USA > Maine > York County > Kennebunk > The village of Kennebunk, Maine : interesting facts from old documents and maps, and observations by the author > Part 4
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In 1893 Geo. P. Lowell built a two tenement house in the rear of the block on Bourne Street. Capt. John Hill continued to re- side on the east corner of Bourne Street until his death in 1879. His widow died Dec. 30, 1904, and devised the property to the Baptist Society for a parsonage and it has since been occupied by their ministers until 1930 when it was sold or leased for a filling station, and the house has been torn down this year.
The Porter house was sold in 1890 to Edw. E. Bourne, Jr. His
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heirs sold to Harry E. Lunge in 1910. Lunge built an auto show room, west and a little back from the street, with a filling station in front; garage in the stable. He died in 1930 and his widow and son occupy it. Palmer Walker lived in his house until his death in 1878. It was sold in 1879 to Charles R. Littlefield who made many alterations including the front bay windows. In 1917 he sold to Dr. D. M. Small who built an office and dental rooms on the eastern side. He now occupies house and office.
Capt. Edward Nason sold to Stephen Perkins in 1869. He lived there until his death in 1886. His widow lived there some years, later Mrs. Ferrin. About 1912 it was sold to Dr. E. S. Hawkes who now occupies it. The front room of the Hartwell house was used a number of years by Miss Martha Hartwell for the sale of fancy articles. The house was sold in 1890 to George L. Little who altered it for a residence for his son-in-law, Geo. W. Frost. It was sold in 1903 to S. T. Griffin and now occupied by Mrs. Griffin.
December 3, 1869, the flames again swept through the walls of the Old Brick Building and this time even the walls crumbled. The Mousam House Annex on the eastern end, stables, store and warehouse of Paul Junkins on Fletcher Street were all burned flat. The tenants were about as in 1860 except that Nathan Dane, Jr., had succeeded Edwin C. Frost. The Mousam House was vacant, B. F. Goodwin having removed to the Jefferds Tav- ern April 10, 1861. The Ocean National Bank built a brick banking house on the western end of the lot in 1870. The Sav- ings Bank Annex was built about 1903. This building was used until 1929 when it was razed and the present handsome building erected.
On the eastern end the hay scales were removed and the black- smith shop of Benj. Furbush from Portland Street was moved there and operated by Jacob Stewart. It was destroyed by fire Jan. 3, 1883. In 1878 H. F. Curtis owned the lot and moved there the small building from the Mason lot (before described). This was used by the Misses Wood as a millinery store, and as a law- yer's office by W. L. Dane. About 1886 or 7 it traveled back down Main Street into the lane back of the Post Office and was the machine shop of Geo. W. Williams. It is now the plumber shop of B. B. Wildes. The shop formerly of Safford on the op- posite side of the street was moved to this lot and was the meat shop of Chas. C. Perkins. It was afterward moved to Bourne Street and is the house of W. P. Allison, Jr. The Geo. W. Hardy store was also moved across Fletcher Street. It was used by Miss Georgia Parsons for a private school room and as a photo-
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graph studio. It is now the two apartment house next to the En- gine House.
The Engine House on Fletcher Street was built in 1889. The Osborn store was moved across Fletcher Street in 1887 and used as a grocery store by Chas. H. Cole. The second story was the G. A. R. Hall, later Hill's Studio. The building was torn down a little after 1900. The site was purchased for a Soldiers' Monu- ment which was erected and the monument dedicated Oct. 24, 1908. A Memorial Tablet for World War Veterans was also erected and dedicated Nov. 11, 1920. This corner is now a part of the Park System. One of the cannon here used to be a corner post of the present Post Office building. It was brought from sea by Capt. Wm. Lord, Jr. It was dug up and fired the day that the news came of Lee's surrender, under the direction of Capt. Wm. Symonds.
Fletcher Street .- John Osborn died in 1861. The store con- tinued to be used by his brother James until his death in 1876, having been in the family about 61 years. After his death it had several occupants before it was moved across the street: Buzzell, stoves; Chas. H. Tarbox, meat, perhaps others. The Saf- ford shop was used by John E. Staples, a marble worker, followed by C. H. Lucas. This shop and the Hardy store were moved and have been described. An old house by the side of the store was torn down. Sidney T. Fuller purchased the Osborn house, mnoved it back, built small additions and made two apartments. It was afterwards purchased by H. F. Curtis, who moved it on rollers down Main Street to Grove Street. It is the first house back of the Ross Block. Probably this was the last building of any size to travel Main Street. It used to be of frequent occurrence.
The corner lot was purchased by Mr. George Parsons who erected the Library Building and presented it to the Kennebunk Library Association. It was dedicated in Old Home Week, Aug. 2, 1907. The old schoolhouse was used until the erection of the Grove Street house in 1884. It was razed about 1926. The Busi- ness Girls Club House was erected in 1926 by Mr. Henry Parsons. It is a little back of where the schoolhouse stood, with an en- trance from Fletcher Street.
The Church looks much the same outside as in 1860. The fences are gone and the lawn extends to the Library lot. The hearse was sold to C. H. Lucas and the hearse house as it was called is a part of the Church kitchen. The Town Pump was re- placed by a drinking fountain. Now that is gone and the flag pole is gone. The Centennial Elm planted in 1876 is enclosed by a granite curbing. The plot is a part of the Park System.
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The building known as Washington Hall was destroyed by fire Nov. 25, 1866. The town purchased the lot and in 1867-8 erected a Town Hall. The Town owned the first story. The second story. which was built partly by subscription, was called Mousam Hall and sometimes Mousam Opera House. The Hall was dedicated Oct. 1, 1868. The Town purchased the shares of the subscribers to the Hall in 1892. The Hall was enlarged and a horse-shoe shaped gallery built. The brick of which the building was con- structed were made below the Paper Mill. There was a detailed and itemized account of the building, the subscribers and amounts given, written by Mr. Jos. Titcomb, printed in the Star March 22, 1889. The Hall was destroyed by fire March 19, 1920. It would have been rebuilt on the same lot but for the gift of Mr. Henry Parsons. The lot was graded and it, also, is a part of the Park Systenı.
George E. Cousens lives in the Dr. Rice house which was oc- cupied by his mother and grandmother. The Methodist Church has had many improvements. The handsome entrance to Hope Cemetery was erected by Mr. Hartley Lord in 1904. A small re- ceiving tomb was built in 1863, the present one in 1905. Just be- yond starts the three-lane cement road which now extends to Biddeford.
Bertelle A. Smith purchased the Osborn house about 1900 and resides there. The heirs of Capt. Thomas Lord sold the former Parsonage to Hiram Waterhouse about 1886. It is now the resi- dence of his grandson, Homer T. Waterhouse. William Day owns the old Barnard Tavern, which was occupied many years by Daniel Curtis. There is a greenhouse in the corner of the Jor- dan field built in 1930 by Archie Turner. Also an airport on the east side of the Wonderbrook field graded in 1930 by Alva Smith. There are several new houses and new owners to the old ones, filling stations and auto repair shops. William Bartlett still op- erates the Saw Mills and has a store near the mill. (He died in 1931.) The store is now operated by his grandson, Robert Bart- lett.
West Side, 1930 1386787
The greatest change on the West side has been by the side of the river. In 1860 there was the Counting Room of the Mousam Mfg. Co., the ruins of the old Cotton Factory. The old Pierson buildings became the machine shop of George Leach (the Grist Mill of Jefferds and Gilpatrick) and the Planing, Sash, Blind and Door Factory of J. H. Ferguson & Co.
Dec. 22, 1863, all of the mill and land property of the Mou- sam Mfg. Co. was sold by Mr. Lord to Capt. N. L. Thompson, Jos.
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Dane and Jos. Titcomb for $31,000.00. It soon after came into the control of Capt. Thompson. There was no change on the western side until 1878 when the mill for Griffin and Reed was built. They remained until 1878 when they removed to Lake Vil- lage, N. H. The mill was used from that time until 1896 for va- rious purposes (described in another Chapter).
The Paper Mill department of the Leatheroid began in 1896 and the mill has since had that name, and many additional build- ings have been added. The counting room was razed in 1918, the mill in 1922, the Dirigo Buildings in 1932. Now there is nothing left but ruins, except that on the corner of Brown Street is an Auto Filling Station and Jones' Diner is on the site of the Count- ing room.
About 1867-8 there was a Brick Yard below the Mills. The brick used in the first Town Hall were made there. In 1860 the last house on Brown Street was that of Horace and Ivory Fer- nald. Now there are houses on each side to the end of the street and far down the Sea Road. The Old Boarding House, for- merly the residence of Richard Gillpatrick, was destroyed by fire Dec. 10, 1884. On its site John Ricker built the house now owned by Hartley Storer. Samuel Clark sold his house to Wil- liam Downing and about 1866 bought the Nathaniel Jefferds house which, his heirs afterward sold to Frank Roberts. Wm. Downing's son-in-law, J. O. Elwell, built and operated a green- house back of the house. It is now operated by Alexander Burr. The Jefferds Tavern became the Mousam House April 10, 1861, and has since been called by that name. (See Old Houses.)
Rev. J. A. Swan purchased the Capt. Low house in 1858 re- moving there from the corner of York and Swan Streets. He made additions and improvements. Since his death the Unitarian ministers have resided there. In 1890 Mrs. Swan gave it to the Society for a Parsonage. The Gilpatric Blacksmith Shop was op- erated until about 1877. It was razed about 1887 and on its site in 1889 Oscar Clark erected a block-store and tenements. George Varney erected a large two-story building for his wood working department in front of the Foundry. It is now the An- tique Store of F. B. Tuck. There are new houses on York Street nearly to the Turnpike and several west of it near the Pumping Station of the Water District which pumps Branch Brook water to Ogunquit, Kennebunk and as far as Biddeford Pool.
There are several auto repair garages and filling stations along the way, which is a three-lane cement road from about Swan Street to Kittery Bridge. The Nathaniel Mendum house was taken down, removed from High Street and rebuilt in its old form west of Mt. Pleasant Cemetery about 1890.
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The Sea Road, as it used to be called, is now Day Street. Hall Street extends from York to Day. Both have houses. The exten- sion of the Electric R. R. in 1906 changed and greatly improved the Tavern Hill (as it used to be called). They followed York Street to the woods, then parallel with the Turnpike and a short distance from it to Wells.
On High Street the Gilpatric house was made a two tenement before 1880, and several new ones have been built. Last, but not least, Pleasant Street. I do not know when it was named. It was the principal road to Wells and the West before 1803. It has had many changes. Joseph Barnard who drove the first pas- senger wagon (as it was called) over this road in 1787, would hardly know where he was now. There are several new houses by the side of the river. Rev. Edmund Worth continued in the Lord house until his death in 1895. It was sold to Willis Hill whose wife was a granddaughter of Edmund Lord who built the house. She still occupies it. Judge Bourne resided in the Gill- patrick house until his death in 1873. It was sold to A. E. Haley who died in 1910. It is now owned by his heirs. There are several new houses beyond. E. I. Downing owns the Jos. Thomas house. Mrs. Frank Parsons owns the Dr. Emerson house. The Maj. Cousens house and farm was bought by Jos. Parsons about 1874. A few years later the house was torn down and the hill graded. There is now no trace of what was once about the first house built on that side of the river. Mr. Par- sons also purchased the two tenement house at the intersection of Pleasant and High streets and removed it up nearly to the Cat Mousam Road, making on its site a small park.
The left side of Pleasant Street from the Parsonage to Cross Street is all built over. Mrs. L. M. Perkins built in the Mendum field about 1890, the Mendum house being removed to York Street. The Standpipe of the Water District is between High and York Streets and can be seen a long distance. There are many houses on each side of the Sanford Road quite a distance beyond Sunken Brook and up Cat Mousam Road to Jones' Hill.
In the 70 years from 1860 to 1930 fire has caused many changes in and near Main Street. The burning of Washington Hall in 1866 was followed by the building on the same lot of the Town Hall in 1867 which was also destroyed by fire in 1920. The Old Brick Block and adjacent buildings at the corner of Main and Fletcher Streets, 1824 and 1869, made a great change on that corner. The burning of the Academy building in 1870 resulted in a new brick school building. The loss of Dr. Ross' store and the Sargent buildings in 1881 was followed by the erection of
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the Sargent Ross block in the Fall and Winter of 1881-2. This lasted 14 years and March 5, 1895 it also went up in smoke. This was followed by the building of the Ross and I. O. O. F. blocks. In 1884 the old Boarding House on Brown Street, for- merly the homestead of Richard Gillpatrick, was also burned. In 1888 the Planing Mill, occupied by J. H. Ferguson and Co., at the west end of the Lower Dam, and the Saw Mill on the east end were destroyed.
In 1903 the largest fire ever known in the Village destroyed the buildings on the corners of Main, Storer and Water Streets and made many changes. In 1923 the fire on the east end of the Triangle was followed by the erection of the Curtis and Roberts block. There have been many other and smaller fires in the near vicinity which have caused other changes.
The ox teams of 1860 and later years have all disappeared: It would be hard to find an ox team in town. Horses were used af- ter oxen but they are scarce now. Bicycles were popular about 1895; now few except children use them. The Sanford and Cape Poise Electric Railroad laid their rails about 1898 and in 1906 extended them to York. Their rails were on Main, Fletcher, Storer, Water and York Streets and they carried many passen- gers and much freight for more than twenty years. Now their rails have been taken up and they are almost forgotten. The au- tomobile began to come soon after 1900 and now they do all the business, both pleasure riding and freight. Motor trucks of all kinds, shapes and sizes carry everything, short or long distance hauls, at all hours of day and night.
The big auto busses remind you of the old stage coach days, only there is no stop here for dinner. In the summer Main Street is crowded. Now the red and green light has taken the place · of the traffic officer and the blinker.
The electric wires from the Town Plant furnish light for street and house. If you want to run a lathe, saw or other ma- chine you can get the power from an electric wire. It will run your stove to cook, or your Frigidaire to keep food cool. If you want to talk with your friends use the telephone. If they are out of town use long distance. Branch Brook will furnish you with water from Ogunquit to Biddeford Pool and the sewer will carry off the waste water. If you want the news of a ball game, the nominating speeches at a political convention, a sermon on Sun- day, a concert or almost anything, use the radio. If you want amusement, go to a movie. The A. & P. or chain store will fur- nish you with bread, meat, vegetables, green or canned, in tin or glass. Your milk comes in glass jars. The coal truck, oil tank,
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wood cart (stove length) will furnish you fuel. The clothing store has all kinds and sizes of ready-to-wear clothes and under- wear. Or the Mail Order Houses will send you almost anything by parcel post, and your mail is delivered to your house. The laundry truck will call for your soiled clothes and return them renovated. The undertaker has an ambulance for use in case of accident as well as at your funeral.
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CHAPTER FOUR ROAD FROM WELLS
The road from the Western part of Wells to that part of the Town then known as Kennebunk at about the time of the Revo- lution was very nearly in the same location as the three-lane ce- ment road of 1932. That was straightened a little, the culverts and bridges raised and hills cut down. The traveler on arriving at Cole's Corner or the Town End as it was then called, had the choice of two routes: by the seashore following the King's High- way, fording or ferrying Little and Mousam Rivers. At the west of the last named there may be a path through the woods to the Village, but no road was laid out until 1796. The first road from the Beach probably leads by the Larrabee Garrison to the Boat Landing and to Water Street. The exact route perhaps would be hard to locate now. If the left hand route was taken, it was over Cole's Hill, then the right hand road by the Tavern of Capt. Samuel Jefferds, built a little before the Revolution (now known as Pike's). This Tavern was renovated a few years ago by Mr. Wm. E. Barry. This was the boyhood home of Maj. Wm. Jefferds referred to as the proprietor of the Jefferds Tavern in Kennebunk. Crossing Little River and thence through Harriseeket we find on the right and near the Branch River the house built in 1735 by James Gillpatrick. He was the father of Richard, mentioned in description of Kennebunk, and of Olive who married Maj. Wm. Jefferds. From records that I have seen I think that the first Gillpatrick house was built on the western side of the river and that the one occupied by James Gillpatrick in 1860 and sold to Chas. H. P. Storer is of later date. I also have Second Parish in Wells Tax Books of 1774 and 1799 and those Gillpatricks are not on the list.
A short distance after crossing the Branch River the road in- tersects with the Branch road or the Upper Stage Road to Ber- wick. Near here on the upper side of the road was the house built by the Town of Wells for the Acadians. During the French and Indian War of 1755-1760, an expedition sailed from Boston early in 1755 composed mostly of Massachusetts troops (of which several were from Kennebunk). On arriving at the Bay of Fundy they were joined by British troops with artillery. The French forts in Nova Scotia were captured and the whole coun- try came into the possession of the British. As a matter of ex- pediency the whole French population amounting to about 7000 were forcibly removed from their homes and scattered among the English colonies on the Atlantic coast.
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Some of the people of Wells had an active part in the re- moval. The sloop Prosperous, of which Daniel Bragdon was master, owned in Wells and York, was one of the transports. She carried between three and four hundred to Boston. Of these un- happy exiles six were allotted to the Town of Wells: John Mitchell and wife with two children, Margaret and Gregory, and two children of Peter White, Margaret and Madlin. The house was probably built in the fall of 1755. There is a tradition that the Mitchells formerly living on the Sanford Road were de- scended from this family.
Continuing east on a small hill north side of the road is the house built in 1758 by Ichabod Cousens, later occupied by his son, Maj. Nathaniel Cousens (owned and occupied in 1860 by Alexander G. Fernald). A little east of here is the path to the Upper Wading place coming out near the present Sayward Street. Pleasant Street was the road then from the western part of the town. The first bridge across the Mousam was near the Lower Dam and was built in 1730. There was also what was called the lower wading place somewhere. Mr. Remich says that there is no record or tradition that tells when the bridge was built near its present location, but he thinks before 1772. Judge Bourne says that the great freshet of 1755 carried away every dam and bridge on the river. How many different ones is not known. In the description of Kennebunk in 1790 it was near its present lo- cation but a low bridge, that is, near the water. There was a hill between it and the bridge over Scotchman's Brook. There is a record of a new one or one repaired about 1800.
As the traveler goes east there is a hill in front of the How- ard and Brown houses. This was plowed down in 1827. There was a swamp in front of Bourne Street as was shown when the telephone wires were placed underground in 1927. The grade has been lowered in front of the Ocean Bank. The old road east was Barnard Street, extending straight over in front of the Jordan Farm. I do not find the record of when Portland Street was laid out but probably in the early stagecoach days.
In 1830 a new bridge was built across Mousam River under the supervision of Capt. Ralph Curtis. This was built 17 feet farther up the river than the one it replaced. It is probable that the stone abutments were built at that time as the location was changed and the bridge built higher from the water. There was a pier in the center, sidewalk on the upper side. While this bridge was being built, the stages forded the river just below (this I was told by an eye witness). We can hardly realize this
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when we look at the banks now. But there has been lots of fill- ing done.
The bridge of 1830 was replaced by an iron one in 1882, a single span, trussed above, sidewalk on upper side. In 1906 this bridge was moved up river four feet to make room for the truss of the electric railroad, when the line was extended to York. The bridge was raised at that time about one foot at the eastern end and a little more at the western end and the street and hill graded. There was a fill of four feet at the entrance to the Paper Mill yard. The top of the hill was cut down as the banks at the Mousam House and Parsonage show. In 1920 the State Highway Commission and the Town built the present concrete bridge with sidewalk on each side.
Water Street in 1860 was very near the Grist Mill. It was changed a few years after the Leatherboard was built to make a straight road from Main Street to the front of their Plant. Back of the mill by the side of the river was a low gambrel-roofed house. It is now between the laundry and the Grain Store (when or by whom built unknown). Below that an old barn. The Saw Mill was built about 1844 by the Mousam Mfg. Co. All of the mill and factory property is now (1860) owned by Mr. Wm. Lord. A short distance below the saw mill there was a fence and gate. The old factory pasture is used to pasture cows and there are many kept in the village. There are only two other houses in the mill yard, the old factory barn, a foundry and per- haps a blacksmith shop. Water Street is filled with logs in the winter time. Sam'l Clark operates the mill. Water Street must be one of the first streets to be cleared and made passible for teams in this part of Wells. The first supplies and machinery for the mills was brought by vessel into Mousam River. Just how far up they came is now uncertain, but they probably came as far as they could. The building of mills at Cat Mousam-the Great Falls-and the increasing business at the Village, all made travel on this road. The old factory woods were cut in 1864 and sawed here. Water Street is now discontinued below the Leath- eroid.
Mousam River is about 223 miles long. It rises in Mousam Pond, flows through Sanford, a corner of Alfred where it is joined by a branch from Shaker Pond and North Alfred; thence through Kennebunk to the Atlantic Ocean. A description of the dams and mills at its upper end is not necessary. A large dam was erected at South Sanford about 1906, the electric plant installed and the power transmitted to Sanford. About one-half mile be- low at Whichers there are two ponds with Saw and Grist Mills.
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From about 1900 it was owned by B. C. Jordan of Alfred who did a large lumbering business. The mills are now gone. At the Old, as it was once called Fluellen, Falls is a natural stone dam. This was improved by saw mills in the early days. The names of owners and dates are not certain. This was a favorite place for picnics in the years from 1850 to 1900. About 1900 the San- ford and Cape Porpoise Elec. R. R. built a dam, installed an electric plant and used the power on their car line. Varney's Falls about a mile below has never been developed. The Middle Falls, or Cat Mousam, were developed between 1730-1750 and there have been several dams and mills. There is an interesting story of the origin of the name. In the early 1800's it was a Community Mill with many owners. Each having a certain num- ber of days in which he could saw.
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