[STRONG] is a town in Franklin County, settled in 1784 and incorporated on January 31, 1801 from the township T3 R1 NPC, WKR, once known as Reedstown Plantation.

Maine’s Republican Party was founded here on August 7, 1854 by a coalition of anti-slavery Democrats, other Democrats, and Whigs. Israel Washburn, Jr., then a Whig, became a strong leader of the new party and became its first governor of Maine from 1861 to 1863.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1886 the Gazetteer of Maine described the town enthusiastically as follows:

Strong village is nestled down among the hills just north of the bend in Sandy River, which is here crossed by an iron suspension bridge. The village contains several fine residences, and is one of the prettiest in the county. . . .

At Strong village are a machine shop, boot and shoe factory, and that of the Sandy River Cheese Company, a manufactory of clothes-pins, cane seat chair bottoms and excelsior. The village is situated on the Sandy River narrow gauge railroad from Farmington to Phillips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main village is located about eleven miles north of Farmington on a big bend in the Sandy River at the junction of Maine Routes 4, 145, 149 and 234.

A Phillips to Farmington canoe trip on the Sandy River passes through Strong. Launch is under the bridge below. A Legion Hall is nearby at Right.

Form of Government: Town Meeting-Select Board.

Additional resources

Brackley, Lewis. Strong, Maine “Incorporated 1801”: An Historical Account of a Sandy River Settlement. Strong, Me. Strong Historical Society. c1992.

Strong, Maine: Bicentennial 1801-2001. c2001. [University of Maine, Raymond H. Fogler Library, Special Collections]

Varney, George J. A Gazetteer of the State of Maine. 1886. p. 530-531.

National Register of Historic Places – Listings

McCleary Farm

[South Strong Road] This house was built for William McCleary (1793-1848) , whose father, Robert, had cleared the land where the farm is now located. All the lumber for the house was probably milled on the property; the bricks for the chimney were made in a brickyard on McCleary Stream. It is apparently one of the earliest surviving post-and-beam homes in Strong.

The McCleary house is a late Federalstyle period Maine home with murals. Its heavy post-and-beam framing, including solid timber girts, run the entire length of the ell as is the interior detailing. All of the mantels are intact, as is the sheathed wainscoting. Though modest in form, the McCleary house’s refined Federal period detailing and wall murals make it one of the most notable late Federal period residences in Strong. Not only are the major features of house and barn intact, as is the ell which, in typical Maine fashion, forms a connected group of spaces including woodshed and carriage house. Unlike others of its type, however, the McCleary ell features an attached chicken coop, piggery and privy. The farm has a blacksmith’s shop, a portion of the associated fields and an early 20th century garage.

When William McCleary died in 1848 his wife, Sally Hunter McCleary (1805-1904), was left with a family of ten. The oldest son, George, stayed on the farm for some time, but later left to start his own farm in South Strong. Fred McCleary, George’s son, apparently returned to his grandmother’s farm about 1889 to care for her after working in Minnesota for three years as a carpenter.

[Kirk F. Mohney B&W photos, 1988]

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Porter-Bell-Brackley Estate

[Lower Main Street] This highly detailed and beautifully proportioned Italianate residence is the equal of any to be found in either urban or coastal context in what might be considered more sophisticated areas. That it exists as a striking landmark in the small, remote community of Strong is more remarkable. This home and another, virtually its twin, were built by Alexander and James Porter, prosperous mill men in the region. Their principal enterprise was a match and toothpick factory, later the Foster Manufacturing Company.

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The James Porter House eventually became a hotel which burned in 1971. Alexander Porter unfortunately succumbed to certain “temptations of the flesh” and lost his business and most of his property. Fortunately he had transferred ownership of the house to other members of his family so that they were able to remain there until it was sold to the Bell’s and later the Brackley’s. This handsome estate in 1980 was in excellent condition and virtually unchanged. It is a fine example of its style in a remote location and as a local landmark. [Frank A. Beard B&W photos, 1980]

In 2019 workers were observed apparently refurbishing the building.