Asher Crosby Hinds (1863-1919) a U.S. Representative, was born in Benton on February 6, 1863. He attended the public schools and Coburn Classical Institute, was graduated from Colby College in 1883. He began newspaper work in Portland in 1884. Hinds became clerk to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1889-1891), and clerk…
The villages of Hiram and East Hiram are divided by the Saco River. Nearby Mount Cutler sports a hiking trail; a chain of ponds hugs the western border above South Hiram. Raymond Cotton, a storekeeper and author, made many home movies. See photos & 1938 video on blueberry farming. The community buildings (churches, library, grange, museum) are within walking distance in Hiram village.
The Commission is responsible for the identification, evaluation, and protection of Maine’s significant cultural resources as directed by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. It is located at 55 Capitol Street in Augusta. It consists of eleven members as follows: The Commissioner of Transportation or representative, the Commissioner of Conservation or representative and 9…
HISTORY OF The COURT SYSTEM OF THE STATE OF MAINE [1636-1961] David Q. Whittier, Esq. for the Maine State Archives, 1971* This is the long version, verbatim except for footnotes. A condensed version is also available. Maine court history can effectively be broken down into four distinct periods that may be designated as Early Colonial,…
David Q. Whittier, Esq. for the Maine State Archives, 1971* Maine court history can be divided into four distinct periods: Early Colonial, 1620-1677; Provincial, 1677-1780; District, 1780-1820; State, 1820-present. EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD The first court constituted by legal authority in what is now Maine sat in Saco, March 21, 1636. The court was composed of…
This township (T4 R6 BKP WKR) in Somerset County contains most of Spencer Lake, along with the 2400-foot Spencer Mountain west of the Lake, and the 2300-foot Hardscrabble Mountain east of the Lake. With no village settlement, it is primarily an area of woods and woods roads. In the early 20th century, Spencer Lake Camps…
a farming community, lies just south of Houlton on U.S. 1 where the South Branch of the Meduxnekeag River flows north to an eventual outlet in Canada. See photos. Most of the Lt. Gordon Manuel Wildlife Management Area, including the related dam and the Hodgdon Deadwater, lies in the southwestern portion of Hodgdon.
The town has substantial frontage on Brewer Lake, which is shared with neighboring Orrington. At East Holden, where Maine Route 46 crosses 1A, a commercial area has blossomed in recent years. See photos. Administrative offices, library, and museum of the Grand Lodge of Maine Masons are located at the crossroads.
Holeb was and is a place for harvesting forest products. Amos A. Logging crews and camps were here and in the 19th century. See photos. Most of the shores on Attean and Holeb Ponds, and a significant length of the Moose River including Holeb Falls, lie within the Maine Public Reserved Lands. Canoe trips are frequent.
(1783-1870) a U.S. Representative, was born in Sutton, Massachusetts on July 9, 1783. He attended the common schools, studied medicine and began his practice in Livermore in 1814. Holland moved to Canton in 1815 also engaging in agricultural pursuits. A delegate to the Maine Constitutional Convention in 1819, he became a member of the Maine…
Just 10 miles northwest of Biddeford-Saco, the town was the summer home of Kate Douglas Wiggin, author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm among others. See photos. Her house is now the library. Wildfires of 1947 wiped out many historic homes, so only about 20% of all houses are older 50 years. The village with most commercial development is Hollis Center, with restaurants, gasoline stations, a food market and other service businesses. Poland Spring bottling plant was the only substantial industrial use in Hollis as of 2004.
John Holmes (1773-1843) was a Representative from Massachusetts and a Senator from Maine; born in Kingston, Massachusetts, March 14, 1773. He attended the Kingston public schools; graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University), Providence, Rhode Island, in 1796. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1799, and commenced practice in Alfred, Maine…
Located just northwest of Camden on Maine Routes 105 and 235, Hope has a cluster of lakes and ponds attractive to summer vacationers. See photos. The town’s population has more than tripled since 1970, and in the 2000-2010 decade continued growing by over 17 percent. The town hosts at least one extensive orchard featuring apples and pears, among other products.
In 1828 a military post was established and the military road to supply the post was completed in 1832. The garrison stayed until the Webster-Ashburton treaty was completed in 1842. See photos. Served by the New Brunswick and Canada Railway as late as 1886. By 1894 the new Bangor and Aroostook Railroad connected the town to central Maine. The “Houlton Band” of the Maliseet Indians has its tribal offices near the Canadian border.
Att the junction of the Piscataquis River with the Penobscot, and Seboeis Stream with the Piscataquis, it once had a thriving paper mill, The Advance Bag and Paper Company. See photos. The old mill remains empty. Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife supervises the Old Pond Farm Wildlife Management Area featuring eagles, osprey, deer, moose, and water birds.
John Hubbard (1794-1869) of Hallowell, was born in Readfield March 22, 1794. His father, a physician and farmer, though once prosperous, fell on hard times and lost much of his property. Hubbard had little high school education, but decided to improve himself by studying in his spare time. When he was nineteen, his father gave…
Little Pushaw Pond is in the northwest portion of the town. Pushaw Stream flow from it to Pushaw Lake in the southeast. See photos. Hudson is a growing community in a rural setting with easy access to Bangor and to the University of Maine in Orono.
(1781-1851) was born in Unity, New Hampshire on March 14, 1781. After early education in the common schools, he moved to Readfield as a young man to study law with his uncle, Samuel P. Glidden, the first lawyer in that town. After Glidden’s death, Hunton took over his business. and married his widow, Hunton’s first…
The Reservation in Penobscot County, is the home of the Penobscot Tribe of Maine’s Native American population, and is located on Indian Island in the Penobscot River and within the boundaries of the community of Old Town. See photos. The Penobscot Nation Council, headquartered on the Island, is composed of elected members, lead by a Chief and a Vice Chief. It is the birthplace in 1871 of Cleveland Indians baseball player Louis Sockalexis. Dancer and entertainer Molly Spotted Elk was born here in 1903.
Settled in 1783, Industry’s main villages are Allens Mills, at the southern end of Clearwater Pond, and West Mills. The mills produced wood and leather products, tools and flour. See photos. Goodridge Corner school, the “little red schoolhouse,” is the home of the town’s historical society.