Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 21

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York, Blake
Number of Pages: 1790

USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892 > Part 21

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Mr. Haley happened to be in Memphis when Fort Sumter was fired on, from whence he hastened to St. Louis to meet his partner, arriving there the night of the riot. They immediately dissolved partnership, settled their business, and Mr. Haley came home. The day after the battle of Bull Run he went to Augusta and tendered his services to his country. In conjunction with John B. Hubbard, son of ex-Gov- ernor Hubbard, he was active in raising the 1st Maine Battery of light artillery, which was mustered into service in December, with Edward W. Thompson captain, John B. Hubbard 1st lieutenant, and Eben D. Haley 2d lieutenant, with 151 men, five officers and six pieces of artillery. The first active work of the battery was under General Butler at New Orleans, where they did patrol service from March till September, 1862. The 1st Maine then joined General Weitzel's brig- ade, and was in several sharp fights, one of which was an attack on the gunboat Cotton, where, by the bursting of a shell, Lieutenant Haley was severely injured. The battery was made very efficient,

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and at the siege of Fort Hudson it had occasion to show its metal. It was the first to open fire on the right of the line, May 27, 1863. Lieu- tenant Haley was in command, and held his advanced position during the siege with heavy losses of men and horses. The battery was next at Donaldsonville, where the fire became so hot that Lieutenant Haley had at one time but one man left out of thirteen, and himself helped to load and fire the guns. For this heroic conduct he was complimented by General Weitzel, also for difficult services rendered at the fight of May 27.

The battery went on the second Red River expedition, but Lieu- tenant Haley was not with it again till after it had been ordered to the Shenandoah, where he was promoted to its captaincy. Here he was in the famous Cedar Creek fight, October 19, 1864, in which the confederates were victors in the morning, and the Union forces, after being rallied by General Sheridan, were victors in the afternoon. Cap- tain Haley was in command of his battery from shortly after three in the morning till about six, when he received a bullet in his left thigh that he carries yet. After lying on the field till three o'clock in the afternoon, he was taken to a room in a house in the corner of which Colonel, afterward President, Hayes was lying on a wood box, suffer-' ing from a wound. During the grand review in Shenandoah valley General Hancock complimented the 1st Maine on its fine appearance and splendid records. When General Sheridan was in Maine he said to Governor Cony at Augusta, in the presence of General Chamberlin, that he remembered with pride the services of the 1st Maine Battery under its gallant commander, Captain Haley.

In September, 1865, two months after being mustered out of the service, Captain Haley formed a partnership with Alonzo P. Parsons and bought the dry goods business of N. K. Chadwick in Gardiner- the same store he had entered as a clerk in 1852. In 1870 he took the business alone, and in 1878 he sold it to his brother, George T. Haley. The same year, in company with Peter Grant and Daniel Glidden, he put up on Stevens' wharf 2,500 tons of ice-his first move in the busi- ness that has since taken his entire attention. In 1873 he put up ice with Johnson Brothers and Captain John Landerkin at South Gardiner. In 1876 he bought his partners' interest and joined with the Great Falls Ice Company, of Washington, he owning a half interest. He also located for them their houses at Green's ledges, two miles from Gardiner. For some years he had attended to the local business on the Kennebec of the Independent Ice Company of Washington. In 1879 John Van Raiswick, president of the Great Falls Company, J. H. Johnson of Washington, C. B. Church, and the Independent Ice Com- pany, joined with Captain Haley and formed the Maine Ice Company. The growing necessity for a water shipment, where vessels could load from the ice houses at any time of the year, demanded immediate at-

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tention. Captain Haley had long foreseen this want, and to meet it had matured a design which he carried at once to a triumphant com- pletion.

It was no less a plan than to cut off an arm of the sea with a dam, and then compel the salt water to leave the cove and return to the sea. By act of the legislature of 1879 permission was given to build a dam across Campbell's cove in Booth Bay harbor. To make this separat- ing wall impervious to water, he built two complete dams of timber cribs filled with stone, one sloping toward the ocean, the other toward the cove. The faces of each were made of spruce plank fitted water tight, with their ends driven to the rock bottom. When this was done these dams presented two parallel partition walls of plank eleven feet apart, and from ten to thirty feet high, according to the depth of water. Into this sort of water tight compartment gravel was dumped till the water was all forced out, making a perfect road bed, for the use of which the town has paid $200 each year for ten years. We have now arrived at the point where Captain Haley's genius beguiled the law of gravitation into the pleasing task of compelling the salt water in the cove to return to its old home.

Near the point of low tide he had put a spout twenty eight inches square through both dams and the road way, with an elbow on the cove side, carrying that end to the bottom of the cove pond. By the mere device of opening a gate in the spout at low tide the water from the pond sought its level on the sea side of the dam, and it could enter the pipe only at its opening at the bottom of the deepest water. The result surprised the captain himself, for in fifty-four days the pipe was discharging only fresh water, with which the streams from the land had entirely replaced the ocean brine. For original conception and effectual accomplishment of a work of such intrinsic value, hitherto unattempted, Captain Haley has exhibited the same kind of masterful ability by which Captain Eads, in the construction of the. wonderful jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi river, removed a constant inter- ruption to navigation. Ice was cut in Campbell's cove in the winter of 1881-2 and every winter since, the quality being next to river ice. In 1886 Captain Haley and the Independent Ice Company became the exclusive owners of the Maine Ice Company. In 1885 he sold his half interest in the South Gardiner ice houses to the Great Falls Company and erected new ones there, known as the Haley houses, of which he is sole owner. He has been for years extending the area of the ice trade. In 1883 he established a retail trade in Richmond, Va., still very prosperous. In 1892 Morse & Co., of New York, joined him in the purchase of large interests in the retail ice trade of New York city and of storage capacity on the Hudson river, and in the erection of more storage room in Pittston, so that they are now able to supply any shortage of ice in any of the great ice markets.

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Captain Haley has always been an active republican in politics, go- ing twice as a delegate to presidential conventions. He is one of the directors of the Gardiner National Bank and of the Kennebec Steam Towage Company. In 1870 he married Sophie J., daughter of Daniel Johnson, of South Gardiner. The names of their four children are: Marion W., Ethel A., Eben R. and John H. This family group make an unusually happy home, the hospitalities of which are enjoyed by a large circle of friends.

GRANITE .- Just when or how the utilization of the granite ledges in the county was begun cannot be definitely ascertained, for it is a sin- gular fact that there is no industry of any importance that has re- ceived so little attention from historical and statistical experts as the granite industry. It is quite certain. however, that it was not until the beginning of the present century that an attempt was made to quarry the mineral that was afterward destined to figure so promi- ently in the industrial resources of the county. When, in 1797, the Kennebec bridge was built, stones split from boulders were used for the piers and abutments; and when, in 1801. Captain William Robin- son, of Augusta, erected his house, he procured the underpinning in Massachusetts at great expense.

The first recorded attempt to quarry granite in the county was that made in 1808 at the Rowell ledge, in Augusta. The venture met with indifferent success. Some of the top strata were broken off with " rising wedges " driven under the edge of the sheet until it parted; but this was a slow and laborious process. The first successful effort to open and work a ledge in the township was made by Jonathan Matthews, on the Thwing ledge, in 1825, when he laid the cellar walls of Arch Row; but he also worked with rising wedges. Powder was not used for blasting upon ledges until the erection of the state house was begun, in 1829, and then, at first, with but one hole, by which large irregular masses were blown out. Afterward two holes, a short distance apart, were charged. and fired simultaneously, thus opening long, straight seams, sometimes to the depth of six feet.

Since the introduction of dynamite as a partitive agent in quarry- ing, better results have been obtained, with less exposure of the men to accident. With this exception, however, but little improvement has been made upon the early methods of obtaining granite. Ma- chinery has been tried in all forms, but, aside from the steam drill, a valuable time and labor saving invention, nothing has been found that will adequately perform the work now done by hand. It is true that, used as a lathe, machinery works somewhat satisfactorily in turn- ing out columns, but even this does not finish the surface, except when it is to be polished. In this connection it may be noted that the first derrick used at any stone works in Augusta was erected east of Church hill at a quarry then operated by William B. Pierce.

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

In 1836 three granite companies were incorporated at Augusta. One, called the Angusta & New York Granite Company, worked the Hamlen ledge, situated about two miles from the river by way of Western avenue; another, named the Augusta & Philadelphia Granite Company, owned the Ballard ledge, a mile and a half from Kennebec bridge by way of Northern avenue, and of which the Rowell and Thwing ledges are a continuation; and the third, known as the Au- gusta Blue Ledge Company, purchased Hall's ledge, two and a half miles from the bridge, over the North Belfast road.

In 1871 the Hallowell Granite Company was organized, with its chief stockholder, Governor Joseph Bodwell, as president. The busi- ness gradually assumed huge proportions, and in 1885 the Hallowell Granite Works, another stock company, was formed, its executive being also Governor Bodwell. It is not known how long before these periods granite was taken from the ledges owned by the companies mentioned, but it is said that the New Orleans custom house was built, seventy years ago, of stone quarried from the ledge now oper- ated by the Hallowell Granite Works. The extensive quarries of the latter company are two and a half miles from the city of Hallowell, near the Manchester line. The granite is white, free working and soft, and can be almost as delicately chiselled as marble. It is said to be the finest grade of white granite in the state. Aside from their extensive building operations, the Hallowell Granite Works is the largest producer of monumental, statuary and ornamental work in Maine. In almost every city of the country can be seen the handi- work of its artisans. The New York state capitol at Albany; Equit- able Life Insurance Building, New York; the monument at Plymouth, Mass .; soldiers' monument, Boston Common; memorial monuments at Gettysburg; and the Augusta soldiers' monument, etc., are from their works. The works employ, in its numerous departments, from 300 to 400 men; the annual shipment of stone averages 100,000 cubic feet, and the gross product annually averages over $250,000.

Intellectually, the granite cutters of Kennebec county are on a level with any other class of mechanics. Instead of the saloon, they patronize the public library, and they take an active interest in state and national affairs. The foreign element among the granite cutters consists chiefly of Scotch, Italian and English. Ninety per cent. of the other labor is American born.

In 1884 Joseph Archie opened a granite quarry near the Hallowell works, but just over the Manchester line. He took a partner for a brief period, the firm being known as the Central Granite Company. In 1891 Mr. Archie bought out his partner, and since that time has successfully continued the business alone, employing forty men. The stone produced is very fine, and is mostly used for statuary and monu- mental work. The granite is furnished to dealers on order, and is

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shipped to St. Louis, Omaha and many other distant points. The ex- tension of the state house at Augusta, in 1891-2, was built of stone from this quarry.

Ample supplies of granite for building purposes occur in many of the towns. Ledges have been worked in Fayette and Wayne for other purposes. S. B. Norris operated a quarry in Wayne twenty years ago, which had been formerly worked for building material, and from which J. Frank Gorden is now obtaining monument ma- terial.

The name of Governor Joseph Robinson Bodwell is indissolubly linked with the history of Kennebec county as that of the " granite man "-the man who had larger individual interests in granite quar- ries than any other man in the United States, and whose foresight, energy and shrewd business instinct were the means of building up the granite business at Hallowell. He was born at Methuen, Mass., in 1818-the tenth in a family of eleven children. He was a lineal descendant of Henry Bodwell, his first known American ancestor, who bore a brave and conspicuous part in the war with the Indian chief, King Philip. The governor's father, Joseph Bodwell, was among the most worthy and respected citizens in his community, and his mother, Mary (How) Bodwell, came of the best New England stock, and was a superior and cultured woman. His father having, through unavoidable misfortune, lost his property, Joseph R., to re- lieve the family of some of its burden, was sent when eight years old to live with his brother-in-law, Patrick Fleming. When he had at- tained his sixteenth year his brother-in-law died and Joseph R. was to a certain degree thrown upon his own resources.

The school of manual labor (farming) in which he had passed the formative years of his life was precisely the one best calculated to qualify him for the peculiar successes in business he afterward achieved. In 1835 he began to learn the shoemaker's trade, and for three years followed this calling, attending school during the day and spending the evening and early morning in the making of shoes. In 1838 he purchased jointly with his father a farm in West Methuen, and aided in its cultivation until the death of the elder Bodwell, in 1848.

In October of this year he married his first wife, Eunice Fox, of Dracut, Mass. She died December 14, 1857, leaving one daughter, Persis Mary, born August 26, 1849. On July 25, 1859, Governor Bod- well married Hannah C., sister of Eunice, the fruit of this union being Joseph Fox Bodwell, born July 11, 1862.

While cultivating his farni in West Methuen, Governor Bodwell took the first steps in that special career in which he afterward be- came so proficient, for while hauling granite from Pelham, N. H., to Lawrence, Mass., while the Lawrence mills were in course of con

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struction, he became acquainted with all the processes involved in. quarrying and working granite. In 1852, in company with Hon. Moses Webster, Governor Bodwell came to Maine and began to work the granite quarries on Fox island, at the mouth of Penobscot bay .. He began operations with one yoke of oxen, which he drove himself and shod with his own hands. From this humble beginning sprang results of such magnitude that a company was formed, known as the Bodwell Granite Company, with the hardy pioneer as its president .. In 1866 Governor Bodwell removed his family from Methuen to Hal- lowell, and from that period to his death, December 15, 1887, the main record of his business career was the history of the Hallowell Granite Works.

He never altogether lost his early love for agricultural pursuits, and soon after he came to Hallowell he purchased in the neighbor- hood two farms, which he successfully cultivated, one of them, indeed, becoming one of the best stock farms in New England. He also car- ried on lumber operations at the head of the Kennebec, was president of the Bodwell Water Power Company, at Oldtown, Me., and was a stockholder in several important railroad enterprises.

Governor Bodwell was not a politician in the ordinary meaning of the term, but he always took a deep interest in public affairs. He never sought official distinction, but office was sometimes thrust upon him. Twice he represented his adopted city in the lower branch of the legislature; for two terms he served as mayor of Hallowell, and after twice refusing the governorship of Maine he was prevailed upon in 1886 to take the nomination, and was elected by a very large ma -- jority. His administration, which he did not live to complete, was honest and efficient.

Governor Bodwell, however, was best known as a business man of great force of character, unquestioned integrity and untiring industry. He was possessed of fine social gifts, and endeared himself to all who had dealings with him. He was a philanthropist in the true sense of the word. His heart went out toward his fellow-men, and melted at the sight of suffering. He was always giving something for the needy, his Christianity knew no creed, he was every inch a man. The highest tribute to his worth was the grief at his death, of the men who knew him best-the men in his employ, who so often profited by his kindness, and whose fortunes he was always ready and often eager to advance.

CHAPTER VIII.

AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK.

BY SAMUEL L. BOARDMAN.

Pre-historic Agriculture .- Primitive Farming .- Natural Advantages .- Soil. -- General Farm Methods .- Historic Agriculture .- Early Leaders .- Associa- tions .- Farm Machinery .- Agricultural Schools .- Cattle Breeding .- Short- horns .- Herefords .- Jerseys .- Dairying .- Sheep .- Horses .- Stock Farms. -- Driving Associations .- Race Tracks .- Trotters .- Orchards. - Retrospect.

T' HE agricultural history of the county of Kennebec is one of inci- dent, importance and influence. Of incident, because of that romance which attaches to the occupation of a new country by sturdy pioneers who hew out farms and build homes in the primitive wilderness; importance, when viewed in the light of modern achieve- ments and the position of its agriculture to day in one of the best ag- ricultural states in the Union; and influence, when is taken into ac- count the part which the historic agriculture of Kennebec has had in the larger history of the agricultural development and progress of the nation.

There has been a pre-historic agriculture in the county as there has been a pre-historic age in human achievement of all kinds-a time before events of marked importance had been established, and before anything of interest or significance had taken place in its agricultural development. This was when farms were being made from the for- ests, the first rude homes established in the openings upon the hills, when wild animals roamed in their native woods, when fish of the lakes and rivers contributed to support, when saw mills were being established, and the occupations of the people had reference mainly to the support of existence. It was a time of self-dependence; when the farmers were obliged to look to their farms and the labor of their hands for everything that contributed to material welfare. The land supplied everything, and the farm was a small empire. Little was had by the rural people that the farm did not furnish; oxen for work, cows for the dairy, sheep for clothing. The first settlers needed a hardy race of cattle to endure the rugged winters; used to work, for the labor of clearing land was heavy; and that would also give a fair amount of milk. The maple furnished molasses and sugar. Butter

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and cheese for the family were produced at the farm. The wool which the sheep furnished for clothing was supplemented by the tow and linen from the cultivated flax -- and the domestic manufacture of cloth was an art understood in every farm house. Beef, pork, lambs, and hens were kept as the standard supplies of the family for the long, cold winters.

As the farms became more improved the orchard formed a part of all the hill farms and its fruit contributed to the luxury of living; while the cider mill was soon established in every neighborhood. The large, framed house, of which there are many fine examples yet standing, superseded the log dwelling, and the domestic life of the early farmers, although books were few and there were no news- papers, was full of a quiet contentment, a high self-independence, little idleness and a large amount of domestic thrift.

As the years sped on changes came. Carding mills and power looms took the place of hand carding and home weaving. More sup- plies were purchased for the farms as the market became better fur- nished. Improved tools and implements made finer and more pro- ductive culture possible. Farm stock was improved. The conven- iences and even luxuries of living reached out to all farm homes of any pretension. The mowing machine upon the farm, the sewing machine and organ in the house, the diffusion of special intelligence for farmers through the agricultural press, wrought a complete revo- lution. Roads were improved; the impetus of visiting and receiving visits from distant points had its influence upon the farm life. Edu- cation was esteemed a thing of chief importance. The culture of the farm, the embellishment of the farm home, the higher social position of the farmer's family, marked a new era. Old things had passed away; all things had become new. This picture of the transitions of the agricultural life from the earliest period of settlement to the pres- ent, is a mere outline, the shadings and details of which must be filled in as the more historic structure is completed.

Too far from the sea to have its vegetation retarded by the saline winds and fogs of an ocean atmosphere, and sufficiently distant from the mountain ranges to prevent suffering from their cold summits, this county, most favorably situated in an agricultural point of view, is one of the best watered sections of Maine. Its beautiful and diver- sified water surfaces assist in furnishing moisture to the soil and purity to the atmosphere, while they contribute in no small degree to the wealth of the county by adding to the charm and beauty of the landscape -- the latter a consideration of no small weight with those who are attached to the country and have a love for the beauties of nature.

The'soils of the county present a considerable diversity of char- acteristics. In the main they may be regarded as of granitic origin,

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strong rather than deep, productive, retentive of fertilizing elements, in many sections ledgy, in some very rocky, in a few light or porous. The county as a whole is a rich grazing section, excellent for the pro- duction of grass, the hill farms among the best orchard lands in the state, the lands in the river valleys and in the lower portions between the hills and ridges, splendid for cultivation.

The towns of Rome, Vienna, Fayette and Mt. Vernon are broken, their strong, rocky soils comprising excellent grazing lands. In Winslow the lands near the Kennebec and Sebasticook are of fine, deep, rich, productive loam. Eastward, part of the town is ledgy. Wayne, West Gardiner and Litchfield have tracts of light plains, the former having hundreds of acres of wind-shifted surface. There are, however, some fine farms, and agriculture is constantly improving. Clinton, Benton, Albion, Windsor and Pittston are excellent grazing towns. China and Vassalboro, east of the Kennebec, and Sidney, Manchester, Winthrop, Readfield and Monmouth, west of the Kenne- bec, are without question the garden towns of the county. The county has less waste, unproductive and unimproved land than any other section of equal extent in the state. Upon almost every farm of the usual extent of 150 to 200 acres there is much diversity of soil. Orcharding has reached a high degree of perfection and is conducted on a good business system. The pastures are unsurpassed in Maine; herbage is choice, abundant and nutritious, and cool springs and pure brooks conduce to the healthfulness of farm animals. The county is abundantly wooded with large tracts of old forest growth, while in localities where the original growth has long since been cut off, young trees have taken their place and have become the most valuable land in the county. Nearly every farm has its quota of wood land, trees crown many of our highest hills, fringe the river banks and clothe the rough and waste places of the farm, affording a beautiful object in the landscape, furnishing shelter and protection from cold winds to stock, growing crops and homesteads, adding wealth to the county, materially lessening the rigors of winter and contributing to the uni- formity and healthfulness of the climate.

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Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 21

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York, Blake Number of Pages: 1790

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York, Blake
Number of Pages: 1790