USA > Maine > York County > History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 71
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Salmon Falls, the next falls above, two miles distant by the course of the river, is utilized by a log dam twenty feet in height, over which the water flows in a narrow channel about two hundred rods to the foot of the falls, giving an entire fall of sixty-two feet. Here is an estimated power, day and night, of 1860 horse-power, equal to 74,400 spindles ; or 4060 horse-power for eleven hours a day, suf- ficient to drive 162,000 spindles. On the Buxton side there were, previous to 1870, four saw-mills, of one saw each, and an aggregate capacity of 4,000,000 feet of lumber per annum. The falls takes its name from having been, in early times, the chief resort for salmon-fishing. There is a good site for mills at the foot of the falls. Granite for building, and clay for making brick, are accessible. One and a third miles above are Bar Mills Falls, where, in a dis- tance of sixty rods, there is a fall of eighteen feet, with a
PHOTOS OF CONANT.
Mr. B. J. Palmer. hers. B. J. Palmer.
RES. OF BENJAMIN J. PALMER, BUXTON, MAINE.
253
TOWN OF BUXTON.
power equal to 450 horse-power for twenty-four hours, or 1178 horse-power, equal to 47,120 spindles, for eleven hours a day. The nature of the ground furnishes excellent sites for manufactories and mills. This valuable power is occupied, on the Buxton side, by a saw-mill, heading-, box-, and grist-mill. Good granite quarries are within two miles.
Five miles above, by the course of the river, at the village of West Buxton, are Moderation Falls. Here is a fall of fourteen feet in thirty-six rods, with an estimated horse- power of 450, or sufficient to drive 16,800 spindles. An old log-dam stands at the head of the falls. There are favorable sites for the location of mills for some distance below the falls. This power is partially used by saw-, woolen-, and heading-mills. Granite for building stone is abundant within easy distance.
Bonny Eagle Falls, a mile and a quarter above, at the north line, is embraced by Buxton and Standish on the east and Hollis on the west side of the river. There is a fall of forty-eight and one-half feet in a distance of one hundred and sixty rods, twenty-five of which are obtained in a distance of fifty rods. The water divides at the head of the falls, forming Bonny Eagle Island, an island contain- ing about 60 acres. The western channel is narrow and rocky, and the water reaches the foot of the falls in a suc- cession of leaps and rapids. The eastern channel is the inferior one, and makes its deseent in a continuous rapid. The surrounding banks are favorable for the construction of mills, and the cheap and easy construction of canals and reservoirs, particularly so the island. Here is a valuable power, estimated at 1504 or 60,180 spindles for twenty- four hours, or 3263 horse-power, equal to 130,320 spindles eleven hours a day. There is here a saw-mill, whose united capacity amounts to 4,000,000 feet of lumber annually. Building stone is abundant, and good bricks are made within half a mile of the falls. The chief manufacture is lumber, and neither of the water-powers on Saco River is taxed to its full extent.
VILLAGES.
SALMON FALLS
takes its name from the falls, and is in Hollis and Buxton. The eastern half contains 32 dwellings, the post-office, the shoe-shop of A. C. Came, and blacksmith-shop of S. Chick. It was formerly the centre of a prosperous lumbering busi- ness. The mills were torn down and removed in 1879. The river at this point enters a narrow trough or channel of solid trap-rock with steep banks, which is crossed, at its head, by one of the strongest wooden bridges on the river. A mile from the river, the old church and cemetery front on a beautiful park of some two acres, surrounded by fine dwellings, among which is the residence of Dr. A. K. P. Meserve, one of the leading men of the town.
BAR MILLS
is so named from the bar of rock which at this point ex- tends entirely across the river. The Buxton side contains 56 dwellings, a church, school-house, and the following business houses and manufactories :
General merchandise : S. Meserve & Son, established in
1848 by Samuel Meserve ; S. H. Berry & Son, established in 1877.
Groceries : James Towle, established in 1879.
Confectionery : W. H. Atkinson, established in 1859.
Grist-mill : Thomas Berry, since 1871; established by Win. Woodman in 1839.
Lumber-, box-, and heading-mills : S. H. Berry & Son, established by H. Berry in 1849.
Carriage-shops : B. W. Spafford, established in 1863; Leonard MeKenney, established in 1874.
Coffins : S. J. Lake, established in 1877.
Blacksmiths : Stephen Towle, Nathan Harmon.
Painting : Horatio Harmon.
Postmaster : Isaac H. Tale ; mails daily.
Physician : A. K. P. Meserve, M.D.
A quarter of a mile above is the Saco River depot on the Portland and Rochester Railway, near the river.
WEST BUXTON.
West Buxton, in the northern part of the town, is a manufacturing village on Saco River, comprising 140 dwell- ings, of which 50 are in Buxton. Buxton business houses are as follows :
General merchandise : J. H. & H. N. Bradbury, estab- lished by H. N. Bradbury in 1873 ; A. K. P. Lord, estab- lished in 1843.
Stoves and tinware : Thomas Bradbury, Jr., since 1872; established in 1859 by J. & G. Emerson.
Millinery : Mrs. S. F. Hobson, established 1861 ; A. K. P. Lord, established 1874, under the management of Mrs. F. A. Clark.
Sovereigns of Industry store, a co-operative working- men's supply store, established about 1877, and successfully operated while the shops continued to run.
Buxton Savings Bank : incorporated Feb. 21, 1868, the first and only bank in the town; commenced business in May, 1868, under the administration of the present offi- cers,-Oliver Dow, President, and Charles E. Weld, Treas- urer. Available capital, $129,000.
Lawyers : Weld & Brackett, established by Hon. Charles E. Weld, 1846.
Grist- and plaster-mill : Dow & Hill, three run of stones for each mill, erected in 1866.
Saw-, box-, and heading-mills : A. K. P. Lord, proprie- tor; capacity of 7,000,000 feet of lumber per annum ; employing a force of 125 men ; established 1843, on old mill-site.
Saco River Mills, Buxton Manufacturing Company : manufacture of repellants, etc. ; 14 looms, 1600 spindles ; employs 25 operatives, and consumes 60 tons of raw wool and 32,000 pounds of cotton annually, making about 936,000 yards of cloth; erected 1842; John Berryman, business manager.
Clothing : John Miles, established 1869, employs 16 operatives in shop; Charles Miles, established 1879, 4 hands in shop.
Shoes : J. P. Ilall, custom shop, established 1878.
Harness : M. L. Cousins, established 1878.
Blacksmith : William A. Huff, established 1874.
Carriage- and sign-painting : D. W. Libby.
254
HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.
BUXTON CENTRE.
This village contains the North grammar school, Baptist church, town-house, and about 35 dwellings. The place is finely located and has an appearance of neatness and thrift. The Buxton Centre depot, on the Portland and Rochester Railway, is a mile and a quarter southeast, at which point the Grange have six acres of land, including a fine, large grove and building. The business of the village comprises the general merchandise store of S. Hanson & Co., established by Samuel Hanson in 1857, in the old " Elden Store," and clothing manufactory, employing 20 to 25 operatives in the shop, established soon after.
Boot and shoe manufactory : established by Joseph Davis in 1831, and employing 10 to 15 hands.
Carriages : James H. Flood, P. Waterman, E. Whitney. Smiths : Horace Emery & Son.
Postmaster : Robert A. Bradbury ; mails daily by rail- road.
SPRUCE SWAMP.
Spruce Swamp, on the old Portland road, takes its name from the former growth of spruce in that vicinity. There were formerly here a hotel, smith-shops, and store. The place now comprises 18 dwellings, two churches, school- house, and the large store of B. Soule, erected in 1871 by A. T. Hill.
There is also a store near Eagle Pond, opened by John T. Porter in 1876, and one at Kimball's Corner, established in 1875 by E. Hopkinson.
SCARBOROUGH CORNER.
Scarborough Corner, on the south line of the town, contains a school-house, church, the store of J. L. Milliken, and half a dozen dwellings in Buxton, with as many more in Scarborough.
PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST.
The old house of Rev. Paul Coffin was built upon the ministerial lot, a hundred feet south of the residence of Charles L. Coffin, the end door opening directly upon the lawn in front. This house is believed to be the oldest two- story house in the town. It was in this house that Rev. Dr. Coffin lived during most of his sixty years' pastorate, and this was the house in which he died .* His study was in the northwest chamber. This is the room in which he died. After his death the house was sold and moved to its present position. It is now the residence of Joseph Garland.
The house of Deacon Timothy Hasaltine, now occupied by Mrs. Tristram Woodman, was erected within a few rods of the meeting-house. The lot on which it was built (home- lot 6, range G) was conveyed to Mr. Hasaltine by James Jewett, of Newbury, April 9, 1750. He was living here in November, 1762, and built the house probably soon after. Among the historic events in which it has borne a part was the ordination of Rev. Mr. Coffin and its festivities, which occurred within its walls, in 1763. The house was sold, with
lot 6, to Mr. Thomas Cutts, in 1783, and was for many years after the home of Samuel Cutts, Esq., an honored citizen.
The old burying-ground, on the meeting-house lot, was eight rods wide and thirty long, containing one and a half acres. It was conveyed to the committee of the plantation by Isaac Hancock, in 1761.
The Michael Hanson house, a two-story house, opposite the Congregational parsonage, is one of the oldest in the town. It was built by Capt. John Lane, one of the three brothers who served in the two wars of 1757 and 1776. Capt. Lane was a son of Capt. John Lane, who died at Lake George in July, 1756, and grandson of John Lane, of Limerick, Ireland, an officer in the British service. Capt. Lane bought this lot in June, 1755, and was then described as " of Narragansett No. I, Cordwainer." It is not known whether he built the house before or after the war, which ended with the fall of Quebec. In the records of the Court of Common Pleas for York County his license to keep " Publiek-House" in Narragansett No. I was recorded in June, 1762, with Samuel Warren and Samuel Bradstreet sureties. This house, which was then occupied by him,. was undoubtedly the first public house in the town. It formerly stood near the trees in front of the Nathan Wood- man house, which were set by him in his door-yard, and the house since removed.
BURYING-GROUNDS.
Pleasant Point Burying-Ground is on a little knoll in the rear of the old residence of Hon. John Woodman. It is sur- rounded by a fine grove of evergreen and deciduous trees, making it a beautiful spot throughout the year. Few burying-grounds are more venerated or oftener visited. The ground, which descends to the southwest, overlooks a beautiful grove and the Saco River beyond, at the foot of one of the wildest and most romantic gorges along its course.
A Mr. Sewall first cleared this knoll while working for Capt. Joseph Woodman. On coming to bis dinner one day, he told Capt. Woodman that he had been clearing a good place for a burying-ground. Dying a short time after, his words were remembered, and he was the first person buried there. Many of the graves are unmarked, others have rude stones, on which time has nearly effaced the ancient letters. Among the early and most known occu- pants are Capt. Joseph Woodman, who died in. 1796; Mary, wife of Hon. John Woodman and daughter of Capt. Jonathan Bean, and others of their family ; Samuel Leavitt, died 1797, and his wife, who was the daughter of the first settler in Gorham ; Humphrey Atchinson, Samuel Cole, over whose grave has grown a large pine-tree, and members of the Davis, Bradbury, Elden, Gardner, Sands, Cole, Barnes, and Gray families.
The other chief burying-grounds are the old church- yard ; the old ground east of Buxton Centre, where sleeps Thomas Hill, who died in 1876, Rev. Jonathan Clay, Joseph Bradbury, and others; and near the Baptist meet- ing-house at Spruce Swamp, the resting-place of Isaac Libby, a veteran of the Revolution, Joseph Elwell, who died in 1819, aged eighty-four, Gen. William Waterman, who died in 1860, aged seventy-seven, and other later occu- pants.
? Rev. Dr. Paul Cuffin was married to Mary, daughter of Nathaniel Gorham, a sea-captain, of Charlestown, Mass., Nov. 10, 1763, and it is reasonable to infer that his parishioners provided a home for him, and the house was built in 1765 or 1764 at the latest.
Photo, by Conant, Portland.
A. L. CAME.
ALITTLE
RESIDENCE OF A. L. CAME, WEST BUXTON, YORK CO., MAINE,
255
TOWN OF BUXTON.
INCORPORATION.
Twenty-two years had passed since the resettlement. Fear of the savage foe had given place to undisturbed industry and prosperity. Heavy forests still covered the greater portion of the town. Passable roads led to numer- ous elearings, and bridges spanned many of the streams. Two saw-mills were in operation on Little River which were furnishing the settlements with business, and with lumber for the frame houses fast replacing the first log cabins. Two grist-mills, one on Little River and one at Salmon Falls, ground eorn, rye, and wheat, and the settler was no longer compelled to back his grist out of town to get it ground. The school and the church had borne their part in educating a second generation, who were fast becoming bound by new family ties and a common sympathy for the lands they could now call home. An effort had been made to have the town incorporated as early as 1764, since when the question had been constantly agitated. As a result the Narragansett Plantation was incorporated the seventh town of the district of Maine, July 17, 1772, and given the name of BUXTON at the suggestion of Rev. Paul Coffin.
Under a warrant issued to John Nason " in the thirteenth year of His Majestie's Reign," the first election was held in the meeting-house, Monday, May 24, 1773. John Hop- kinson was chosen Moderator; John Nason, Town Clerk ; Samuel Merrill, John Kimball, John Smith, Selectmen ; John Kimball, Treasurer ; Samuel Leavitt, Constable ; William Bradbury, Isaiah Brooks, Tithingmen ; Ephraim Sands, Richard Palmer, Fence-Viewers; Joseph Wood- man, Matthias Ridlon, Joseph Leavitt, Surveyors of Roads ; Richard Palmer, Hog-Reeve. £50 were voted for roads.
CIVIL LIST. TOWN CLERKS.
John Nasoo,# 1773-79; Samuel Knight, 1780-94; Samuel Cutts, 1795- 1820; Zenas Payne, 1821; Robert Wentworth, 1822-33; David Smith, 1834; Solomon Davis, 1835-37 ; Robert Wentworth, 1838- 41 ; Frederick D. Edgerly, 1842; Asa McKenney, 1843; Robert Wentworth, 1844; Frederick D. Edgerly, 1845 ; D. L. Palmer, 1846-48 ; Ansel W. Hanson, 1849-53 ; William M. Jordan, 1854; A. H. Wilkins, 1855 ; William M. Jordan, 1856; A. H. Wilkins, 1857 ; William M. Jordan, 1858-60; Robert Wentworth, 1861-62; A. K. P. Meserve, 1863; Robert Wentworth, 1864; A. K. P. Meserve, 1865; Frank J. Cole, 1866-67; Joseph Davis, 1868; A. K. P. Meserve, 1869 ; S. S. Milliken, 1870; Reuben W. Murch, 1871-72; Alleo T. Hill, 1873; Charles F. Carr, 1874-75 ; Samuel A. Hill, 1876-79.
SELECTMEN.
1773-74 .- Samuel Merrill, John Kimball, John Smith. 1775-76 .- Samuel Merrill, John Smith, Samuel Knight. 1777 .- John Smith, Samuel Knight, Thomas Bradbury. 1778 .- Joseph Atkinson, Samuel Knight, John Smith. 1779 .- John Smith, Joseph Atkinson, Thomas Bradbury. 1780 .- John Woodman, Ebenezer Wentworth, Jacob Bradbury. 178I .- Joho Woodman, Jacob Bradbury, John Smith. 1782-87 .- Snell Wingate, Jacob Bradbury, John Woodman. 1:88-92 .- John Woodman, Snell Wingate, Samuel Cutts. 1793-94 .- John Woodman, Samuel Merrill, Thomas Bradbury. 1795-96 .- John Woodman, Samuel Merrill, Snell Wingate. 1797 .- John Woodman, Jacob Bradbury, Esq., Clement Jordan. 1798 .- John Woodman, Jacob Bradbury, Snell Wingate.
* Col. Joseph Coffin, Col. Tristram Jordan, Deacon Thomas Brad- bury, and Hon. John Woodman were successively elected to fill the office of proprietors' clerk until the proprietors ceased to act as such.
1799 .- John Woodman, Joseph Atkinson, Samuel Merrill. 1800 .- John Woodman, Joseph Atkinson, Brice Boothby. 1801 .- John Wuodman, Joseph Atkinson, Brice Boothby. 1802-3 .- Jacob Bradbury, Levi Elwell, Samuel Cutts. 1804 .- John Woodman, Jacob Bradbury, Levi Elwell. 1805-6 .- Jacob Bradbury, Levi Elwell, Thomas Bradbury. 1807-8 .- John Woodman, Brice Boothby, William Merrill. 1809 .- Brice Boothby, Capt. Gibeon Elden, William Merrill. 1810 .- Capt. Gibcon Elden, Jacob Bradbury, James Woodman.
1811 .- Capt. Gibeon Elden, Jacob Bradbury, John Woodman, Esq. 1812 .- William Merrill, Benjamin Emery, Thomas Ilarmon. 1813-14 .- John Woodman, William Merrill, Benjamin Emery. 1815 .- Benjamin Leavitt, Thomas Bradbury, Isaiah Payne. 1816 .- Benjamin Leavitt, William Merrill, Gibeon Elden. 1817 .- Benjamin Leavitt, Brice Boothby, Gibeon Elden. 1818 .- Benjamin Leavitt, Zenas Payne, Isaiah Payne. 1819 .- Pelatiab Came, William Merrill, Zenas Payne. 1820 .- William Merrill, Zenas Payne, Benjamin Leavitt.
1821 .- Benjamin Leavitt, Zenas Payne, Capt. James Woodman.
1822 .- James Woodman, Zenas Payne, Samuel Elden.
1823 .- Benjamin Leavitt, Esq., William Merrill, Joseph Hobson, Jr. 1824 .- Joseph Hobson, Capt. James Woodman, Maj. Samuel Hill. 1825-27 .- Maj. Samuel Ilill, Capt. James Woodman, Nathan Elden.
1828 .- Nathan Elden, Maj. Samuel ITill, James Woodman, Jr. 1829 .- Maj. Samnel Ilill, James Woodman, Samuel Dunnell. 1830 .- Joseph Hobson, Jr., James Woodman, Maj. Samuel Hill. 1831-33 .- Joseph Hobson, Capt. Samuel Dunnell, Abraham Milliken. 1834-35 .- Capt. Sam'l Dunnell, Abra'm Milliken, Capt. John Wingate. 1836 .- Capt. Samuel Dunnell, William Rice, Cyrus Fenderson. 1837 .- Cyrus Fenderson, William Rice, Charles Watts. 1838 .- Samuel Dunnell, Peter Emery, Jeremiah Hobson. 1839 .- Charles Watts, Peter Emcry, Jeremiah Hobson. 1840-41 .- Peter Emery, Abram L. Camne, Daniel Wentworth. J842-43 .- Charles Watts, Abraham Milliken, Daniel Kimball. 1814 .- John S. Foss, Samuel Eldea, Daniel Kimhall.
1845 .- John L. Foss, George W. Lord, Richard Clay. 1846-48 .- George W. Lord, John Eldea, Richard Clay. 1849 .- John Elden, Ebenezer Hill, James Morton. 1850,-James Morton, Ebenezer Hill, William Milliken. 1851-52 .- James Morton, Lemuel Merrill, William Milliken. 1853 .- William Milliken, Gardner Brooks, Abram L. Came. 1854 .- William Waterman, Gardner Brooks, Abram L. Came. 1855 .- Gardner Brooks, Daniel Dennett, Jr., Joseph Davis. 1856 .- Daniel Dennett, Albert G. Bradbury (3d), Joseph Davis. 1857 .- Daniel Dennett, Albert G. Bradbury, Joseph Davis. 1858-59 .- John Milliken, N. C. Watson (2d), Nath. Milliken (2d). 1860 .- Henry Harmon, John D. Hill, Enoch B. Bradbury. 1861-62 .- Henry Harmon, John D. Ilill, Theodore Elwell. 1863 .- Henry Harmon, A. W. Milliken, Theodore Elwell. 1864 .- Joseph Davis, Moses G. Hill, John D. Sands. 1865 .- Henry Harmon, Theodore Elwell, Aaron W. Milliken. 1866 .- Charles E. Weld, Moses G. Hill, E. B. Bradbury. 1867 .- Moses G. Hill, Joseph Burbank, Horatio N. Bradbury. 1868 .- John Milliken, Perez Waterman, Samuel Dann. 1869 .- J. M. Marshall, Horace Harmon, Samuel T. Eaton. I870-71 .- A. K. P. Meserve, Perez Waterman, Samuel Dunn. 1872 .- James O. G. Harmon, Moses G. Ilill, Daniel Townsend. 1873-75 .- James O. G. Harmon, Dan'l Townsend, Sam'l W. Scribuer. 1876-79 .- S. S. Milliken, Moses G. Hill, Aaron Mckinney.
CHURCHES.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF NARRAGANSETT.
Oct. 20, 1741, the proprietors voted to build a meeting- house, for the accommodation of the settlers who were already in the town, and who had addressed a petition to the General Court the year previous. The building was erected soon after, on the publie lot. There are no records of its being formally dedicated or occupied. The settlers, alarmed at the outbreak of the war between France and England, fled in 1744. The few returning in the spring of 1749 found it still standing unmolested, but in need of repairs. These were made, and a minister employed to
256
HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.
preach, in 1755, as stated by the proprietors' records. Rev. Joshua Tuffts, who was employed by the proprietors for two years, is supposed to have been the first preacher. He was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Thompson and Rev. Mr. White, after which a second and larger meeting-house was built on the same ground, to be occupied by Rev. Paul Coffin, the first settled minister. The old church was voted to Samuel Merrill, in consideration of his having given the use of his house for meetings before.
John Brooks and Joseph Woodman, committee, laid out a triangular lot of 104 acres for a ministerial lot, in 1762. This was afterwards the homestead of Rev. Mr. Coffin. The letter of acceptance addressed to the committee is frank, brief, and expressive, giving us an insight into his character, and in strong contrast with the usual sermon-like letters of his day, written on such occasions :
"TO THE PROPRE OF NARRAGANSETT TOWNSHIP NO. 1, GENTE:
" Having concidered the Invitation you Gave me to Settle in this place in the Capacity of a minister of the Gospell, & Pastor of the Church to be Gathered here ; and having never heard of any Uneasi- ness among the people here about my Doctrine or manner of life, I declare myself pleased with your Invitation, & ready to Settle as aboves'd, as soon as may be Judged Convenient.
" From, Gentlm, Your Friend &
" NARRAGANSETT No. 1, " Janry 31, 1763.
Serve in the Gospel, PAUL COFFIN."
Previous to receiving the call from this parish, Mr. Coffin had preached to them. His first sermon, as well as the first in the new church, was delivered March 22, 1761. He was at that time twenty-three years of age. His ordination took place in the church March 9, 1763, the exercises being conducted by Rev. Mr. Fairfield, Rev. Daniel Little, Rev. Moses Morrill, and Rev. Mr. Hemmenway, the two latter coming through Hollis and Lyman the day before on snow- shoes, and. by getting lost, passing the night in the woods. A plentiful entertainment was prepared at the expense of the proprietors, except for the meat, which was a moose, donated by Mr. James Emery, who used to say that he " took his dog and went hunting, and caught a moose and a minister."
The first marriage recorded by him was that of Daniel Leavitt and Abigail Bradbury, May 5, 1763. The first baptism was that of "Abagail, daughter of Daniel Leavitt and Abigail, his wife," May 6, 1764. Ebenezer Bean, of the Block-House, was married to Elizabeth Thomas, of Narragansett No. 1, June 27, 1763.
Dr. Coffin was a learned man, a thorough master of Latin, Ilebrew, Greck, and the French languages, and counted among his friends the most eminent men of his day. In 1799 he delivered the annual election-sermon, in Boston, before the Governor, Council, and House of Rep- resentatives. IIe outlived all but four of his original congre- gation. A note annexed to one of his manuscript sermons, dated Oct. 22. 1820, reads : " This sermon may be called Valedictory dd :" fle was born Jan. 16, 1737, O. S., graduated at Harvard in 1759, and died June 6, 1821.
The church which was formed March 16th, a weck from the day of his ordination, comprised 7 members,-Timothy Hlasaltine, first deacon, Rev. Paul Coffin, Thomas Atkin- son, Jacob Bradbury, John Nason, and Thomas Bradbury, a former member of the church at Scarborough. A third
meeting-house replaced the second about 1782. It was finished outside, but had plank seats laid on blocks until 1790, when pews were added.
In the summer of 1817, Rev. Levi Loring became the colleague of Rev. Dr. Coffin, and in November of that year was ordained as junior pastor. He succeeded to the pastorate, and was dismissed by his own request July 8, 1835. Rev. Benjamin Rice, his successor, remained until 1842. The pulpit was then supplied by Rev. Mr. Baker and Rev. Mr. Merrill until Oct. 7, 1847, when Rev. Joseph Bartlett was ordained. Rev. Charles H. Gates supplied the pulpit from 1867 to 1872, and was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Bixby, and in 1875 by Rev. Joseph Kite, the present pastor.
The meeting-house at Buxton Centre was dedicated Nov. 8, 1820, by Rev. Mr. Loring. They remained as one church with two branches four miles apart, the North Church having one-third of the preaching until June, 1852, when Rev. George W. Cressey was ordained pastor over the new church, remaining until his death, in February, 1867. Rev. Charles C. Parker supplied until Sept. 13, 1868, when Rev. Joseph Smith was installed pastor. Samuel S. Drake succeeded from 1872 to 1875, when Rev. Mr. Kite assumed charge of both churches.
BAPTIST CHURCH.
The first Baptist ministers who preached in Buxton were Elder John Chadbourne, of Parsonsfield, and Simeon Locke, of Dayton. The early converts joined Mr. Locke's church in Lyman. In 1799 the Baptist Church of Buxton and Saco was organized with 14 members, and Abner Flanders, one of their number, ordained as pastor. He continued to preach at Saco and Buxton Centre until 1825, when the North Society was formed.
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