Batchelders Grant Township

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Forest Protection Area in the White Mountain National Forest on Maine Route 113, Wild River at Right (2013)

This township in Oxford County was named for the original grantee, Josiah
Batchelder. It borders New Hampshire in the White Mountain National Forest.

Maine Route 113 runs north-south through the township. Portions of the road, also known as the Evans Notch Road, are closed during the winter. Access is then from Gilead in the north or from Stow in the south.

Evans Notch, in the southern portion of the township, is a deep cut among the White Mountains. It is a popular hiking location using the East Royce Mountain Trail to that mountain from two points on Route 113.

Stow

Cities & Towns, Recreation1 Comment
Cold River in Stow (2014)

Stow borders New Hampshire, which may be reached by Maine Route 113 north from Fryeburg. It was once the home of the Pequawket Indians, who traveled the Pequawket Trail to Biddeford Pool during the summers to fish and gather shellfish. The Cold River enters the state in Stow and flows south through most of this narrow north-south shaped town.

Standish

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Daniel Marrett House (one of several historic buildings) in Standish, on East Ossippee Trail (2018)

Named in honor of Captain Miles Standish, the military leader of the Plymouth Colony, the town has a very long shoreline on Sebago Lake in its southwest corner, including its Lower Bay. See photos. In the 19th century, the Oxford-Cumberland Canal allowed passage of boats from Harrison to Portland. Steep Falls was a thriving village historically, with its excellent water power on the Saco River and the railroad station in its midst. Both a recreational area and suburb of Portland, the town is served by six Maine highway routes.

Hiram

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Routes 5/13 entering Hiram Village from the North (2010)

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.

Fryeburg

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White Mountains in New Hampshire across a Field in Fryeburg on Route 113 (2013)

a town in Oxford County, incorporated in 1777 on the site of an Indian settlement known as Pequawket. See photos. Daniel Webster was a teacher at Fryeburg Academy in 1802. Native American Molly Ockett was born about 1740 into the Pigwacket tribe. The Battle of Lovewell’s Pond was one long day in 1725, during which the leader of the white volunteers, Captain Lovewell, was slain along with the Indian leader Pangus.