Fort Western 1754
Thursday, August 22, 2013
BEFORE THEY CAME...
In 1621 King James of England
granted a large tract of land to the Plymouth Council in England to plan and
govern New England. In 1629 the New Plymouth Colony received a grant from this
council which included present day Readfield and other towns in this area of
Central Maine (15 miles on both sides of the Kennebec River). In 1640 Governor
Bradford of Massachusetts signed over the grant to all citizens of the New
Plymouth Colony. Poor fur trade, land ownership disputes, and threats
associated with the French & Indian Wars prevented settlement of this area,
so in 1661 the Pilgrims sold this land to some Boston merchants for 400 pounds
sterling. The merchants called themselves the Kennebec Purchase Company of the
late New Plymouth Colony.
The land remained unsettled, but in
1749 during a period of tranquility the Proprietors reorganized in hopes of
developing this land and increasing the value of their investment. They
promoted the construction of Fort Halifax in Winslow and Fort Western in Hallowell (later split and this part became Augusta) - both on the Kennebec River. Their plan was to secure this area from
the threat of Indian attacks thus convincing settlers that this area was a safe
place in which to live.
They had the land survey done two settlers lots to one
proprietors lot, so as this area developed and became more populated the
proprietors share of land would sell at a higher price. In 1761 The Proprietors
of the Kennebec Purchase ran a persuasive advertisement for free land. The ad
was circulated in England and America. It read (in part) as follows:
"...the Proprietors will grant two hundred acres altogether, to each
family who shall become Settlers on Condition that they each build a house not
less than 20 feet square, and seven feet stud; clear and make fit for tillage
five acres within three years, and dwell upon the premises personally, or by
their substitutes for the term of seven years or more. The Proprietors proposed
to lay out in each township 200 acres for the first settled minister, 200 acres
for the ministry, and 100 acres for a schoolhouse lot, training field and
burying ground. They went on to say that this land was the best offer of any
yet offered in any part of America, had "plenty of meadows and interval,
and that many settlers have carried with them 20 head of cattle which they have
been able to keep year round… It is well stored with great quantities of the
best and most valuable timber..." They further exclaimed that the
water-carriage made for ready access to the Boston market "24 hours with
favorable wind", and the river and sea abounded with various kinds of
fish. By this time several towns had been established on the lower Kennebec
River.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
THEY CAME, THEY ENDURED... (Revised 5/1/2018)
The first white men who came to Readfield (then
part of Winthrop) were hunters and trappers - perhaps as early as the 1750s. About 1763 Samuel Scott from Wrentham, Norfolk County, MA built a log cabin on lot #8, on the shore of Cobbosseeconte Pond. He occupied it for two years, stocking it with significant amounts of corn, pork, beef and other provisions. The location was ideal as it was directly on the Cobbosseeconte waterway leading from the Kennebec River inland, and a nearby meadow provided ample amounts of meadow hay for livestock. Scott was, it is believed, a land agent for the Kennebec Proprietors, his responsibility being to draw settlers into Pownalboro and Winthrop, which the Proprietors were calling "Scottstown" at that time. Many of the settlers who came to that part of Scottstown hailed from Norfolk County, including Timothy Foster
of Attleboro. He arrived in 1765 and settled in Scott's cabin on Cobbosseeconte
Pond. The next year he brought his wife and 10 children. At that point Scottstown became known as "Pondtown".
Scott did not remain in Winthrop. According to Stackpole (History of Winthrop) he sued Timothy Foster, accusing him of illegally entering his property and taking ownership of the log cabin, its contents and the meadow hay. Foster claimed there had been a verbal agreement between him and Scott, that Foster could take over the property and its contents as his own. The court ruling supported Scott - this based on their ruling that Foster had to pay Scott compensation. The court also sentenced Foster to 6 months in jail, but it is thought that he never served that time. The Kennebec Proprietors did end up assigning lot #8 to Foster. Scott thought another lot had been promised as his, but the Proprietors assigned that to another settler as well. In the end, it is thought that Scott returned to Wrentham. It appears that his family never came to live in Winthrop, thus Timothy Foster's was the first family to hold the distinction of being the to settle there. A Revolutionary War veteran named Samuel Scott, from Wrentham, MA, was probably one and the same. Little more is known about him other than educated guesses.
More colonists, from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, soon followed. Stackpole’s History of Winthrop describes how the countryside looked when they arrived: “(They) found everything around in a state of nature. The roving hunter and trapper had traversed the ground and the surveyor had set his compass and marked the lots, but no clearing had been made… the ground, with the exception of meadows, was completely covered with heavy growth, while beneath the treetops were thickly scattered boulders, largely granite, of various sizes from the smallest to those of many tons in weight… The roots of huge trees were spreading the ground in every direction, sapping the nutrient from the soil and forcing the weaker trees to die. There was little undergrowth, the trees running up tall and straight, not crowded, and with limbs so high that the early settler could ride his horse or drive yoked oxen beneath with little interference by the growth.”
More colonists, from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, soon followed. Stackpole’s History of Winthrop describes how the countryside looked when they arrived: “(They) found everything around in a state of nature. The roving hunter and trapper had traversed the ground and the surveyor had set his compass and marked the lots, but no clearing had been made… the ground, with the exception of meadows, was completely covered with heavy growth, while beneath the treetops were thickly scattered boulders, largely granite, of various sizes from the smallest to those of many tons in weight… The roots of huge trees were spreading the ground in every direction, sapping the nutrient from the soil and forcing the weaker trees to die. There was little undergrowth, the trees running up tall and straight, not crowded, and with limbs so high that the early settler could ride his horse or drive yoked oxen beneath with little interference by the growth.”
Stackpole says “In locating roads suitable for wheel-carriages, which they hoped to have someday, the meadows, swamps and even the level, undrained lands on the higher ground were avoided whenever possible, for otherwise they (had to) corduroy at an expense of time and labor they could ill afford.” The pioneers’ food crop was sparse so they had to rely on milk, game, fish and wild fruit to survive, but hunting and fishing could be challenging too. Stories that have been handed down about life here in the early days of Readfield and Winthrop demonstrate time and again the perseverance and creativity our town founders tapped into in order to survive. (See "Hardships of the Settlers" by Thurston)
David Thurston, a 19th century Winthrop historian, wrote a history of Winthrop in 1855 in which he recounts many stories about the hardships of our early settlers. One, Unight Brown, migrated here in 1769 and settled on the west side of Maranacook Lake. One late autumn day Brown and his young son, Jeremiah, traveled to a large bog - which was a fair distance from their home - in search of game. They were fortunate to find and kill a moose, but it was late fall, the days were short and it got dark before they could make their way back home. They knew what had to be done so they settled in for the night. The elder Brown cut wood and started a good fire. Then he gutted and skinned the moose and wrapped his son in the hide for warmth and shelter. They kept the fire going all night, but it got so cold that by morning Brown had all he could do to pry the frozen moose hide loose from his son. They both survived and Brown went on to help settle the nearby town of Fayette where he died at the ripe old age of 87 in 1815.
In 1765 three Whittier brothers - Thomas, Nathaniel and William - came from Chester, New Hampshire to East Readfield. They took a different approach to opening space in the forest than the other newcomers had. That summer and fall the Whittier’s fell twenty acres of trees, and then returned to New Hampshire for the winter. The next spring they returned to Readfield and burned their fallen trees. The air was filled with smoke for miles around and there was much alarm throughout the area because most people were unfamiliar with the Whittier’s ways. The three men then planted corn in unplowed land and everyone said the brothers were incompetent farmers at best for planting this way. Summer progressed and all were surprised to see the corn sprang up and flourished. It is said that people came from miles around to see with their own eyes that planting without plowing could produce. That fall the Whittier’s harvested a good crop, while the other settlers digested their lesson about farming in the wilderness.
In 1771 Winthrop was incorporated - the first town in this area to be inhabited and established away from the Kennebec River. Word spread about opportunities to own land here and more settlers moved into this backwoods territory. Some stayed here for generations and others moved on to yet greater adventures further north and west of here. Settlers chose the sites for their cabins and a few acres to clear and plant – then built roads to them. Hills were the first choice for a variety of reasons. The soil was richer, and there was less chance of early frost. That also meant easier construction of roads to their dwellings, and better views from their homes. In the early days this also gave a vantage point for spotting Indians and other dangers. Thurston also wrote about Indians during these early days saying “the people were, at times, somewhat terrified by the Indians, as they passed, in their hunting excursions, between the Kennebec and Androscoggin Rivers.”
One of Readfield’s earliest settlers, James Lane, chose a lot on Kents Hill (near a spring) when he and his brother
Ephraim Lane came here in 1771 from their hometown of Hingham, Massachusetts. They
came to Fort Western by boat up the Kennebec River, and then by blazed trail through
the woods to Readfield. Here, James first met Eunice Chase who was visiting
Gideon Lambert, a blacksmith formerly of Martha's Vineyard. Lane got to work
and immediately began to forge a place for his new home. For two years James
worked to clear his land, build a log cabin, and to plant corn. He bought a pig
at Fort Western and carried it to Readfield in a sack. Once the corn was
harvested, and the pig slaughtered and salted down, he figured he had prepared
a home fit for a bride. He returned to Massachusetts that winter where he found
and courted Miss Eunice at her family home in Tisbury. When Lane returned to
Readfield the following spring the cabin had been broken into by Indians and
the corn and pork was all gone. James had to carry all of his supplies from
Fort Western until the next harvest came in. In spite of this hardship Eunice
was not swayed. Upon her return to Maine she and James were married by General
James Howard at Fort Western, on August 3, 1774. She was not yet 16 and James
was 25. Indians continued to be “plentiful” at that time, according to the Lane
family history, and they used to camp near James Lane's spring. The Indians
never hurt James and Eunice, but bears destroyed crops and killed livestock -
in fact James slew one with his ax one time when it tried to kill his pig.
Eunice was four months pregnant with her first child when James went to serve
in the Revolutionary War. Oh, the courage!
The Cobbosseeconte Waterway and the 30 Mile River
(from the Androscoggin) were used by Indians and early travelers and settlers
alike. In 1776 a party of six men, having been told about the fertile Sandy
River Valley by hunters and trappers, traveled through Readfield on their way
to explore that wilderness. Their goal was to reach and explore Sandy River
Valley near present day Farmington Falls with an eye towards plotting a
settlement there. Butler's History of Farmington
relates the story of their trip in a fair amount of detail, which
I'll quote here in part: "...The party
came up the Kennebec River in canoes as far as Hallowell, which was generally
known at that time by the Indian name of Bombahook. From Hallowell they
proceeded on foot through the sparsely settled district to Mr. Rumford Smith’s,
who had settled and built a log cabin a little east of what is now known as
Readfield Corner...” This was without doubt, in this author’s opinion, Ransford Smith (not Rumford). Butler went on to say that “…after leaving Mr.
Smith’s, the last house on the route, they proceeded a west-northwest route,
supposing this course would lead them to what is now Farmington Falls…”
Upon arrival there the men surveyed lots, then each agreed to meet and return
in two weeks with some tools to begin chopping trees and marking boundaries.
Butler also described their second trip to Farmington Falls and it is
interesting to note that on their return trip they chose to use the old Indian
Cobbosseeconte Waterway instead of walking the rugged land terrain they had
traversed the first time. This route took them from the Kennebec River,
up Cobbosseeconte Stream, into Lake Cobbosseeconte, then Maranacook Lake and
towards lakes and streams further northwest of Readfield. Butler made no
mention of them stopping at Ransford Smith’s on this recount but since the
travelers passed so near his log cabin – when paddling up Lake Maranacook – it
seems probable they would have stopped by again. Sometime before 1790 Smith
returned to Martha's Vineyard because of threats from Indians,
but he returned to Readfield in 1792. Ransford Smith’s land was
located on the Cobbosseeconte Waterway and the Indian’s portage to the
Sandy River (land) Trail. The Indians would have undoubtedly passed
directly through Smith's property and it is understandable that some could
have shown resentment about Smith’s presence there.
Let us not forget the women in this equation. They kept the home
fires burning, took care of the young children's needs and managed all the
inside domestic chores - and none of those came easy in those days. Of course
the children helped too! As soon as they were old enough they were taught how
to do chores and no one sat idle. They were busy from sunrise to
sunset. In addition to the duties we often think of as "women's
work" the wives and daughters also carried much of the outdoor
workload too - such as tending the animals, milking the cows and such. They did
this for at least for a few years, until the men had brought the homestead
and the land to a sustainable level. The women even helped with catching
fish or shooting game if the occasion presented itself - or if their husbands
became too ill or debilitated from the strenuous workload. Thurston tells
one story about Squire Bishop's wife whose husband became so weak and frail
from lack of enough food in the house he was ready to lay down and die. His
wife would have no part of it! She threw her shawl over her shoulders, grabbed
a fishing pole and made her way by foot a great distance to the nearest pond
where, to her relief, she was able to catch some fish. On the way home she
managed to tree a coon, set up a fake person at the base of the tree to keep
him up there, and made her way back to the cabin. There she demanded her husband get off that bed
and go shoot that coon before they all starved to death! He did and they
gained ground, flourished and went on to be substantial citizens
of Winthrop! The size of many families was huge by today's standards. It
was not unusual for there to be 8 - 12 children within one household and
sometimes more! Women were grateful when babies were born in the winter because of their heavy workload during warmer months. To complicate matters the death rate was high
for mothers, babies and young children from illness and
complications from childbirth. Some
women, who had been taught old herbal remedies or midwifery, carried herbs
and medicines in their saddlebags and sometimes rode long distances to visit
the sick or deliver an infant. These women were generally the only source of
any healthcare in the 18th and most of the 19th century. Readfield’s own
Sarah Norton (Mrs. Stephen Norton) was known for her extensive knowledge of
herbal treatments and medicines. Martha Ballard, a well-known midwife
from Hallowell and Augusta sometimes made the long trek to the “backwoods” as
our area was then known, to treat illness or deliver babies. It was actually
more common for midwives than doctors to deliver babies during the 18th
and early 19th centuries in our parts. When the woman of the house died,
her husband married again right away - oftentimes to her younger sister or a
cousin. The house simply could not survive without a woman. The few who did not
marry again right away, I have noticed, soon returned to where they came from.
Ransford Smith is one such example and I have read of others.
As soon as the conference was over the 50 year old Bishop left Readfield
and aimed his horse for Portland. He “rode sixty miles (by horseback) in two days,
under the heat of the sun over desperate roads and rocks”. Thus was the
determination and fortitude displayed by all the courageous men and women who
settled our fair town of Readfield and beyond!
Read more about some of the Hardships of the Early Settlers
written by Rev. David Thurston in 1855.
Read more about some of the Hardships of the Early Settlers
written by Rev. David Thurston in 1855.
HARDSHIPS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS as written by Rev. David Thurston in 1855
Excerpt from A Brief History of
Winthrop from 1764 to October 1855; Written and published by vote of the
town of Winthrop, ME; Publisher: Brown Thurston Steam Printer, Portland, ME
1855; Pages 61-69
NOTE: Rev. Thurston wrote this History of Winthrop, in part, according to oral history told to him by the settlers themselves. This is exactly how Thurston wrote it - including punctuation and spelling.
Page 61
The privations and hardships, to which the early settlers
were subjected, were such as those who have always been accustomed to
convenient and comfortable habitations and well supplied tables can scarcely form
an adequate idea of. So great was their destitution of the necessaries of life,
that some were, at times, reduced to the verge of starvation. Indeed, had it
not been for the wild animals, the fish, the native fruits and the milk of
their cows, some of them would doubtless have perished for the lack of food.
When they needed meat, some of the more favored ones, would take their guns and
kill a moose, a dear or a bear, with nearly as much ease as our farmers now go
to the pasture and select a sheep for slaughter. But all could not do thus, nor
could the most favored of them always do it. As a specimen, Nathaniel and
Joseph Fairbanks in the month of February, took their guns, snow shoes and
dogs, and started off in a western direction, on a hunting excursion. Having gone
a long distance, the dogs went up a hill and gave notice that they had found
game. This hill, they supposed
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 |
| Early settlers hunting on snowshoes. www.allposters.com |
to be what is now in the town of Leeds. The dogs had found a
noble moose, which the hunters soon killed and dressed. But the day was too far
spent, they could not return. They therefore buried their meat in the snow and
camped for the night. The net day they took the meat upon handsleds and brought
it home. This was a valuable prize indeed. The four quarters of that meat
weighed eight hundred pounds!
Mr. Gideon Lambert was an early settler. He and his family
had to subsist one season from planting time till rye harvest, on milk and
herbs. During this time, he fell four,
and some say six, acres of trees, and
prepared them for the “burn” the ensuing spring. He had been a soldier in the
old French and Indian War. He aided in the defeat of the British army under the
command of Abercrombie, 1758. He also served in the war of the Revolution,
after he came to Pond Town.
Some families were so destitute of provisions, that one at
least, by the name of Delano, subsisted, for a time, on boiled beach leaves.
Others were without bread from sowing time till harvest. Some of them had
nothing for themselves except milk and maple sugar. One neighbor sustained the
children of another neighbor on skimmed milk. A woman said. The day after birth
of a child she dined on smoked moose meat and turnip greens. Her husband had
gone to procure them breadstuff, but was gone longer than expected. She had finished
the last of their provisions. What could she do? Her neighbors could not assist
her, for they were in the same predicament. She was greatly at a loss what
course to take to save herself and the child. She adopted this singular method.
She ate salt; that made her thirsty, and
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she drank more, and thus procured nourishment for her child,
till relief came. The neighbors would hunt in company, and share game between
them; because there were times in which they could obtain provisions no other
way. Mr. David Foster, in the month of June, was very destitute for food. He
went to a brook and caught a sucker, which, while it was broiling, gave a
cheering fragrance. He dug up some potatoes he had planted to eat with his
fish; but he found the fish very soft and the potatoes very watery. But they
sustained life. Mr. Squire Bishop came with his family to Pond Town in
embarrassed circumstances, poor and in debt. But though for a season they were
greatly straightened, and at times much disheartened, he at length accumulated
property sufficient to enable him to pay his creditors the amount of their
claims. Rev. Mr. Eaton once came to “preach the gospel to the poor,” and impart
the bread of life to these few in the wilderness, called on Mr. Bishop’s family
and found them very destitute. Mrs. Bishop went to the pigeon net and obtained
competent supply. At another time, Mr. Bishop’s
family was out of provisions, and none to be had nearer than Cobbossee.[i]
Mrs. Bishop spoke to her husband about
going to procure something for their sustenance. He was much discouraged, and
said he was so feeble, that he could not get to Cobbossee, and they might as
well die where they were. But the good woman, not so desponding, resolved to
see what she could do. “Necessity is the mother of invention.” She bent up some
pins, procured a pole and line and bait, and took her babe in arms and went to
the pond, which was a great distance, and soon caught
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as many fish as she could conveniently carry with her child.
On returning to the house, she heard a rustling in one of the trees and in
looking up, saw a raccoon. Now what shall she do? If she called to her husband
to come with the gun, it would, doubtless, frighten the animal, and he would
escape; or if she went and told her husband, the game might be gone. Perhaps
some good angel suggested to her the plan; which was this. She took off some of
her clothes, and some of the child’s, and made such an image as she could, and
placed it at the foot of the tree where the animal was, and hastened to the
house. She said to her husband, “the Lord has sent us a ‘coon’’ take your gun
and go shoot him.” Mr.
Bishop took the gun and shot the raccoon. They fed upon
the meat until Mr. Bishop recovered strength and courage to procure a supply of
food. Thus providentially their lives were saved.
There was a time when Jonathan Whiting had grain. Several
families had none. Lest the neighbors might suffer, his wife put the children
upon an allowance. He, to teach them to be economical in the use of their bread,
would sell only a limited quantity to any one lest someone might be more needy.
The soundness and strength of his moral principles were exhibited another way.
During this period, approximating famine, he might have had almost any price
for his grain. But he affixed a reasonable price, and no consideration could
induce him to take any more.
An aged man, now deceased, wrote me, that he had heard one
of the settlers say, he had lived a week at
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a time in smoked Alewives and milk. At the same time he was
under the necessity of laboring hard.
When Mr. Joseph Fairbanks and wife had five children they
took a journey to Marshfield, Mass on horseback. The mother became so anxious
for her children, on their return, that, bad as the roads were, she traveled
fifty-five miles! Much as the roads are improved, there are a few ladies now in
this part of the world who would be willing to perform such a day’s ride. There
was a time when this family was reduced to such as extremity of oppressions of
a certain man, I was about to say, but he appeared more like a brute than a man,
that they had nothing to eat or to wear. She searched the house to see if she
could find anything eatable, and discovered a quantity of bran. She attempted
to knead it, but could not make it hold together, even after it was baked. They
ate it, however, and it sustained life till he obtained something better.
The men had to roam quite a distance in search of their
game. Mr. Ichabod How, one winter, went into the neighborhood of Livermore
Falls on a moose hunt. He started three, two males and a female. He followed
them until they came near the hill where Mr. Nathan Kimball now lives. There was
a crust on the snow, which bore him, but was not sufficiently hard to bear
moose. They at length became so fatigued, that the oldest male turned upon him.
So he stepped behind a tree, as the moose rose upon his hind feet to strike him
down; but the tree was so small that the feet of the moose brushed his arms as
they came down, but without hurting him. He found himself now in a perilous
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condition. The moose however went back to the others, and
Mr. How shot him. By the time Mr. How reloaded his gun, the younger male came
at him, but the discharge from his musket, prostrated him. He then felt relieved,
for he did not fear the other, and soon dispatched her. He cut them open,
filled them with snow, and returned home. The next morning he called on his
neighbor, Mr. Gideon Lambert, and informed him what he had achieved the day
before, and offered to give him one of the moose, if he would go and help to
bring them in To this Mr. Lambert readily agreed, and he and his sons Ebenezer
and Paul, accompanied Mr. How and brought home the venison. Thus the families
were provided with meat.
Mr. Unite Brown and his son Jeremiah, went to hunt for moose
late one autumn. By what is called the “Great Bog” and they found and killed
one. [ii]
But the day was so far spent, that they were not able to return. The father cut
wood and kindled a fire and wrapped his son in the skin of the moose, and
encamped for the night. The cold was such, that the father had often to renew
the fire, to prevent their freezing. In the morning, the skin was so much frozen
that the father had no small difficulty in extricating his son from the
covering. The children of the early settlers not unfrequently, went barefooted
most of the winter if not the whole. They might often be seen walking on the
frost and snow with naked feet.
In the winter of 1785 Capt. Timothy Foster, the first
settler, was cutting a tree, and it fell on his head, and fractured his skull
so that he became speechless. His son, Stewart, went to Falmouth, now Portland,
on snow shoes, for a physician. But he could not leave, and
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sent a trepan, doubtless with some instructions on how to
use it. On the return of the son, the indented part of the skull was raised,
and Capt. Foster roused up and spoke rationally. But so long a time had
elapsed, the inflammation had proceeded so far that he died. His remains were
interred near where Mr. Metcalf lived.
A man by the name of Fish, came from port Royal, now
Livermore, to Mr. Nathaniel Fairbanks’ to obtain some leather. It was growing
so late in the day, and there was no road, and only spotted trees for a guide,
he was urged to spend the night; but he could not be prevailed to stay. He took
two bundles of leather and left, and perished along the way.
A Mr. Dutton, a hunter, had a line of traps on the streams
and ponds up toward the Androscoggin River. He had been examining them, and
night overtook him ere he was aware, and he lost his way. He began to call for
help, hoping he might be within hearing of some habitation. Mrs. Bishop thought
she heard a voice. Her husband doubted it. She insisted that she heard a human voice.
At length he went out and listened, and became convinced there was some one needing
assistance. Mr. Bishop called, and the man answered. He then went and brought
him into the house. All habitations, though but log cabins, and all tables,
were open and free. All were neighbors and brothers. The spirit of the caste
found no place among the early settlers.
The wife of Samuel Wood, Esq., was fond of referring to
their early poverty. The first pig they ever owned, she paid for by spinning
linen.
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The early settlers did not cultivate their farms as much as
would have been for their interest. Too
many of them went largely into the business of lumbering, and depended upon
that to procure bread and other provisions from Boston, or some other place in
the vicinity. After the war commenced in 1775, and the British cruisers were
hovering on the coast, their supplies were cut off. In the spring of 1776, they
were in a very destitute condition. Their scanty stock of provisions was nearly
exhausted. How to obtain a supply became a momentous question. The inhabitants
of the town were requested to meet for consultation on the subject. They
decided to charter a small vessel and send to Boston, for provisions. This was
an enterprise of no small danger. But they hoped that, by keeping near the
shore, they might avoid the large British vessels. Through the good hand of God
upon them their little craft performed the voyage, and safely returned with a
cargo of provisions. These were distributed among the people. From them,
through the blessing of God, they derived strength and courage to put an
abundance of seed in the ground. The next year they had bread and meat in plenty.
They thus learned an important lesson. Henceforth they cultivated their farms;
God smiled upon them, and they had a full supply.
Such was the scarcity of money in 1784 or 1785, a man who
had the occasion to borrow five
dollars, could not obtain it. Some of his neighbors had accumulated
considerable property, had a good stock of cattle, but had no money. Such was
the depreciation of the currency
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about this time, that Col. Simon Page iii
sold a pair of oxen for ninety-eight
hundred dollars! The real value, in present currency, was about seventy
dollars.[iv]
The people were, at times, somewhat terrified by the
Indians, as they passed, in their hunting excursions, from the Kennebec to the
Androscoggin rivers. But it does not appear that they did them any other
injury. A party once came to Mr. John Fuller’s, when he was absent, and Mrs.
Fuller and the children had no others with them. The Indians had “fire water’
with them and began to drink. This produced considerable alarm. But they
delivered all their knives up to her, and charged her to keep them, till they
became sober. They did this to allay her fears, telling her, they were afraid
they should hurt one another. They were certainly more considerate than many
who claim to be greatly their superiors.
Other instances of suffering there doubtless were, could all
facts be known. Some of them might even be more grievous than any here related.
These are given as a specimen. Well may they awaken, in the present
inhabitants, the gratitude we own Allwise Dispenser of events, for having
provided so much “better things for them.”
[i] Squire Bishop lived in Winthrop on (currently
called) Metcalf Hill Road.
[ii] This is located between Winthrop Road and Sturtevant
Hill Road and not far from where Unite Brown lived, which was near the current Readfield /
Winthrop town line, route 41.
[iii]
Lived on Stanley Road near the Winthrop / Readfield town line. He was brother
to Robert Page, Esq. who lived on the South Road and owned significant land
holdings in Winthrop / Readfield.
[iv]
Remember – this was written in 1855.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
THEIR FIRST HOMES... (Updated 4/15/2021)
By the mid to late 19th century it
became common in Maine to see farm houses that included a summer kitchen, shed and barn attached to the
house creating a "big house, little
house, back house, barn" effect. This architectural style, of adding barns attached to the house, summer kitchen and shed, caught on about
the time of the mass exodus west, and at the beginning of the agricultural
decline in Maine, thus our extended farm buildings are rarely seen in the rest
of the USA. The disadvantage was, of course, threat of fire which would destroy
the whole farm, and the smells and flies that went with an attached barn. Some
of the advantages were easy accessibility to the barn, animals, food storage
areas, milk room and sleigh in the winter. Protection from the winter winds
both outside and in, added warmth for the animals and shelter for the house –
if they planned well they put the ell on the north side. And last but not least
an indoor trek to the privy at the back of the barn or shed was huge advantage in cold weather!* Pictured below is an example of this kind of structure. This circa 1790 homestead on Old Kents Hill Road is still standing and has been remodeled/updated but the house exterior still looks much the same. The little house, back house, barn are gone but a three car garage has been added in later years. Also, the house was moved back, further from the road in the 1990s, onto a modern foundation. Was owned and occupied by Woodford & Marie Potter 1945-1980 then remained in the family until 2016.
As you drive through Readfield and neighboring towns take note of the
surviving big house, little house, back house, barns. They are disappearing
slowly but surely. Someday they will be remembered only through pictures and
stories – like the rustic log cabins of long ago!
* "Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn" by Thomas Hubka, is a fascinating study of this architectural evolution, unique to northern New England. Pub. 1984 by University Press of New England; 225 pages. Contains dozens of illustrations, indexed and extensive bibliography is included.
ROADS and TRAVEL in EARLY READFIELD (REVISED 12/17/2013)
1772: A ROAD AROUND CHANDLER'S MILL POND
 |
|
In 1771 when Winthrop Selectman planned and laid out a road around
Chandler’s Mill Pond (now called Maranacook) there were only six settler’s
cabins in the northern parish (now Readfield) near the lake’s shore. They are
noted above in the approximate areas they were located. The road passed near their doors – much closer
to the lake than the South and Winthrop Roads do today. The County Road (route
17) noted on this map followed the old Indian Sandy River Trail. This is part of a map that was drawn in 1795 and on file at
Kennebec County Registry of Deeds. |
In 1772 there were six settlers’ cabins scattered around the northern
perimeter of Maranacook Lake – then called the Mill Pond or Chandler’s Pond. On
the northeast shore (now part of Readfield) Robert Waugh, Sr. was located as
was his landing called “Waugh’s landing”. His neighbor to the north was Elisha Smith; next – at the northern most point of Chandler’s Pond - lived Joseph Baker (near Readfield Beach); to Baker’s west lived Ephraim Lane (now Readfield
Corner); then on the west shore of Chandler’s Pond was Moses Ayer (lot #70
about halfway between the present Readfield Corner and Winthrop town line); and
his neighbor to the south was James Craig (his house was near the lake on the
north end of lot #68 [i]
(near the Ritzi home). The old road completely circled the lake from (present
day) Winthrop Village and back. Suffice it to say this would have been more
like a primitive foot trail than a well groomed road. Winthrop did not even
mention the use of oxcarts in their road proposals until 1787.
James Craig owned lots #68 and #69 on the west shore of Lake
Maranacook during his earliest years here. He built a grist mill and sawmill at
what later came to be known as Factory Square and sold his holdings on the lake
about that time. In 1774 he sold 100 acres, the southern part of lot #68 to
Captain William Armstrong for Twenty-three pounds Six Shillings and Eight Pence.
In 1789 he sold the northern part to John Gray for Five Pounds Sterling.[iii]
Those men built homes further away from the lake and closer to what we now know
as the Winthrop Road. Both homes are still there in 2013. The course of the original
road was changed sometime around 1793 and brought further west from the
perimeter of the lake. John Gray’s house
was located in proximity to where that road intersected with the present day
Winthrop Road and it became known as “Gray’s Corner.” [iv]
1776 THE CROSSROADS FROM
30 MILE RIVER TO COBBOSSEECONTEE WATERWAY
When the early settlers
came there were NO roads so they followed the Indian trails that had been
used for centuries before them. Likewise, when the first roads were built the Colonists utilized some of
those old Indian trails. One of
the first roads to be built in
Readfield, in 1776, was the North Wayne Road and the East Road to Sturtevant
Hill. These passageways were a direct shot from Thirty Mile River (where the
dam is now located at the head of Lovejoy Pond in North Wayne) towards Maranacook Lake (part of the Cobbosseeconte waterway to the
Kennebec River).
The route discussed in this section is indicated with
red dotted lines on this 1956 topographical map.
Locations are approximate and for historical reference only.
Click on the map to see it enlarged.
To follow this route
from present day North Wayne travelers would have gone east towards Readfield, up
the hill and passed the Huntoon Cemetery. Then on to the intersection called
Palmer Corner. From there they picked up (currently called but d/c) East Road
which crossed to Sturtevant Hill Road (can still be seen on maps). Then,
slightly south on Sturtevant Hill Road
and a turn east at what was then called Craig’s Corner onto another cross road
towards Winthrop Road. I have not seen a name for that section of the road. It shows on the
1856 map but not on later ones. When travelers reached the “road from the
Corners to Winthrop Mills” (Winthrop Road) they may have stopped at the inn at that crossroads
for the night. From there they went slightly south to Gray’s Corner where the
road veered east again and on towards the lake.
The 1956 topographical map
above indicates two camp roads in about the same location as the last mentioned
road that veered off at Gray’s Corner. On the east side of the lake there was another
road that extended from the lake to Beaver Dam Road. James Craig's ferry crossing
was most likely at that spot – using trees on the island to anchor ar cable part way across? A
ferry could have also be located a little south of that. I would be interested
in hearing from anyone who has explored and found any indications that a ferry
once existed in this area.
The ferry across Maranacook it would
have been a raft hooked to a cable - in other words
a cable ferry - like the one pictured here.
MORE WILL BE
ADDED ABOUT OUT OLD ROADS AND
TRAVEL AS IT IS DISCOVERED SO CHECK BACK…
[i] Stackpole,
Everett; History of Winthrop; pub.
Merrill & Webber, Auburn, ME 1925; page 49
[ii]
This end of the section of the East Road came out slightly south of what many today know as
the Albion and Annie Bryant place. The Bryants moved into the house at that intersection in 1931 - the road was d/c but remains were still evident well into the 1960's. Midge
Bryant Potter passed on some stories to me about that house and area as told to her parents by people who had lived there before them. For one - a
whole team of horses was once lost in quicksand in the swamp between Sturtevant
Hill Road and Winthrop Road . Midge also related that their old house was an inn
at one time and about some of the original features of the house. When it was an inn there was a large double room across the front of the second floor where several beds
were set up for use by travelers. The brickwork is outstanding in this home. Large
brick arches in the basement and the house itself is made of brick and then
enveloped by wood. There will be more about this home when I add information about Robert Waugh Jr. and
Francis Hunt to this web site. Midge also told me where the course of this crossroad went from
here - further south by Ritzi's house - as they used to walk that road as children to get to the Maranacook Lake.
[iii]
Reflections of Readfield; Readfield
Bicentennial Commission; pub. 1975; pages 9 and 10
[iv] Stackpole,
Everett; History of Winthrop; pub.
Merrill & Webber, Auburn, ME 1925; page 60-61
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