USA > Maine > York County > Kennebunk > Kennebunk history : not a history of Kennebunk but a few items in addition to and a sequel to "The village of Kennebunk, Maine" (revised to 1939) : a description of a few more old homes, a few biographical sketches > Part 5
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The next lot was cleared by Ichabod Cousens in 1758. He built the first house on the western side of the river in the limits of the village. That and the shed and barn were all the build- ings on that side in 1775. The biography of Major Nathaniel Cousens describes the house as we remember it. It was razed in 1897. We do not know how long Major Cousens lived in the house built by Ichabod. The Major died about 1832. The next owner, we are sure of, was Alexander G. Fernald, but we do not know dates. He went to Cat Mousam in 1852. He may have lived here. Mr. Fernald died in 1873, and Joseph Parsons bought of his heirs in 1874. Mr. Parsons built a house in 1878 at the corner of Cat Mousam road, and a two tenement one a little east of that. Then he bought the tenement house in front of where he lived which was in the end of the triangle, composed of Pleas- ant, Cross and High Streets, and moved that next to his new one and made a small park of the triangle.
Beyond Cat Mousam road there was only one house on the right in the village, Saml. Taylor's. Beyond Sunken Brook and a piece of woods was Jos. Bragdon's; his son was Nathaniel, who was the father of Joseph D. Bragdon. Farther up across the brook was the house built by Parson Little about 1790; after- wards owned by Paul Webber Stephen, then - Small; later Thatcher Jones and Oscar Clark. The house was soon after torn down. Alfred Littlefield was next on the right and the last on that side.
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Sunken Brook
Back to the Village. A little beyond Sam Taylor's, before mentioned, was Sunken Brook, so called. Tradition says there is a bog on the left with no bottom, that a yoke of oxen driven there to drink went down out of sight. A small house beyond was Andrew Brown's; then a long stretch of woods, about op- posite the Stevens farm was the entrance to Nigger Ridge, for- merly the home of several families of colored people. Next was the house of James Mitchell. His son was Enoch Furbush Mitchell, known as Ferber Mitchell. The road now winds through the woods and the right hand one goes to Sanford. A short dis- tance after branching another road leaves to the right to Cat Mousam. In the angle thus formed is a graveyard with many graves, some headstones with inscriptions. It has been described. The middle road is the upper road to Berwick through the Branch. Another branches to the left through Harriseeket and over Cole's Hill to Wells Lower Road. The Acadians had a house near here. James Gillpatric lived near the river, later Chas. H. P. Storer. Haven Kimball owns a farm on the right.
West Side
We can perhaps describe the West side as well by going back to the Main Street bridge.
Tradition says that Dominicus Lord commenced to clear a spot in the wilderness at the top of the hill, April 19, 1775; that James Kimball, Jr., and Theodore Lyman got some elm trees there and set them out at the corner of Main and Dane streets; that after several years, Mr. Lord got a small house built which he sold to Major Wm. Jefferds, and it was the beginning of Jef- ferd's Tavern.
A road was laid out to the left of the Jefferds Tavern in 1796, between it and the Capt. Low house, which in after years became York Street, and later connected with the Turnpike of 1803-4. The top of the hill to the right became High Street and was laid out about 1800. The Capt. Low house, built before 1800, was in a sort of triangle running to a point nearly at the foot of the hill. It was bought by an aunt of Mrs. Swan, wife of the Unitarian minister, and remodeled, the ell made into two story and an addition was made on the west corner; barn remodeled and other repairs made. Given to Mr. and Mrs. Swan for a per- sonage and was used as such for many years; later given to the
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Unitarian Society by Mrs. Swan.
Next to the parsonage on High Street is the house built about 1800 by Dimon Gillpatrick, son of Richard and like his fa- ther, a blacksmith. He had a shop in the triangle formed by York and High Streets. It was a part of the old iron works building which was moved from the western end of the lower dam in the early 1800's. Its location was about where the block of Everett L. Littlefield is now. The shop was torn down about 1877; block built 1887 by Oscar Clark. Dimon had two sons, Daniel and Richard; both learned the same trade as their father and worked in the same shop. They had a sister, Olive, who kept a private school in a building which is now a tenement, end to the street. The brothers worked together in the same shop; they had several fields and did farming; both were married. Their wives were strangers to each other when they married. They came to the same house, made one family, both had and raised children, all apparently in peace and harmony. In the early 1850's, both brothers had the gold fever and started for Califor- nia, of course by the Isthmus. Richard was taken sick at Pan- ama and had to return home. Daniel kept on to California, re- mained there several years, accumulated some gold, returned to Kennebunk, shared the gold with his brother and they kept on as one family. I knew the family in the 1860's. Richard died in 1865, Daniel in 1876. The last of the children living was a daughter of Richard, Susan, who married Murray Cheever. She sold the house about 1878 to George Larrabee and Asa Clark, who made it into two tenements. Mary Ann, daughter of Rich- ard, married Charles Harvey. I saw in a newspaper article a few years ago of the death of a son of hers who left a large fam- ily, all that is left of Dimon's family. A son of Daniel died in early manhood.
Slings for Shoeing Oxen
The Gillpatrick blacksmith shop had what I have never seen in any other, but which must have been in the old days-slings for shoeing oxen. It was a heavy timber frame, perhaps 3} ft. wide and 8 ft. long. There was a roll on each side to which a heavy canvas was attached to roll up. The ox was unyoked, led into the frame, head fastened. The canvas was put under his belly and wound up, taking him from the floor, legs turned up and fastened, shoes nailed on. The ox has a split hoof.
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The Gillpatrick orchard then extended to Pleasant Street and up High Street to the lot of Capt. Jos. Hatch, Jr., whose house was moved from the Triangle, occupied in 1860 by his widow, later by Mr. Read, Mr. Warren and others. The next, Robert Hardy's. His wife was a granddaughter of Joshua Gillpatrick. Tenement house, then Cross Street; a few small houses, on the Pleasant Street end; west, the house of Stephen Cleaves, stone mason. On the High Street corner, Rev. N. K. Sargent, a retired Free Will Baptist minister, coming from Wells in 1809. In Kennebunk he was a carriage maker; shop on Main Street. He built the first hearse used in Kennebunk. On the end of the Heater the two tenement house before described, now a park. I remember J. H. Ferguson, Wm. H. Moody, I. B. Ross, the school teacher, as tenants, and others.
Beyond the blacksmith shop on High Street, left side, was the small house of George Washington Hatch, then Nathan Cook, a painter. Friend Street. Two small houses, one removed to Brown Street, one remodeled later by F. C. Simonds, now owned by his daughter, Miss Effie Simonds. Then the house of Jos. Sargent, built by S. Clark in 1849, later sold to A. F. Wormwood. Then Orrin Kimball, a house carpenter from Wells; house built probably about 1850, now owned by his son, Haven S. Kimball. There was a small house just beyond moved in the late 50's up the road and owned by a man named Wells, now known as the David Bennett house. In 1860, there was nothing until the Nathaniel Mendum house, built about 1800, then occupied by his widow and two daughters. One of them, Lydia (Mrs. Putnam Hartshorn), kept a private school in the second story to which I and many others attended. The house stood on what is now the driveway to Miss Nellie Parsons' house and when that was built about 1890, the Mendum house was removed to York Street west of Mt. Pleasant cemetery (south). Opposite Cat Mousam road was Chas. Drown; later Wm. Cleaves.
Friend Street extends from High to Brown Streets. There is a house on the east side, once occupied by Isaac Varney, C. W. Goodnow and others. North side of York Street, beyond the blacksmith shop another shop in 1860, used by Mr. Kenney, prob- ably one of the Stage Co. shops.
On the northwest corner of York and Friend is the house and foundry of Timothy Varney. He came to Kennebunk as a master workman of the factory, then built his foundry and made
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agricultural implements. The Varney plow had a large sale. He died in 1861. His sons succeeded him. Isaac removed to North Berwick, George continued the business, built a large wood work- ing shop, which is the Antique Shop of F. B. Tuck.
Next, same side, Joseph Getchell; he had a tmn shop on the Triangle, Main Street. (No date.) The next house of Geo. W. Wallingford, Sen., is described in "The Village of Kennebunk" and by Mr. Barry. There was only one house beyond on that side in 1860, a Mr. Warren's, later Blake Seavey's. The others are all of later date. There was an old brick powder house be- yond. I do not know its history.
Little Old Schoolhouse
South side of York Street. At the corner of Friend Street, east, was the little old schoolhouse of Dist. 5. After the Swan Street house was built it was the office of Dr. N. E. Smart, later made a tenement by David Littlefield. On the west corner the house of Isaac Farwell; he had a stage route to Portsmouth, N. H., every other day. There was at that time only one other house, until Swan Street. A Mr. Goodwin house, I think, moved from Harrisicket. Later, James Fairfield, Sen., from Alewive.
Swan Street. House built on the corner by the stage agent, the residence of Mr. Swan 1850 to 1858, then Dr. N. E. Smart, and of E. Andrews, when he first came to Kennebunk, 1876. The Swan Street schoolhouse was built in 1856.
York Street and the Sea road part here. The Sea road was afterwards called Day Street. Only one house, Charles Towne's, afterwards Oliver Whitehouse, and others. Only two houses be- yond on York Street, Mr. Kenney's and what was called the old Osborne house, occupied by Joseph Sargent.
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery was incorporated in 1843.
On Friend Street was Dan'l Taylor, Jos. Thompson, Alva Hill, an old soap house, and a few others.
Brown Street was laid out in 1842-3-4-5. The old boarding house, formerly the house of Richard Gilpatric, on about the site of the house built by John Ricker, now Mrs. Hartley Storer's, was then two tenements, Stephen Fairfield and Geo. Bickford. On the river side, Saml. Clark built about 1851, sold 1866 to Wm. Downing. Geo. Leach, Peter Goodwin, Horace and Ivory Fer- nald. Upper side, north, Jefferds sold about 1866 to Sam'l Clark and remodeled. After his death, 1881, sold by his heirs to Frank
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Roberts; sold by his heirs about 1937 to the Fox Lumber Co., and lumber sheds built.
On the corner of Friend, Henry Topham, then David Little field. On the other corner Wm. Storer, Edwin C. Frost; he died November 21 1867, then his widow. After 1877, Andrew S. Big- gar, bookeeper of shoe shop; next Mrs. Taylor, who married John Roberts, Sen .; her daughter, Lavina, married S. F. Fairfield. House of S. Clark and James Wormwood. Geo. Phillips, Sen., be- yond Swan Street schoolhouse of 1856; the Jos. Storer and Sam. Kimball's back of school; ell of Geo. Wise house, Swan Street, Geo. Phillips.
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CHAPTER V
Cat Mousam Road-Description of How a House Was Prepared for Moving-Houses and Residents to Webber Hill-Storer Street and Its Extension Which Was Called the Alfred Road Through Kennebunk Depot Which Is Now Called West Ken- nebunk-Alewive Road-The Impressment of Jeremiah i. Lord on a British Man of War Just Before the Battle of Trafalgar.
Cat Mousam Road as it looked in 1860 and some items of earlier and later dates:
The first house on the left was the almshouse. Mr. Remich says in his history of Kennebunk that the Cat Mousam Road was laid out March 22, 1779, beginning at the County Road, three rods east of Maj. Cousens' house on the west side of Mousam River. Probably there was a road of some kind before that time as there were settlers. Mr. R. says in a newspaper article that the Maj. Cousens house was the almshouse, but he gives no date of when it was built. The road extended from the County Road to the bridge over the Mousam River at the Cat Mousam or mid- dle falls. In 1860 (before and after) bids were made to the se- lectmen for taking care of the poor. I remember Mr. Alexander G. Fernald and Wm. Cleaves, about that time. They usually had a full house in Winter. I remember a Mr. Elias Hutchins, an odd sailor; he served under Lord Nelson in the naval battle of Trafalgar. Some of the inmates died at the almshouse. There are many graves back of the house. Probably no record. I do not find any date of when it was first used as an almshouse.
The next house in 1860 was at the top of the hill, Stephen Littlefield, wife, son and daughter. His wife laid in bed all of the time. Occasionally she went to the village. She went across the fields. She would go a little ways, then drop on her pillow. She could easily scale the fences. Their son, Stephen, was liv- ing a few years ago at Wells Branch. The house was later sold ta Mr. Joseph Parsons.
Major Cousens' Farm
The east side of the road was originally the Maj. Cousens farm. It extended up over Rankins brook to the top of hill and the farm then owned by James B. Gray, thence by that farm to Mousam River. Mr. Gray was a brick mason and plasterur; he
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came from Lowell in the late 1850's, wife and five children, two . boys and three girls. Charles, the oldest son, was a sailor, and ' lost at sea with Capt. Ed. Stone. Mr. Gray's farm extended' up the road to the N. Hatch farm, then to the river. The next owner was Sam'l Sweet, coming from Limerick; his wife 'was a ' Miss Sands of Lyman. The next owner was Chas. L. Dresser, then his son, Fred, and grandson, Frank. It is now the hen farm of Everett Littlefield.
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On the west side after crossing the brook, it was owned by. D. and R. Gilpatrick; sold about 1873 to Geo. A. Gilpatric, who. sold about 1882 to B. F. Hill, who built a small house and now occupies it. Beyond, on the west side, was a field owned by Geo. W. Wallingford; he sold to John Gilpatric; after his death it was owned by Thatcher Jones; now several small bungalows.
On the east side, above Mr. Gray's was the farm of Nahum Hatch, son of Philip Hatch, an early resident. Nahum's wife. was a Butland from the Landing. There were two old people liv -. ing with them, an uncle and aunt of Mrs. Hatch (different fami- lies). There is a burying ground near the top of the last hill to the intervale, in the bushes, and many graves. I know of six since 1860; marked only by field stones. Nahum had a barn, end close to the road. He used to go there at noon to pray; he would holler at the top of his voice and could be heard one-half or. three-quarters of a mile. He died about 1870, succeeded by Lemuel Larrabee whose wife was a niece of Mrs. Hatch, The farm was later owned by Dr. F. M. Ross. It is now the site of many small houses.
Ivory Gilpatric bought the next farm of Miss Lucretia Dor -. rance about 1839; it was about 35 acres, two intervales. Ivory; was a son of John 3rd of Cat Mousam (east),. There was at that time no house on the farm, but I think an old barn. He did not occupy the farm until about 1840 when he bought a house of Chas. Towne on the lower end of Brown Street. It was moved by oxen to its present location and the ell part built. A new. barn was built in 1854. He was, I think, for some years em? ployed by the old Mousam Manf. Co., as farm foreman. The company did considerable farming and their goods and supplies came and were exported by water from Kennebunkport. His wife was Louisiana, daughter of James Littlefield of Wells. They had four children; one of them was born and died 'in Wa- tertown, Mass., where they lived about two years.' "The others,
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Mary Jane (not married) ; John, also not married; George A. married H. K. Goodwin; Ivory died March 20, 1866, aged 58 yrs. After the death of his son, John, 1885, the farm was sold to Thatcher Jones, who had several tenants. It is now owned by Robt. Spiller.
House Moving by Oxen
When a house was to be moved, two white pine logs were procured for shoes, perhaps 50 ft. long, the under side barked, the top hewed. The house was jacked up, the shoes placed 4 or 5 ft from each side; timbers across the shoes front and back, trunaled to each shoe. A long cable attached to each shoe, two strings of oxen, a chain from the yoke attached to the cable. If a large building, perhaps 20 yokes to each cable. The back end of the shoo jacked a little from the ground and chained to the axle of a pair of wheels; tongue back to help steer. It took a heavy pair of wheels. The farmers came from far and near giv- ing services free to a hauling. A boss teamster was chosen to say when to go. Refreshments had to be provided,-crackers, cheese and rum or some liquid.
The next house above Mr. Gilpatric, same side, was Elisha L. Mitchell, son of Eben, grandson of Samuel, and great grand- son of John Mitchell of the Port. Mr. Remich is wrong on page 526 of his history. I have the family Bible and a straight rec- ord of the Mitchell family. Elisha married Mary Gillpatrick, a sister of my father, in 1834. I do not know from whom he bought the lot, or the date of building the house. It was almost ex- actly like that of Ivory Gilpatrick. They had one daughter, El- len A. Elisha died Jan. 14, 1888, aged 80 years. His daughter lived alone several years, then sold to Mrs. Hyde, daughter of George Littlefield, who occupied it several years as a summer residence. It has been remodeled and now there is no trace of it as it was in former days.
There are now many bungalows on both sides of the road for a long distance. The road was formerly nearer the river at Jones hill. One of the historians speaks of the house of Jas. Taylor, built about 1755, below Jones'. There was an old cellar in Mitchell's pasture, near the bank.
Thatcher Jones owned a pasture on the west side of the road from the field of John Gilpatric to about the upper end of the farm of Ivory Gilpatric, mostly woods. Next above was the lot
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of Charles H. Littlefield, son of Aaron, perhaps 30 or 40 acres; he started to build some time in the 1850's, first a barn, then a one story ell, then a two story house. He was a carpenter. Built a part, then worked away a few years, then came back and built more. About 1878, he removed all of the buildings to Brown Street, west of Ivory Fernald's. The barn was taken down, the house and ell moved by oxen, in two parts. His wife was Robina Brackett of Sacarappa, Maine. The farm was later sold to Thatcher Jones.
A little above the farm of Charles Littlefield was a lane extending to the house of Aaron Littlefield, son of Moses (see Mr. Barry's article on Moses Littlefield and his times). Aaron choked to death at dinner in the early 1860's. His son, Sam'l, succeeded him on the farm. He had two sisters living with him, Phoebe and Sally. Sam'l married Laura Fisher in the 1860's. On the same side extending over the hill was a pasture. It belonged to Orlow Stevens. This was purchased by George Littlefield (son of Aaron) about 1885 or 6 and he built and occupied a house there. He was a mason from Lawrence, Mass. It was later sold to the Misses Georgia and Nellie Parsons, who occupied it as a sum- mer residence. They later sold to Geo. Hatch of West Newton, Mass., their nephew, who occupies it as a summer home.
Jones' Hill, Highest Land in Kennebunk
Mr. Remich gives this description of Jones' Hill. Jos. Tay- lor, Sr., caused his grant of 100 acres of upland and 10 of marsh (1693) to be laid out for his son, Joseph, on the south side of Mousam River. About 1752, Jos, Jr., erected a small dwelling house on the low land south of the hill. The cellar was visible in 1860 (upper back corner of E. L. Mitchell's pasture), where he dwelt a few years. This was torn down and he erected a good sized two-story house in the high land where he lived until hix death. He was succeeded by his son, Jonathan. Then it was owned by Michael Wise, who carried on the farm (by tenant). Wise died in 1833, and it was sold to Thatcher Jones, who erected a new house, barn and outbuildings (those now standing). Mr. Jones was succeeded by his son, George.
This hill is the highest land in Kennebunk. If the trees are not too high a long stretch of the Atlantic ocean can be seen. At night Boone Island light is plainly visible. The village of Ken- nebunk seems in a valley. On the north can be seen Sbaker Hill, Alfred, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Mr. Jones'
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wife wa .; Amy Huntress. They had one son, George, who col- fected ashes and made soft soap.
Above Mr. Littlefield's on the west side, was James Stevens; he had a small house and barn and perhaps eight or ten acres of land. His wife was Widow Olive (Maddox) Cousens of the village, widow of John Cousens. They had two children, Horace Cousens, who lived in Massachusetts, and Ann, who married Or- low Stevens (second wife). Mr. and Mrs. Stevens had two chil- dren, James and Olive. She married Wm. Ricker. James was a locomotive engineer in the West.
The next, which is on both sides of the road, is now owned by Charles Webber (son of Obadiah). He bought of Israel Mitchell, son of Eben Mitchell, in 1852. His wife was Ann Cleaves. He moved there from the village, where he had lived several years. They had two sons and three daughters. The house was on the east, barn on the west side of the road.
This is the old Mitchell farm laid out to John Mitchell in 1756. (See Town Records, Vol. 2 for the bounds). I have not the date when Sam'l, son of John, built the house. He was married to Mary Mitchell, March 12, 1763. (Town Records.) I have no record of whether Sam'l, or his son, Robert, built the first dam or the first mill, probably a grist mill; saw mill added later. I suppose that his son, Robert, built what was later known as the old Mitchell house, top of the hill, eastern side of the river. Sam'l's son, Ebenezer, succeeded him on the farm. Ebenezer's son, Israel, next, who sold to Webber. Webber sold to Rev. Charles Lemoine, a retired Presbyterian minister. He was fol- lowed by his son, Charles. There is a large cemetery back of the house, but I found no Mitchell stones, only field stones.
Mr. Webber built a house for his son, Charles, near the up- per end of the field. There is a water privilege below the Mitch- ell dam, belonging to the Rogers Fibre Co., with the land on each side of the river. It was surveyed and rights secured in the Fall of 1900. Right of way to it is from Cat Mousam Road. I helped survey it. If Mr. Andrews had lived it would have been devel- oped. (See Mitchell family record for proof of family history.)
The next, also both sides of the road, Orlow Stevens house, east; barn, west side. This was where Benj. Stevens built in 1745. Amos was his son. Orlow was the son of Amos. Orlow had two wives, the first Miranda Taylor. They had three girls. His second wife was Ann Cousens, daughter of John and Mrs.
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Olive (Maddox) Cousens. They had several daughters, one son. When the P. S. & P. R. R. was built, the house had to be covered with plank as they blasted the ledge. Bridge over the railroad.
House on the left, barn on the right. Sam'l Shackley, son of Sam'l. Two maiden sisters. House and barn torn down before 1900. There is a burying ground. a short distance beyond on. the . right; some stones with inscription. The road curves to the right and winds down the hill to the river. There is no record of the first bridge. At the top of the hill on the left was the house of Joshua Hatch. The house was burned and his son, George, was in it. After crossing the railroad there is a road curving to the left crossing the railroad at grade and connecting with the San- ford road. One house, Marshall Hatch's, above the railroad. Another road straightens the road to Webber Hill by the Red School of Dist. No. 11. The road just beyond Joshua Hatch's; this road curves to the Webber Hill road; there is only one house, . . built by James Cousens in 1760. His wife was a daughter of John Webber. They had 15 children (three pairs of twins). The farm was of about 200 acres and on both sides of the river. The west part was owned in 1860 by Ephraim Allen, who was succeeded by his son Stephen, and he by Charles Hammond.
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About at the junction of the roads was the house of Dimon Stevens, the blind fiddler. He was in demand to play at dances .. There was no road across to Day's and the Sanford Road until 1887. In the houses above I only name the residents about 1860: Jos. A. Haley, James Stevens, Franklin Webber, Wm. and - Thatcher Webber, Shapleigh and Obadiah, the older men; Porter and John, sons of Shaleigh. Beyond was the great plains where ·
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