USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Sebago Lake Land in history, legend & romance > Part 8
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To Charles L. Goodridge goes the credit of bringing the recreation business to Naples. He built the spacious Bay of Naples Inn, and operated the Songo River Line, with its fleet of little white steamers which brought an army of pleasure seekers to the town. He developed amusement facili- ties by building, in 1902, at a cost of several thousand dollars, the Casino on Naples Causeway, which separates Long Lake from the Bay of Naples, - a space that was formerly all bog.
Today almost the entire effort of Naples is devoted to catering to the summer trade. With its finely appointed hotels, excellent camp accommodations, and many facilities for the amusement of its guests, Naples has developed into a mecca for summer visitors in that section. Speedy cabin cruisers that tour lovely Long Lake are at their disposal, or they may enjoy a commanding picture of the lake country
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from the seat of a seaplane. And there is, for golf devotees, a sporty nine hole course, with its hundred and fifty year old clubhouse.
From the Causeway the nature-lover may revel in an en- chanting view of the beautiful "Loch Long" of Longfellow's poem, in all its rugged grandeur, with the panorama of the whole range of the White Mountains in the distance.
THE whole territory of Sebago is bounded on the north by Naples and Bridgton, on the east by Sebago Lake, and on the south and southwest by Baldwin and Hiram. Before its settlement it was covered by a vast forest of pine growth, and it was this, with its easy access by way of Northwest River and Sebago Lake to the mills on the Presumpscot, that first attracted its early purchasers.
And for fifty years after its first settlement, in 1790, men chopped and sawed, hallooed at their oxen, rolled logs, and camped among the fallen treetops, disappearing with the first giant growth of pine, and leaving no record but the ruin they had wrought. A few remained, and it is to them and their progeny, that we owe the cultivation and development of Sebago as we know it today.
The pioneer settlers in the town were Joseph Lakin and Jacob Howe. The latter carried the mail from Bridgton to Portland, making the trip once a week on horseback over trails before the roads were opened. Joseph Lakin came from Groton, Massachusetts, built his cabin on the "ridge" and, returning for his family and goods, crossed Sebago Lake in a boat, and made his way through the difficult path to where he hoped the public road would soon be built. His daughter married Deacon Daniel Hill, whose house, an im- posing looking mansion, still stands on the Bridgton-Sebago Road. It is nearly a hundred and twenty years old, and from all appearances it might well last another hundred and
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twenty years. It has a heavy split-stone foundation, hand hewn timbers for framework, and other materials in the same proportions. Its original central chimney is still there with its six fireplaces, and the window frames are all filled with the small panes of the period.
William Fitch, the first and leading citizen of Sebago, and the progenitor of the numerous Fitches, who have all played an important part in the development of the town, came from Groton, Massachusetts in 1793. When Sebago was incorporated as a township in 1826, he became one of the first selectmen, also its first postmaster, and it first town clerk. He was most energetic in business, and to quote the town historian, "did more for Sebago Village than any other man". His wife came to Sebago on horseback, carrying her baby son with her. William Fitch built the first grist mill in the village in 1798, and also the first saw-mill in town. He settled East Sebago, and built the first lumber mill on Northwest River. His daughter married Luther H. Fitch, who took over the lumber business and built a store in 1830. He also operated a flour mill, known as the "Pine Grove Mill". In 1864 fire destroyed the store and all the town records, which were kept there, also most of the lumber mill, which was rebuilt in 1866.
Captain James Babb came from Gorham in 1817, and with two workmen, opened the first cooper-shop and the first store in town near the Fitch place in Sebago Village. There he kept West Indian goods, cotton for spinning, and th most needful articles of trade. His goods were kept in a lean-to at one end of the cooper-shop. The Captain was the first sergeant in Captain Robie's Company at Portland, and in the War of 1812, he rode all night to alarm the company when called out.
During the lumbering days a road was opened from the village past Perley Pond to Haskell's Landing at the lake, in 1821. A huge pine trough built in between two trees was made the feeding place for teams hauling logs. Near the
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pond is the scene of Pingree's Folly, an attempt to construct a log "drive" or chute, which after much expense, failed to work. Thereafter it was called "The Folly", a term much used to this day. In the busy days of lumbering, as many as eleven thousand logs were discharged from Northwest River in a single drive.
Daniel and Joseph McKenny, in 1830, built a saw-mill at the "Folly" on Northwest River, and commenced sawing hemlock, which before that time had been considered worthless.
Potter Academy, in the Village of Sebago, owes its exis- tence to the late Doctor Joseph Fitch Potter, a prominent physician of Cincinnati, Ohio, and a native son of Sebago, who at his death left thirty thousand dollars to establish a free high school within a mile of Sebago, on the death of his wife.
Sebago's pioneer school-teacher was Miss Rebecca Hale, who taught previous to 1798, at a time when Sebago was still a part of Baldwin, and there were no school houses in which to teach. Mostly classes were held in rooms donated in private houses. Also there were no physicians to care for the sick. Grandmother Poor was the only person then to render aid to the suffering, traveling on foot or on horseback through deep snowdrifts, with her carpet-bag full of roots and herbs.
At McDonald's Corner is the interesting old residence that once was popular as the 'Sebago House' the only tavern in the history of the village. The quaint watering trough for thirsty animals still stands at the crossroads.
East Sebago was a lively place during lumbering days, as it was a terminus for the logging, and a gathering place for the lumbermen and the teamsters. The first store was built by Elijah Fulton in 1829, for the accommodation of the
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lumbermen and the "drovers". This was burned in 1855.
The present Fitch Brothers saw-mill, erected in 1866, is on the original site of the first grist mill built by William Fitch, the pioneer of the Fitch family, in 1798. The attrac- tive old Fitch homestead, built in 1792, in the center of the village, was the gift of William Fitch to his daughter Rebecca, who married Luther Fitch. When the latter opened the first Fitch store on the hillside opposite the present Fitch store, it became a Fitch neighborhood which it has been ever since. The second oldest house in East Sebago is the old "Cook" house, which dates from 1795, and is now much modernized. A post-office was established in 1876, and still another Fitch, John P. Fitch, became the first postmaster.
The road from the village to Mattocks was opened to the public in 1858 and became a much traveled thoroughfare, especially in the spring when fishermen came by train on the old Mountain Division to Mattocks station.
The handsome structure, the Leon C. Spaulding Memorial Library, was the gift of the late sportsman and enthusiastic supporter of the neighborhood, Leon C. Spaulding. He died however, before the building was finished, and it was com- pleted through the generosity of his widow, who still resides at the Spaulding estate on the lake shore.
In the northern part of the village is the famous Camp O-at-ka, a boys' camp that was started nearly fifty years ago, by the late Rev. E. J. Dennen, rector of Saint Stephen Church in Lynn, Massachusetts. Known as the "Galahad" camp for boys, it is open to all church boys.
The pleasant little village of North Sebago is of fairly recent origin, having been settled hardly more than a cen- tury ago by George Ward, who came here from Scarboro in 1838. For many years afterward it was known by the dubious
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title of "Sandy Beach", a name no doubt derived from its excellent stretch of white sand, now called Nason's Beach. With the establishment of a post-office in the 1870's, it became recognized as a distinct unit of Sebago Township.
Among the early arrivals on the scene are listed Ephriam Bachelder, George W. Burnell, Daniel Nason, the Shaw and McKenney families. Daniel McKenney moved to Peaked Mountain in 1830, built a log cabin in the dense woods, and later "cleared" a farm, no slight task on this rocky soil. Andrew Douglass, and James Gray who came from Denmark, also cleared farms on the mountain. The des- cendents of these pioneers comprise mainly the small population of the place today, and in many instances, live in the old homes.
One of the earliest and most energetic of North Sebago's first settlers was Daniel Nason, who built the first log cabin in the settlement, on the brook named after him. The center portion of the present Nason homestead is stated to be the oldest building now in North Sebago.
It is very evident that the first roads in the village were nothing more than mere "cow-paths" connecting farm with farm, as the "Sandy Beach" Road to Crocketts (where the Highland Nature Camp now stands) was not approved and "accepted" until 1866. At this period in its history all the lake shore land as far as Naples on the north and almost to Standish to the south, with the exception of the small settle- ments of East and North Sebago, was dense forest with no sign of habitation.
The busiest section of the village fifty odd years ago was at Bachelder's Brook, where Loring and Hannibal Bachelder, and Marcellus Ward operated cooper shops and small saw- mills. On this same brook stands one of the oldest camp buildings on Lake Sebago, built in 1892, by the famous old guide, Ed Gilman. Originally, before it was somewhat mod- ernized, the camp contained but one room, and Gilman, a rather hilarious character, lived all alone the year round.
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He gave it the interesting and appropriate name, "Friendly Inn", and it has the reputation of being the scene of many "friendly and convival" parties in the past.
Another relic of by-gone days is the spacious structure called Camp Sokokis, that stands prominently at Sanborn's Point, commonly referred to as Lone Pine Point. It was the home of the "Half-Past-Six Club", a group of business men and sportsmen from Portland. Here it was, - so it is said, - that Spider Island changed ownership in a poker game. The first school-house was erected in 1859, and in this build- ing church services were held until the present Methodist Episcopal church was built in 1903.
This village, situated practically on Sebago Lake, at the base of Peaked Mountain, and far from any railroad, is in a singularly isolated position, and thus depends upon its own resources in the winter for relaxation and recreation. There- fore the church, the grange, and the indoor sport of politics have always played a major part in its history. For example, it is said that no Republican has ever been "allowed" to fill the office of postmaster. In contrast to the tastes of the summer visitor, the succulent salmon does not appeal to the local palate as does a good 'mess' of fresh smelts. Wholesale smelt dipping in the brooks and streams, and shipping them out of the state, provided a small but lucrative industry a few years ago, before legal restrictions were introduced. The plentiful supply of smelts in those days is evidenced by the claim that on one occasion two men were able to dip or net enough in two nights to enable them to purchase a new Ford truck with the proceeds.
The summer tourist business, which is the main activity in the village today, might be said to have commenced when Loring Bachelder opened his home to the spring fishermen and summer boarders, fifty or sixty years ago, and ever since, the lake waters off North Sebago have been a favorite fishing-spot for enthusiastic anglers. The inaccessibility and isolation of the place disappeared with the coming of the
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automobile, and it has developed and grown accordingly. "Sandy Beach", one of the finest on Sebago Lake, that was once thought to be worthless, has now become its major attraction, with its excellent and safe bathing facilities.
Fishing, boating, swimming, and sun-bathing, with an occasional attendance at the local ball games, coupled with the daily meetings at the Post Office and the Village Store, constitute the main summer program of this truly old- fashioned Maine settlement, which is fast becoming recognized as one of the most attractive vacation spots in Sebago Lake Land.
An interesting and realistic picture of the glories of primi- tive Sebago Lake Land has been preserved to us in the writings of Squire Perley, South Bridgton's pioneer settler. Among his effects was found the following poem on the bark of a birch tree written in 1776 :-
All ye who love the joys of peace, Ye who would dwell where tumults cease, Come, seat yourselves at my right hand; For here I've found the happy land; Where cannon and the sound of war, Are only heard as news from far. No British troops disturb my rest, Beneath my little homely cell In perfect quietness I dwell; Surrounded by as rich a soil As any found in Britain's Isle. A spacious, and a goodly land, When once subdued by human hand Here, oft, when I the forest roam, I think of Eden's sacred grove, While numerous blessings me surround,
Fancy portrays that happy ground. Lo, here, these forests wild produce, Already fitted for my use, Paper, whose sheets are fine and large, Without a farthing's cost or charge. How far exceeds all human skill This perfect work of natures will! And lo, when art is forced aside,
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All bounteous nature will provide! And here her ample stores unfold; Her treasures, formed in times of old. Earth, air, and water will appear With food and medicine fraught its share. The ponds and brooks, I daily find, Fish afford of differing kind- The chub, the eel, the horned pout, The pickerel, perch, and spotted trout; These, with annumerous silver train, Sport up and down the liquid plain. The tortoise, too, both flesh and fish, To epicures a dainty dish.
Our native beasts, that range the wood, Serve both for clothes and find us food. The gallant moose, so famed for speed, On these majestic mountains feed, The threatening armor from his head Excited in man an awful dread. But the fierce hound, endowed with skill Shall quickly make the monster know That man is lord of all below.
The nimble deer, like lambkins play Where wolves and bears pursue their prey. The beaver, too, whose silken coat Is worn and prized by lords of note, The cony, and long-haired raccoon- The partridge, duck, and gabbling loon. Besides, in nature's garden grows A healing balm for many woes; Which cures the direst of disease, And gives the suffering patient ease, Of deepest and most deadly wound, Of broken limbs, and joints made sound; The fir defies the surgeon's skill- While the kind birch supplies my quill; These blessings, and a number more, Which might be added to the score, Were made to serve the use of man, When first the world and time began.
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