greenbush, Maine; Calista J., now Mrs. J. C. Cilley, of Lincolnville, Maine; Mary A., wife of Thomas Mc- Farland, of Belfast, Maine. Mr. Higgins lived and died in Thorndike; he was a farmer. Mr. Hig- gins died somewhere about the year 1860. Mrs. Higgins is still living with her daughter Mrs. Cilley. S. C. Higgins was born November 13, 1837, in Thorndike. After completing his education in the common and high school he came to North Milford in 1859, and engaged with Mr. Paul Dudley to work on his farm and about the store. He worked for Mr. Dudley ten years when he bought his store, farm and lumbering business. Since then he has lived in Milford and continued in the busi- ness of lumbering, farming and merchandising. During the winter he furnishes about twenty to thirty horses and men for the lumbering business in the woods. He does not manufacture his lumber but sells the logs. During the spring and early summer he employs about twenty- five men on the river running logs down, under the firm name of Higgins & Buzzell. He married Miss Hannah W. Burr, daughter of Warren Burr, of Argyle, Maine. They have two children, Myrtie M. and Paul D. Mr. Higgins has held the positions of Selectman, School Committee- man, etc., in his town. He is a member of the Star in the East Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Old- town, also of St. John's Commandery No. 3, of Bangor.

William Oakes, a native of Temple, came to Olamon in this county in 1823, where he lived until 1835; then moved to Upper Stillwater, where he lived until 1858, when he moved to Wisconsin, and died in 1872. He married Martha S. Glidden. They had eight chil- dren, all of whom grew to maturity: William A., now of Milford, Maine; James R .; Wallace C., deceased ; Henry H., deceased ; Celestia W., now Mrs. Michaels, of Up- per Stillwater, Maine; Martha J., wife of Charles J. Ellis, of Michigan; Nancy E., now Mrs. Caleb Williams, of the same place; Wilbert C., now in Peshtigo, Wis- consin. James R. Oakes was born December 27, 1833.

He has always, or until within ten years, been engaged on the river as a lumberman. He is still largely interested in the lumber business. Though not perhaps classed as a manufacturer, he does manufacture part of his lumber. He married Miss Eunice G. Cilley, daughter of Captain Cilley, of Alton, Maine. Mr. Oaks has been Selectman and Treasurer for many years in this town. Mr. William Oaks, father of James R., lost his property, and nearly lost his life in the great fire of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, in 1869.

Joseph Hammond, a native of Paris, Maine, married Lydia L. Cushman. They had eight children, seven of whom grew to maturity, viz : George, now of Lincoln, Maine; Ira F., also living in Lincoln; Andrew, subject of this sketch ; Marion W., deceased, wife of Hiram B. Forbes, of Presque Isle, Maine; Sarah E., now Mrs. Isaac McGlaughlin, of Presque Isle, Maine; B. Cush- man; Eva, wife of George Snow, of Lincoln, Maine. Andrew Hammond, the third son of this family, was born November 17, 1834. He married Lizzie Sanborn, daughter of Jethro and Betsey Sanborn, of Newport, Maine. They have two children, viz: Clara A. and James Blaine. Mr. Hammond was brought up on a farm, and on becoming of age, followed the business of farm- ing until about twenty-four years of age, when he engaged in the lumber business, which he followed about eighteen years, until 1877, when he went into trade in Milford, Maine, where he has since continued. He keeps a stock of general merchandise. Mr. Hammond has held the office of Selectman in this town, and in other towns where he has lived. He is at present chairman of the board in Milford.

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History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 225

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co. Number of Pages: 1100

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co.
Number of Pages: 1100