USA > Maine > Knox County > South Thomaston > History of Thomaston, Rockland, and South Thomaston, Maine, from their first exploration, A. D. 1605; with family genealogies, Vol. I > Part 45
USA > Maine > Knox County > Rockland > History of Thomaston, Rockland, and South Thomaston, Maine, from their first exploration, A. D. 1605; with family genealogies, Vol. I > Part 45
USA > Maine > Knox County > South Thomaston > History of Thomaston, Rockland, and South Thomaston, Maine, from their first exploration, A. D. 1605; with family genealogies, Vol. I > Part 45
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49
On the 12th of August the town voted that the citizens of Thomaston cause a block of granite, marble, or limestone, to be prepared and sent on for the Washington monument in the national capitol, appointing a committee, of which H. B. Humphrey was chairman, to procure funds by subscription and carry the vote into effect. This was done, and by Octo- ber a chaste and simple block of dark marble prepared at Joel Levensaler's manufactory, was sent on, bearing the fol- lowing inscription : FROM THE HOME OF KNOX, By Citizens of THOMASTON, MAINE.
During an unusually cold week, about the close of the year, the thermometer here indicated from 14º to 18º below zero; Christmas day, a severe squall of wind overturned some chimneys and unfinished buildings; and on Dec. 28th a great rain left the streets in a very icy condition. On Friday, Dec. 26th, Barney Thomas, a worthy and enterprising citizen, whilst engaged with others in furling the sails, fell from the main yard of the ship Franklin King, and was instantly killed. On the 28th August preceding, the schooner Grecian, Capt. Gilchrist, arrived here from Savannah, Ga., having lost by intermittent fever all her crew and officers except the cap- tain, and having been also struck by lightning on the 18th.
1852. The Georges Bank at Thomaston, with a capital of $50,000, was incorporated February 14th, and has been in successful operation ever since. Its first directors were E. Smith of Warren, and E. O'Brien, B. Carr, J. Gilchrist, J. Fish, R. Walsh, and B. Flint, of this town. Its first, and thus far only president, has been Edward ()'Brien; and its first cashier was S. Emerson Smith, an amiable young lawyer of Warren, who removed here for the purpose and held the office till his much lamented death in 1855, when he was suc- ceeded by the present incumbent, John C. Levensaler. Its 36*
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
number of stockholders is 115, discount day 1st and 3d Mon- days of each month, present dividend 6 per cent.
The year was one of prosperity in business, and many im- provements were made in the village. A new street was laid out from Georges hotel, called Georges strect, and another near Chapman, Flint & Co.'s store, called Kossuth street, running northerly to a third connecting with Booker street, and forming two new squares with a good supply of eligible house lots. Many new dwellings were erected; Stimpson's Hall at Mill River was repaired and put in good order ; and the Carr & O' Brien block, at the corner of Wadsworth street, on the site of the old Paine store, was put up by B. Carr and E. O'Brien, built of brick in a solid and faithful manner by E. Demuth, designed for the new Bank, George's Insurance office, stores, &c. A new shipyard, purchased from the Knox estate, was laid out by Messrs. Alexander McCallum and Capt. E. S. Counce of Warren, who removed to this place and commenced ship-building on an extensive scale. Another new yard was laid out by Chapman, Flint, Ranlett, & Co., near the Narrows, below the Shibles lot, in what was once the Knox pasture. In preparing the first
named of these shipyards, considerable digging and remov- ing of earth took place near the Knox mansion and the foundation of the old Fort ; in doing which, the marks of the ancient Indian mining operations were plainly traceable and many relics of the olden time were discovered. Among these were bridle bits, fragments of carthern ware, which had undoubtedly figured in garrison life, pewter spoons, appa- rently of clumsy manufacture, with one of nicer finish, lately in possession of Capt. B. Webb; and several cannon, swivel, or blunderbuss balls, now possessed by Augustus Robinson,- one of stone, weighing two and half pounds, and two of iron, the larger twenty-eight, and the other eight ounces.
In October, a successful effort was made to procure funds and establish a lyceum, for a series of lectures during the winter. These were commenced December 15th, by Prof. Harvey of Amherst college, and continued by Rev. Mr. Brooks of Lynn, Prof. Hitchcock on " the human races." Rev. Wm. A. Drew on "the Gypsies," Rev. John Pierpont on "the scholar's hope," Rev. Henry Giles on "the worldling," and again on " Ireland and the Irish; " all of which were exceed- ingly well attended.
On the 10th May, for the second time, the house of George Gleason, (who since his former misfortune had removed to the Killsa farın west of the Meadows) together with his barn, out-
-
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ROCKLAND AND SOUTH THOMASTON.
buildings, two yoke of oxen, five cows, a valuable horse, and all the farming utensils, was destroyed by fire, which originated in the barn, and was supposed to be the work of a malicious incendiary. Loss about $4000, insurance $2000. A little son of Capt. Rasmus Anderson, aged about five years, fell into an uncovered well in the ship-yard of Morton & Lermond on Saturday the 14th of August; and, though missed at evening, and a diligent search was kept up through the night, his body was not found till Sunday morning. On the 28th of the following November, his worthy father, Capt. Anderson, was also drowned on his passage from Liverpool to New Orleans, in command of the ship Vaucluse. This was the fourth enterprising shipmaster that Thomaston lost during the year. Capt. Elkanah Stackpole was struck by a wave, Jan. 19th, whilst standing at the wheel of his bark Byron, and so much injured that he died in a few minutes ; Capt. Alden Lermond of Warren, but master of the brig Rainbow of this port, was instantaneously killed on the 16th July at St. Jago, by a blow on his head from a falling block ; and Capt. Barnabas Gates died of a fever.
1853. The business prosperity of the preceding year was still further increased the present. The ship-yards along the shore presented a scene of great activity, some seven or eight first-class ships being in progress of building, none of them less than 1100 tons. In May, six new streets were laid out through the grounds of the Knox place, with a view to a sale of house lots. Many new and some elegant houses were erected in different parts of the town, and several new stores opened. This increased demand for building materials led to the erection, by E. O'Brien, of a steam mill and factory, which went into operation the following year. It was fur- nished with an engine of 45 horse power, which, besides the grinding of corn, drove a circular and gig saw for preparing knees, a perpendicular saw for deck plank, two planing ma- chines, a machine for cutting iron rods and preparing bolts, and various kinds of machinery for facilitating block-making. The whole employed from 16 to 20 hands, and was construct- ed on the wharf below the toll-bridge, at a cost of $10,000. With the increase of ship-building, however, the manufacture of lime was greatly on the decline, if not altogether aban- doned, in Thomaston, on account of scarcity of wood, and the superior advantages for that business in Rockland. In 1860, the census returned but three manufacturers of it, viz., James Morse, producing 4000 casks, value, $2400; Alfred Rollins, 2500 casks, $1500; and Isaac Hodgman, 1400
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
casks, $900. It has, however, by the introduction of im- proved patent kilns, (two erected by J. A. Creighton & Co., and two others by Burgess, O'Brien & Co.,) been recently, in some measure, revived.
On the 7th Sept., a meeting of citizens was called, and a committee, of which Wm. Singer was chairman, appointed to solicit subscriptions for the relief of the sufferers from the unparalleled ravages of the yellow fever at New Orleans. The sum of $500 was soon collected, which was subsequently received and suitably acknowledged by the mayor of that city.
Dec. 19th, a mass meeting was held and resolutions passed for sustaining and carrying into effect, in this town, the Maine Law against the traffic in ardent spirits ; and a committee of twelve substantial citizens was appointed to prosecute all vio- lations of that law. Weekly lectures, also, were given by the clergymen of the place, and spirited efforts made, with a considerable degree of success, to put an end to the evil of rum-selling. But several failures of the courts to convict, combined with party zeal and the arts of those interested in the traffic, baffled and defeated the beneficent enterprise. Some disorders have occasionally occurred in consequence ; and, in 1861, the town voted $300 to build a lock-up, which has been done near the engine house at the lower corner.
On Sunday evening, Feb. . 13th, in the midst of a heavy fall of snow from the N. E., several flashes of vivid lightning and repeated peals of thunder were observed at this and other places. In August and September several severe gales oc- curred, damaging and dismasting the brig Caroline and other - vessels from this port and South Thomaston. A severe thun- der shower, the first of the season, with a heavy fall of rain, was experienced, to the great relief of the parched vegeta- tion, July 16th ; during which a tree was demolished and the barn of Alfred Rollins slightly damaged. The later even- ings of August were beautified by a small but handsome comet in the north-western sky, moving south-west, with a trail of about 9º in length. The day after Christmas, an unusually heavy fall of snow commenced, completely blocking up the roads, which were scarcely opened at the end of three days, when a tremendous gale raised more formidable barriers than before ; and, ere these were cleared out, another fall of snow, on New Year's day, completed the most cold and snowy week, and the greatest interruption of the mails and telegraphs, ex- perienced for a long time.
Some accidents occurred in the ship-yards. On the 29th
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ROCKLAND AND SOUTH THOMASTON.
Sept., John McDonald fell 25 feet, from the stern staging of Chapman, Flint & Co.'s ship, but escaped with his life and no broken bones. The next day, John McRae of Calais was knocked 30 feet, from the staging of Stetson, Gerry & Co.'s ship, and so much injured that he died Oct. 7th. A melan- choly case of suicide occurred, also, Aug. 13th, in the person of Geo. W. Shibles, Jr., a steady and industrious young man, who, without any known cause other than his sensitive feel- ings and the fear of family dishonor, went deliberately to the river, attached a stone of more than 100 lbs. weight to his body, and plunged into the stream that bore him to eternity. Being supposed to have gone to his work in the ship-yard, he was not missed, nor his body found, till toward night.
1854. The lyceum lectures of the season were interest- ing and instructive; among them were a poem by Wm. C. Williamson of Belfast, on Freedom; lectures on Hieroglyphic discoveries by Rev. G. Reynolds, and on Studying the U. S. Constitution by - Shurtleff. A new weekly paper was commenced in the place March 9th, by C. H. Paine of this town, under the name of the THOMASTON JOURNAL, profess- edly " neutral in nothing, independent on all subjects." It was continued with more or less success for four years, when in March, 1858, its name was changed to the LINCOLN AD- VERTISER, it having in the progress of the Kansas troubles gradually become devoted to the dissemination of Republican principles. In July, 1857, the name of Geo. W. White, Esq., appeared as editor. In October, 1859, Mr. Paine, for want of sufficient patronage, removed his paper to Damariscotta.
Business was this year prosperous ; especially that of ship- building. Most of the ships built, ranging from 1200 to 1700 tons, were owned and navigated by citizens of the place; but the Ocean Chief, a clipper, built in 1853, was sold to a Liverpool house for an Australian packet, and netted the builders, Messrs. J. & C. C. Morton, $85,000. Besides an increasing size, the vessels of this port were gain- ing in speed also; the Crest of the Wave, Capt. Wm. S. Colley, having made the passage to New Orleans in 8 days and 19 hours, and the "R. Robinson," Capt. Robinson, in 9 days. The Waldoboro' & Thomaston Steam Navigation Com- pany was this year formed, and the steamboat Gen. Knox, of 259 tons, built on contract at Philadelphia, arrived at Boston in August, and commenced running from that city to Thom- aston and Waldoboro' alternately, under the command of Capt. L. Winchenbach. She was, however, in 1855, put on the Penobscot route, and in the fall bought at auction here by
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
Capt. J. A. Creighton, for $16,300, who sold her again to parties in Boston at an advance of $4000.
This year a new and powerful fire engine was purchased by the State to protect the Prison property. By request of the warden, a company of citizens was organized for its man- agement, and accepted in June, with the understanding that the engine might be used for town purposes when required. It was called "State of Maine, No. 3," and still continues in effective service, under its first and only commander, E. B. Hinkley. A house containing a hall was built for the com- pany's accommodation, outside and in front of the Prison walls. Their first public appearance was made at the cele- bration of the 4th of July; at which time, the ladies present- ed to them a beautiful silk banner. The first call for active service took place in the autumn, at a fire in the Carr build- ing, and while the company were enjoying a social ball at the Georges Hotel. Notwithstanding the members were arrayed in their gay red jackets, white pants and dancing slippers, the " breaks " were manned, hose reeled off, and a deluge of water playing upon the fire in a few moments. After several hours toil, the flames were subdued and the main part of the building saved,-but smoke, water and mud, made sad havoc with uniforms. The successful operations of this company caused a rival feeling at the " lower corner," and, in 1855, the town purchased an elegant engine called Eureka, No. 4, for which $1200 were appropriated ; a fine house built ; and a company formed, commanded by Geo. A. Starr. The members of the company erected, May 12, 1856, the liberty pole at the junction of Knox and Main streets. These two companies, by trials of the power of the two " tubs," their appearance on public parades, their dances and pic-nics, have, since their formation, contributed much towards the entertainment of the citizens, as well as having been of great service on several occasions of fires. They generally number about fifty men each ; and $200 are annu- ally appropriated by the town for their services .* Elisha P. Fales has succeeded as captain of the latter company, since the death of Col. Starr.
On the Fourth of July, after a collation given by Warden Bennett to the Rockland City Guards, who, by invitation, performed escort duties, a procession, consisting of these guards, the brass band, and fire companies ; free masons ; 31 young misses, representing the several States, in a floral
* Com. of Capt. E. B. Hinkley ; papers of the day.
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ROCKLAND AND SOUTH THOMASTON.
car, bearing the motto, " distinct like the billows, one like the ocean ;" officers, citizens and guests ; was marshalled by H. B. Humphrey and aids, to Beech Woods grove, where there was a dinner, after an oration by .Rev. N. C. Fletcher, and the declaration read by Col. Starr; - the day closing with fire-works on land near the prison, viewed by a large crowd whose pleasure was somewhat hastily ended by a sud- den shower.
The summer was marked by a severe drought, which great- ly injured potatoes, maize, &c., and extended as far west as Illinois. In the latter part of August, fires in the woods be- came numerous in all directions ; one of which in close prox- imity, on the N. W., excited serious apprehensions for the safety of the village; and, on the 25th, the sister town of Waldoboro' was laid in ashes. At a meeting called at the 2d Baptist church here, the Monday following, the citizens of this town subscribed, and to a great extent paid down, $950, which, by a committee raised for the purpose, was soon aug- mented to $2000, for relief of the 75 families thus rendered destitute in one awful hour. Notwithstanding the drought, the season was favorable for most kinds of fruit. In this vil- lage the plum orchard of T. J. Rider, of less than 14000 square feet, yielded 102 bushels of excellent fruit, which sold for $255. It was, however, its acme; as, in consequence of the black knot and severe winters, this orchard, like most oth- ers of the kind, has been entirely destroyed.
A well-nigh fatal accident occurred Aug. 23, 1854, on board a schooner lying at the wharf. John Counce of Cush- ing, and a shipmate by the name of Stone, engaging in a mock duel, Stone's pistol proved to be fully charged with a ball which entered the chest of Counce, passing through the right lobe of the lungs; and he fell to all appearance dead. A surgeon was immediately called, who followed the ball with a probe in an inward and upward direction for a distance of seven inches, and abandoned the examination in despair. Twelve hours after, reaction came on, and consciousness re- turned; when the patient was bled largely, and put upon rigid antiphlogistic treatment for three weeks. On the tenth day a distressing cough set in for a few days; when portions of his several garments, were expectorated in the order in which they were worn, so little changed that the buckrain of his coat and the elastic of his suspenders when restored to their places showed little appearance of ever having been separated. At the end of three weeks all indications of any foreign substance in the lungs had disappeared, and in three
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
months from the time of the accident, he shipped as an able- bodied seaman which he has since proved to be; - thus dis- proving the common opinion that lesion of the lungs neces- sarily produces consumption. On the 11th Sept., 1854, Mr. Harri rrington, employed in the steam mill, had his foot caught and badly mangled in the planing machinery."
1855. The State elections were entered upon with un- usual spirit, on account of the feeling connected with the Maine Liquor Law and the Kansas difficulties. Among the preliminary incidents may be mentioned a gathering on an expected visit of Gov. Morrill and council, at the State Prison ; when Warden Hix gave a bountiful entertainment to the whole assembly, including the State of Maine Fire Company, Rock- land City Guards and Brass Band, whose parade and drill added much to the occasion.
The lecturers before the Lyceum, in 1855, were Miss Lucy Stone, Jan. 16th, on " woman's rights ;" Rev. Wm. H. Mil- burn, the 24th ; Dr. Solger, March 8th ; and Wm. C. Wil- liamson, the 28th, on " the Eastern war"; but J. G. Saxe, on the 22d, and subsequently Bayard Taylor, both failing to appear, a surplus fund remained over for the succeeding sea- son. Besides these, E. Z. C. Judson lectured here Jan. 12th and 19th of this year, against Catholicism and the interference in elections and too easy naturalization of foreigners. He was also engaged in forming "Guards of Liberty," or that semi-secret organization styled the " Know Nothings," whose influence was so decidedly felt in the succeeding autumnal elections.
Simultaneously with Know Nothingism, the moustache and full beards began to come into favor; yet the barber's trade seemed flourishing, the village supporting no less than three establishments of the kind the present season. The want of a more direct line of connection between this village and Rockland having been long felt, and a new road, on the peti- tion of Jos. Berry having been laid out in 1854 but discon- tinued by the Supreme Court, was this year, on the petition of J. D. Barnard and 42 other citizens of Thomaston and Rockland, laid out anew by Oscar Eaton, surveyor and chair- man of the board of county commissioners, accepted in Sep- tember, and fifteen months allowed for making the same. This avenue, commencing near E. G. Dodge's in this town, and extending as first laid out to Main street in Rockland, met with considerable opposition, subjected the commission-
* Dr. M. R. Ludwig ; Thomaston Journal.
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ROCKLAND AND SOUTH THOMASTON.
ers to some opprobrium, and a portion of it near the eastern terminus was discontinued ; but it has proved in the end a straight, level, and highly satisfactory highway between the two places. About 30 buildings were erected in town this year, and shipbuilding was equally flourishing with that of . 1854. A new ship-yard was prepared in the autumn of this year, on land of Capt. S. M. Shibles, who with Messrs. Maxcy. & Mathews was intending to build a ship there.
Amid this rapid prosperity of the people that occupy the land of the once wealthy proprietor, the last link in the chain that bound the family to the place was now about to be broken. The youngest daughter of Gen. Knox had contin- ued after the death of her husband, Mr. Holmes, to reside in the mansion, striving in straitened circumstances, but with the most pious care and refined taste, to keep the house in every part, together with the tomb, shrubbery, and surroundings, as nearly in their primitive order as time and decay would allow, till in 1851, she, also, descended to the tomb, leaving a si lence in those lonely halls and a blank in society not easy to be filled. After this, the only surviving child and heir, Mrs. Thatcher, then a widow, with her daughter, Mrs. Hyde, made it their place of residence till the death of the latter in 1853 and that of the former in 1854; and these were the last ten- ants in the line of Knox to dwell in the house of his founding. Up to that time, enough had remained to show that it had been the home of opulence and taste. The papering of antique style, resembling tapestry with figures dressed in old costume, was in good preservation on the wide halls and stair- cases ; the General's secretary, mirror-fronted, with gilded handles and decorated richly with inlaid work, and a large book- case in the same style, both said to have been brought from the Tuileries of Paris; the state bed, with its silken damask draperies; the old fashioned, well worn sideboards and large round table ; oval mirrors curiously bordered; Mrs. Knox's own toilet glass; and, hanging in the oval room, an admirable portrait of Knox and another of Thomas Fluker, were still there. But now the estate was to be divided between Lieut. Henry K. Thatcher, his two sisters, and the other heirs of his mother ; by whom, all that remained of the estate, was finally disposed of by sale, -the furniture, books, family portraits, and all familiar and sacred things removed, distributed, sold at auction, or otherwise scattered abroad. No reservation, whatever, was made ; Lieut. Thatcher having previously re- moved the remains of his honored grandfather, and all the kindred dust which the tomb contained, to the old town cem-
VOL. I. 37
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
etery. As the citzens of Thomaston have been publicly accused of a want of proper respect to the memory and ashes of the distinguished man who honored the place with his res- idence, we have endeavored to glean the real facts of the case, which are substantially as follows: As before related, the remains of the General, after two removals, had been de- · posited during the lifetime of his wife in a well-built vault in the suitable locality before mentioned, at a short distance eastward of the mansion. Propositions were successively made to Mrs. Holmes and Mrs. Thatcher whilst living, to have them again removed and a suitable monument erected in the Mall or some other conspicuous place in the village. They declined ; not being able, probably, to reconcile it to their feelings to allow the long-cherished dust to leave their own immediate custody and the scene of so many hallowed associations, and hoping, no doubt, that one, at least, of the two grandsons might take the place and keep up the honors of the house. On the final division of the estate, it was un- derstood that Henry K. Thatcher, the only surviving male heir, would do this, and it is alleged that an advantage of $1000 or more, in the division, was allowed him, in consider- ation of the expense and trouble which the celebrity of the place might occasion. He determined on a different course, however, and the property was disposed of before the citizens in general were aware of it. Proposals have since been made to him to give the family vault a more eligible and conspic- uous lot in the cemetery, and provide a more sumptuous and ornamental monument. Why these proposals have not been carried into effect, and where the blame, if any, lies, may, perhaps, best be judged of by the following letter of Lieut. now Commodore Thatcher, and notes of the substance of a reply by Wm. R. Keith, Esq.
" Navy-yard, Boston, July 19, 1860. - My Dear Sir, -I have your favor of the 10th inst. relative to the removal of the remains of Gen. Knox and his family whose ashes lay beneath the mound which I caused to be raised. It was my intention to have visited Thomaston expressly to repair any damages that the lot had sustained by frost or otherwise, but my other duties here have prevented. Some months since I wrote to Mr. Butler, the sexton, requesting the favor of his services to examine. the place and inform me of its condi- tion with an estimate of repairs and painting, but received no reply. Mr. Woodhull selected the spot now occupied, and advised me to accept it as a gift from the town, as the last resting place for these " remains," and said, (at the time,)
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