USA > Maine > York County > Buxton > One hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Buxton, Maine : held at Buxton lower corner, August 16, 1922 : with additional history > Part 13
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Town of Buxton, Maine
copy; you have the perceptive and sympathetic heart which saw the Christmas romance of The Old Peabody Pew.
"Rebecca, doing this, thinking that, saying the thing that needs to be said-generous, romantic, resourceful, and brighter than her surroundings - is a person it does us all good to know. Copies of the book in libraries are read to shreds. The world which can see through any sham, loves the story. The world is right. To learn, in the words of one of Conrad's heroes, to live, to love and to put your trust in life is all that matters. Mrs. Wiggin shows us how."
Buxton folks will agree with all that Overton says and will, in their own minds, add an appreciation of her talented and beloved sister, Nora A. Smith, who joined in many of her books and who had a part in all the doings at Quillcote and The Old Buxton Church. E. C. C.
A TRADITIONAL STORY
A legend is told of a beautiful girl born after the first perma- nent settlement in Narragansett, No. I. Her name was Molly Woodman, daughter of Captain Joseph Woodman, one of the first settlers on the banks of Saco River. She was out of the log cabin washing some linen to bleach in the sun. She had such great beauty, added to a sweet song from her lips, that an Indian boy was so charmed that he could not shoot, and so spared her life.
A story laid at Pleasant Point Tradition claims as true, It has been told and told again And yet it still seems new.
The day was one in springtime late With bird choirs in full tune; And sweet the air with apple bloom, Sure harbingers of June.
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The green slopes along the river bank With morning dew still wet, Looked studded with a thousand gems By nature's finger set.
Over the hill a fair maiden came Of pioneer birth. She with the season seemed to vie, So full of life and mirth.
She sallied forth to seek a knoll Kissed by the morning sun, There to lay some linen to bleach - Linen she wove and spun.
A swarthy youth, the wood's own son, Was trailing near the shore, Alert was he for trophies fresh To swell his gruesome store.
The fair maid pacing yonder green His eagle eye descried, lia presence roused his Indian wrath And mercy he defied.
The wicked glitter in his eye The flush on his dark cheek, Too plainly showed he meant to slay --- On her his vengeance wreak.
With snatch of song and grace of mien She on her task intent, Spread out her linen, unaware Of danger imminent.
The savage halting, spellbound stood Before that vision rare, Was it a dream, or real the charm That held him pinioned there?
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The while he gazed that steely glare Softened in his dark eye, A voice within him seemed to say, "I cannot see her die."
His arm with weaponed hand fell limp, Her beauty vanquished him, A contrite heart beat 'neath that breast Where had dwelt rancor grim.
And still he lingered there and mused Eyes wistful, tender, true - His thoughts whatever they might be No one but him e'er knew.
But restless grew his moccasined feet, No longer could he stay, His parent woods were calling him, Their call he must obey.
So turning, he with noiseless tread, To his lone trail repaired, In solitude to lose himself AndIdream of her he spared.
Poem by Augusta E. Dyer
THE ROAD TO BUXTON BY LUCINA HAYNES LOMBARD
Oh, the pleasant road to Buxton, That famed colonial town - How well we know its windings, Its every up and down !
Westward, high, steep hills we climb, Where from a summit sheer ; See blue Saco's reaches spread Like England's Buxton waters, clear !
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The sunlight quivers through the willows O'er cottages and the falls' white foam, As it did when the Red men saw it Encamped at their island home.
There's Bonny Eagle pond, With its legendary lore, Its scented pools of lilies, And its finny tribe galore.
And here, the road is damp and dim, The pines' tops close and deep, From ferny depths of daintiness Crystal streams in coolness creep.
There are corridors of beauty, Lanes of loveliness, Luring round each beckoning bend, Sweet in summer's dress.
The elms lace far above us, Shrubs and blossoms press beside ; Whispering of fragrant mysteries Where birds and butterflies may hide.
At Old Corner, Dame Garland's tavern Lends its grateful store of food To hearten travellers homeward, Upon their lonely road.
Hard by is Parson Coffin's church, Renowned in days of yore, Its eager pilgrims gathered From home to Alfred Gore!
Let's go to Pleasant Point, And far-famed Salmon Falls;
Where the fair muse of story Writes romances, pleasing all.
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Our ancestral farmsteads, Orchard shadowed, vine embowered, Amidst herb-scented gardens, And front yards gaily flowered.
Carry our minds backward To the settlers gaunt and grim, Who cleared the fields and prospered, Thanked God and worshipped Him.
Their roads, the natural forest trails, The shining river's way; They hewed the paths to progress Mid electricity's sway.
The hundred fifty years are woven In symmetry and grace; We face the busy future With hope, and smiling face.
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One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary BUXTON CENTER POST OFFICE BY ZILPAH B. SAWYER, '15
The first post office at Buxton Center was established March II, 1826, with Jonathan C. Lewis as postmaster. It was in a front room of the house now occupied by Mr. Alphonso Libby. At Mr. Lewis' death it was removed to the store occupied by S. Hanson & Co., where it has remained ever since.
An advertisement was issued July 14, 1824, for proposals for service by stage on a route from Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, by Kittery, York, Wells, Kennebunkport, Arundel, Saco and Scar- boro to Portland, a distance of fifty-four miles, and from Ports- mouth by Dover, South Berwick, Doughty's Falls, Sanford, Al- fred, Hollis and Buxton to Portland, a distance of sixty-one miles, to go six times a week for four years, beginning January 1, 1825.
Another advertisement was issued at the same time for pro- posals for service on a route from Buxton, by Limington, Cornish and Limerick to Parsonsfield, once a week. It is believed that this post office was supplied by the route from Buxton to Parsonsfield.
The rate of letter postage at that time was fixed by act of Con- gress in 1825 and was as follows:
For every letter with one sheet of paper carried not over thirty miles, six cents; over thirty miles and not exceeding eighty miles, ten cents; over eighty miles and not more than one hundred and fifty miles, twelve and one-half cents; over one hundred and fifty miles and not more than four hundred miles, eighteen and three- fourths cents; over four hundred miles, twenty cents; and the rates for every double letter or two pieces of paper and every triple letter or three pieces of paper were double and triple, respectively.
Envelopes were not in use at that time but the sheet was folded and fastened with a wax seal.
Since the post office was established there have been but three postmasters, Jonathan C. Lewis, Reuben W. Murch and Robert A. Bradbury.
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187
Town of Buxton, Maine THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY OF BUXTON CENTER BY RALPH SAWYER, '12
In early days the people of Buxton, like the people of all newly settled towns, wore "homespun flax and wool." The wardrobe was scanty for even as late as the General Muster a son of a pros- perous family, having been summoned for drill, found himself in the afternoon without the required military suit, so his mother and two sisters spun, wove, cut and made the white trousers for him to wear to training next morning.
Times gradually changed so that while the majority of men wore homespun as late as 1840, still the garments were not made by the mistress of the house, but by a tailor or tailoress, who came to the house annually, staying several days, or by a tailor who did the work at his own home.
One of the best known of these tailors was Mr. Stephen Han- son, of what was then Elden's Corner, now Buxton Center.
About 1810 Mr. Stephen Hanson went to Boston where he was employed by George W. Simmons. His son, Samuel D. Hanson, learned the tailor's trade with his father, and sometime before the Civil War, when he came home on a vacation, he brought with him two dozen coats for his mother and sister to make. These coats were of a thin alpaca-like material in a small brown and white, and blue and white plaid. They were cut away at the front and were piped with brown or blue. The work was so well done that after Mr. Hanson went back to Boston other packages of coats were sent to the little shop in Buxton. It was not long before the bundles increased in size so that it was thought wise to give work to some of the neighbors. Several girls had already learned the trade at Mr. Hanson's shop before work came from Boston, and now others came and worked a month to fit themselves to carry work home.
At that time there was no P. and R. railroad, so all goods were sent to what is known as the Eastern station in Saco and were
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brought from that place in a team by Mr. Charles Hanson. Many of the older citizens remember the regularity with which this team made its trips and the long row of horses hitched before the tailor's little shop waiting for it to arrive and distribute its load.
Very soon the dividing of packages of work into small bundles of two or four coats and the distributing of work took so much time that it left no time for the family to sew; it was also found that alterations were sometimes necessary on the work let out, so it was thought best for Mr. Samuel Hanson to return to Buxton Center and to move the business from the little shop to the brick store so long known under the name of "Hanson and Company." This occurred in 1843. The store at that time was a square brick build- ing; the wooden parts having been added at two different times as the business increased.
At first the lower floor was used for the distribution of the work and another member of the family, Mr. Ansel Hanson, moved his grocery business from a small store on the opposite side of the street into the new one. The upper floor was occupied by a few workmen.
There were no sewing machines, for the Elias Howe, the first double thread machine, was not in use until 1848, so all work was done by hand; edges, collars, and pipings were all finely back- stitched. So even were these stitches that when today we occa- sionally find a stray garment we marvel at the beautiful workman- ship.
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One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary TANNING-OLD AND NEW
There were two tanneries at Buxton Center. The first, or oldest, was at the foot of the first hill on the road to Groveville. The tannery was owned by Isaac Ayer. The house occupied by him stood very nearly where the stable of Mr. Boyden's house now sets. The house was very much like the old one now owned by Mr. Staples. There was a large yard surrounded by a fence, and on one side of the yard was a one-story house, to make shoes in. The other side of the yard was used for drying felt hats that were also made there.
This tannery was quite a large building. At one side were six pits in the ground, about 8 feet long by 4 feet wide and 6 feet deep. These pits were dug in the ground and then boarded up with plank on the inside so that the liquids which were kept in them would not leak out. The remains of these pits may still be seen at the foot of the hill. There was also a bark mill here. This consisted of a large hopper into which the hemlock bark used in tanning was turned. A horse fastened to a long sweep traveled around and · around until the bark was ground up into little pieces about the size of a thumb nail. These pieces were then taken out and put in a pit of water and leeched, that is, it was allowed to stay there until the water had taken out all of the essential parts. The liquid thus formed was a strong solution.
The hides were first put in pits of lime dissolved in water and allowed to stay there about six months so that the hair would drop out. Then they were put in the pits of hemlock liquor and were allowed to stay there some over a year. At the end of this time they were taken out and carried into the currying room. Here they were curried. This process consisted of a large log split in two and one- half inverted and placed on legs. The instrument used was a long knife with a handle at each end. It had a very keen edge, but this edge was turned so it was at right angles with the knife. The hides were brought in and placed on the rounding side of the log and
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the knife was worked up and down on the fleshy side until all the foreign substances were removed. Then the hide had to be tacked up on the wall and dried. This completed the old tanning process.
This tannery was followed by the one owned by Captain Joseph Davis, which was located in front of the old school building. This was much larger, and run by Mr. Watson. The same process was used in this as in the one first mentioned. Captain Davis also owned two shoe shops and a peg and last factory. One shop was in the house now occupied by Mary Blake, a shoe shop above and a currying room below. He also had a shoe shop in the Knights of . Pythias Hall that was carried on up to about 35 years ago. Then it died down, as the big factories began to make them so much more cheaply, that a small concern could not compete with them.
In the old days the shoemakers went to people's houses and made their shoes. These men were called "crispins." In the fall the farmers would always kill a beef creature they had been fattening through the summer and have its hide tanned. Then the crispin would come around and take the dimensions for all their winter shoes and would board there until he had them all made. Each crispin had a certain little neighborhood that he used to work in every fall, but now the shoe shops have taken the place of the crispin. Mr. Blaze Flanders, father of Mr. Daniel Flanders of this place, was the last surviving crispin around here.
The modern methods are very much quicker, but the leather is not so good. The tanning is done now by means of chemicals and hot liquids. There are a great many different processes used in tanning now. One, a Russian tan, which was very famous for its greater wearing qualities and fragrant odor. This process has been a secret in Russia until about 25 years ago. An American tanner discovered it and brought it home to this country where it has been used very much. It is quite a simple process. Steep the skin in a solution of fifty pounds each of oak and hemlock bark and sumac and one pound of willow bark and nine hundred gallons of
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water. Heat by steam and immerse the leather until struck through, and while damp smear on the outer side a solution of oil of birch bark dissolved in a little alcohol and ether.
- There has recently been found in China specimens of leather fully three thousand years old. There have also been discoveries made proving that the art of tanning was known to the Babylonians, Greeks and Egyptians.
EATON HUTCHINSON, '20.
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Town of Buxton, Maine SALMON FALLS-ON-SACO MARGARET H. JOSE, B. H. S., 1920
The Saco, a river rising in New Hampshire, flows through many towns which are noted for their scenery. At Salmon Falls-on- Saco are two of these beautiful works of nature.
The river, above the bridge, flows between two roads; one in the town of Buxton, the other in the town of Hollis. Quietly, serenely, and smoothly, with the trees upon the banks mirrored in its clear depths, flows the Saco until it reaches the dam. There it falls gently a few feet, froths and foams a little, and passes under the bridge. On both sides of the river rise high walls formed of rocks, which at some places are barren, bleak, and bare; at others covered with small trees which have their roots deep in the crevices of the rocks. These rocky banks lie quite a distance apart, but they gradually converge almost to a center. Not alone are the palisades of stony substance but also the river bottom is a bed of rocks; so the water leaps, tumbles and dashes, churning itself into a mass of billowy white foam. Where the palisades form the narrowest passageway, they remind one of the Sympleglades through which the Argonauts had to pass. Between these, like a massive giant guarding the entrance, stands a large rock which tries to throw back the water. But the unconquerable will of the stream is not to be overcome. The waters are no sooner thrust back than they rise with renewed energy, leap over the rock and dash onward to liberty.
There is yet another place of interest to tourists. Crossing the bridge to Hollis side and turning to the left, one follows a shady woodland path down the side of the river, where one may look from dizzy heights; see the water playing catch with itself, hear the rumble and thunder as the water lashes the rocks in anger, and feel the vast power of Nature. About a quarter of a mile down the side of the Saco are two rocks rising high into the air and
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forming the walls of a deep ravine, down which one may climb by grasping the few trees scattered about. At the bottom of this ravine the space is very narrow, but as it projects out near the water it becomes wider. The water flows up to the foot of the ravine in a quiet pool. There are large rocks where one may sit and look out upon the water as it goes gliding by. This ravine is very dark and gloomy. It is called Indian cellar.
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Town of Buxton, Maine THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WATER POWER AT WEST BUXTON (Prize Essay in English)
Five miles by the course of the river, above Bar Mills, is situ- ated the village of West Buxton. In olden times this village was known as Moderation. It has a very valuable water power, which was years ago partially improved by an old-fashioned log dam. It was estimated in those days that there were four hundred and twenty horse power, or sufficient enough to drive sixteen thousand eight hundred spindles. Also favorable sites for the location of mills were furnished for some distance below the falls; while bricks of a superior quality were made in the neighborhood, and granite likewise, for building stone, was abundant within easy dis- tance.
In 1795 the first mills were built at West Buxton. In the course of the next few years two sawmills and a heading mill were built; these annually manufactured seven million feet of lumber and employed one hundred and twenty-five men. Later on woolen mills were built on each side of the river; these were called the Saco River Mills. They ran fourteen looms, six hundred spindles, employed twenty-five hands, consumed sixty tons of raw wool and thirty-two thousand pounds of cotton yarn, and annually manu- factured nine hundred thirty-six thousand yards of cloth.
During the time these mills were running West Buxton was a very busy little village; but as the years passed disaster came upon the business section of the town in the form of two large fires and several freshets. The mills were partially destroyed by fire, and in 1895 a large freshet washed down upon the little village and finished the damage, so that business was practically at a standstill till the year 1906.
In the early summer of this year Cumberland County Power & Light Co. bought the water power and started to work on a new up-to-date concrete dam and power house. The village was a busy
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little place again. The surveyors were the first to come, and with- in a few weeks the Italian laborers who consisted of different classes of workmen, began to arrive with bosses, for all parts of the work. In all there were three or four hundred working all the time.
These workmen began to tear away the old log dam and the saw- mill. As soon as this was completed they built a cofferdam across the river above the fixed location for the new structure, all the wa- ter passing through one small channel to the quiet stream below.
By the following spring, in the year 1907, the concrete dam and the new reënforced power plant on the Buxton side of the river had begun to take shape. All but one or two sections of the dam were filled and the greater part of the power plant was constructed. The early part of the summer saw the dam completed, the sluice- way in use, and part of the machinery of the power plant in its place. In just about a year from the time when the first laborers came, the dam was completed and all but one of the big wheels of the power plant running.
At the present time the new reënforced power plant uses the water power to produce electric power. A small part of the power is used to light the small, quiet village of West Buxton. A small line carries some of the power to another plant two miles north of the village, where. it is then transmitted to Sanford and is used partially to run the mills and light the town. The rest of the electricity is sent to Portland, twenty miles away, and is likewise used partially to run the many electric cars and to light the whole city.
LAWRENCE HIGGINS, '18.
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Town of Buxton, Maine MEMORIES
Here's to this humble old structure, As it stood in the days gone by - It had no basement, no hallways, No pillars that reach for the sky - It was just a plain country schoolhouse, Built in the old-fashioned way, But the memories this picture awakens Are cherished by many today.
For when we return in our dreaming, To the days that seem so far back, Time softens the hard lessons given By teachers we thought without tact. Life's lessons we find so much harder, T'would be grand to just open the door In this plain, humble old schoolhouse, And return to our lessons once more.
But 'tis folly to muse in this manner, As only in dreams can it be - Life issues no pass for returing, No matter how earnest our plea. When the trail seems long in the distance, And the grade looms up hard and steep, The thoughts of bright days in this building, Our courage and faith will help keep.
EARLE L. MILLIKEN, B. H. S., '08.
Illustrations
Rev. Paul Coffin Frontispiece First Parish Congregational Church 14
100th Anniversary of Buxton 20
150th Anniversary of Buxton 20
Town Military Magazine 50
Old Buxton High School 60 Graded School, Bur Mills 60
Fort Built at Present Point 104
BaylonHigh School 120
Rogers Jifre Company 128
Harold F. Hutchinson 160
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CONTENTS
Buxton's One Hundredth Fiftieth Anniversary, 1772-1922 I Statement of Funds, One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary 5
One Hundredth Anniversary, Congregational Meetinghouse, Buxton Lower Corner, 1822-1922 7
Twenty-fifth Dorcas Anniversary
7
Historical Sketch and Sermon, August 13, 1922 - Rev. Charles F. Sargent 9
Centennial Hymn, Tory Hill Meetinghouse, 1822-1922 14
History of the Dorcas Society
15
Hymn of Fellowship, Dorcas Society, 1897-1922
18
Salmon Falls Tribute to Early Settlers of Buxton at Pleasant Point 18
Picnic Dinner at Pleasant Point
19
The Day We Celebrate 19
One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary of Buxton, Maine, at Buxton Lower Corner, 1772-1922 21
Opening Address by President of the Day
22
Address of Welcome - Herbert L. Milliken 23
Response to Address of Welcome - Lincoln Owen 25
Fifty Years Ago, Half a Century - George E. Sawyer 29
Letters
32
A Tribute to the Settlers - Eugene C. Carll 37
Historical Address - Ernest W. Cressey 41
Address - Kate Douglas Wiggin 67
Address -- George L. Emery, Esq.
69
Remarks - A. L. T. Cummings 70
Address - Helen Marshall Dolley 72
Address --- Algernon S. Dyer . 75
Buxton's One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Ode 79
Oration - Rev. George Croswell Cressey, D.D., Ph.D. 80
Honor Roll
89
Response
89
Presentation of U. S. Flag - Dr. Arthur G. Wiley
90
Address, Accepting the U. S. Flag - Arthur T. Sawyer
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90
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Early History of Narragansett No. 1, Leading up to Settlement and Incorporation -- Ernest W. Cressey 95
Buxton, November 10, 1774 109
Time and Change - E. C. Carll , 114
Industries in the Town of Buxton - George E. Sawyer 132
American Red Cross of Buxton and Hollis 138
Buxton's Share in the World War - Liberty Loans - F. H. Hargraves . 139
Revolutionary Soldiers
. 148
Massachusetts Volunteer Militia in the War for "Sailors' Rights," 1812-1814 150
Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 . 152
War with Spain, 1898 159
World War Soldiers, 1917-1919 160
Buxton Selectmen
161
Buxton Town Clerks 163
Buxton Town Treasurers 164
Buxton Collectors
165
Buxton Doctors 167
Buxton Lawyers
168
Buxton Census
People Eighty Years Old or More Living in Buxton in 1922 169
168
Representatives to the General Court of Massachusetts 169
Maine Legislature
. 170
The History of Buxton High School - Freeda M. Berry . 171
Graduates of Buxton High School . 174
Kate Douglas Wiggin
. 179
A Traditional Story 181
The Road to Buxton - Lucina Haynes Lombard 183
Buxton Center Post Office - Zilpah B. Sawyer 186
The Clothing Industry of Buxton Center - Ralph Sawyer 187
Buxton's First Schools - Ella F. Clifford 189
Tanning - Old and New - Eaton Hutchinson 190
Salmon Falls-on-Saco - Margaret H. Jose . 193
The Development of the Water Power at West Buxton - Lawrence Higgins
195
Memories - Earle L. Milliken
197
F 84114,09
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