Maine’s History Magazine
Inside This Edition
3 It Makes No Never Mind
James Nalley
4 Gone But Not Forgotten Civil War heroes memorialized throughout Maine
Mike Bell
7 Augusta’s Blaine House Home to Maine’s Governors
Wanda Curtis
14 Auburn’s Elmer Drew Merrill One of the world’s highest regarded Botanical Taxonomists
James Nalley
21 Go Tigers!
The Gardiner High champs of 1946-1947
Phil Thibeau & Brian Swartz
25 Kennebec Valley Railroad Wars Lines built amid great controversy
Charles Francis
31 Farmington’s Robert Francis Teacher and World War II turret gunner
Greg Davis
36 Dwight D. Eisenhower Comes To Town
The President visited Skowhegan in 1955
Brian Swartz
40 The Historic Moosehead Fire Tower
Big Moose tower rises again
Brian Swartz
43 Livermore’s Timothy Otis Howe A “Radical Republican”
James Nalley
47 Skowhegan’s First Bank It survived for 116 years
Brian Swartz
Publisher Jim Burch
Editor
Dennis Burch
Design & Layout
Liana Merdan
Field Representative
Don Plante
Contributing Writers
Mike Bell
Wanda Curtis
Greg Davis
Charles Francis
James Nalley
Brian Swartz
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Front Cover Photo:
Phil Thibeau All photos in Discover Maine’s Kennebec, Androscoggin & Sandy River Valleys issue show Maine as it used to be, and many are from local citizens who love this part of Maine. SUBSCRIPTION FORM ON PAGE 50
KENNEBEC, ANDROSCOGGIN & SANDY RIVER VALLEYS
AIt Makes No Never Mind
by James Nalley
t the time of this publication, the Christmas season will be in full force and Mainers will be immersed in their holiday traditions in light of all the good (and not-so-good) things that have occurred over the year. As for this particular region, there are some interesting associations with this holiday.
First, the first English Christmas in Maine was celebrated at the mouth of the Kennebec River in December 1607. Here, English is stressed, since it is reported that a group of Frenchmen celebrated Christmas in 1604 on St. Croix Island, the lost French colony of Maine. At the time, a lean holiday was celebrated by Sir George Popham, who led 120 English settlers to the area. However, it was not what we know today of a celebratory feast, presents, and a tree. All this began in the mid-19th century. Instead, it primarily consisted of prayers and singing hymns, due to the harsh conditions. In fact, at that time, the Kennebec River froze, food shortages forced half of the colonists to return to England by the turn of the following year and the colony was abandoned by the fall of 1608.
Second, although Maine receives snow at least half the winter, white
Christmases are rare. To qualify as a “white Christmas,” there must be at least one inch of snow on the ground. The last white Christmas in Maine was in 2017, when 8–14 inches of snow was recorded. In 2023, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were expected to be unusually warm, with temperatures in the mid-40s. Meanwhile, a severe storm caused rivers to rapidly rise, leading to widespread flooding and power outages. The Kennebec River in Hallowell rose higher than it had in 25 years, while the Androscoggin River in Auburn was 19 feet above normal.
Third, on a lighter note, the Kennebec Valley Garden Club has graciously decorated the Blaine House in Augusta for more than 35 years. With each room featuring a different theme, it will definitely get you in the holiday spirit. The large trees are donated every year by the Maine Christmas Tree Association, highlighting the winning tree farm from the Fryeburg Fair. For more information, see www.blainehouse.org/ visit/holidays-at-the-house.
As many of you know, it has been my tradition to close with a theme-inspired jest. However, in light of the spirit of Christmas and the New Year, I am reminded of Alfred Tennyson’s
poem Ring Out, Wild Bells: Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more; Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws. Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. Ring out old shapes of foul disease; Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace. Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be.
Gone But Not Forgotten
Civil War heroes memorialized throughout Maine
by Mike Bell
The view from the Howard Peace Monument in Leeds is spectacular. This monument was placed here in 1895 as a memorial for those who have lost their lives serving our country. Two sons of the Howard family, O.O. and Charles, had served with distinction and had reached high command in the federal forces. They and another brother, Roland Howard — a minister — were involved with the planning of this memorial. There are also over 150 other Civil War markers and monuments throughout our state that serve to remind us of all that was lost, and won, so many years ago.
Many of our towns, villages, and cities have sentinel statues who watch
over the memories for the families who lost so much. These are often found in town squares and parks. Some of these memorials take unique forms. For example, the Weeping Lion statue in the Miller Library at Colby College, guards the names of 26 students who died between 1861-1865.
There are other ways that Maine seeks to remember this war and its high cost. Each month, the Joshua Chamberlain Civil War Round Table meets at the Curtis Library in Brunswick. Many various historical societies have speakers who visit and give presentations about the war. The topics often vary, and the discussion can get a tad bit lively.
Howard Peace Monument in Leeds
The Grand Army of The Republic was the main veterans group after the war, and it was quite active in the state. Founded in 1866, the GAR ensured that Civil War veterans were cared for and remembered. As the veterans passed away, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War took up the mantle of remembering. Today, four “camps” remain active. They bring educational focus to their story and often can be found making sure that the monuments and graves are well-maintained. And speaking of those hallowed markers, countless sons of Maine lie in cemeteries across the state. There is even a grave of a confederate soldier in Gray. Across the Pine Tree state, buildings related to some of our Maine heroes serve as focal points of remembrance. The Norlands estate in Livermore tells the story of the Washburn family and their role in the war. General Chamberlain’s house in Brunswick draws countless visitors each year. On Peaks Is-
land, a museum honoring the 5th Maine is set in the original lodge that veterans built in 1888.
And in a similar vein, a few forts (Ft. Knox and Ft. McClary) that had a connection to the war are still standing, with museums available for visiting folks.
Reenactment groups still exist, although not as many as years past. But they can be found at history themed events across the state, especially during the tourist season. With them
one can learn about the daily life of soldiers and civilians who helped change the course of our history. Their dedication to these stories keeps history alive. And of course, there are authors and researchers who visit our state and consult our archives as part of their work. Some of the best, including Elizabeth Leonard and Thomas DesJardins, reside here and are still writing and speaking about Maine Civil War history both here and across the country. One might think that we have seen everything written about the war, but the bookshelves in our bookstores tell a different tale.
As the length of time between that hell that was our Civil War and the current era gets longer, it is comforting to know that groups and places still exist to ensure that this chapter of American history is remembered. How that story is told may change, but if you listen and look, you will see that the ghosts of the past are often right here with us.
Norlands mansion in Livermore
Augusta’s Blaine House
Home to Maine’s Governors
by Wanda Curtis
One of Maine’s most historic homes is the Blaine House in Augusta, also known as the James G. Blaine House. It’s located across the street from the Maine State House. The home was built in the early 1830s by James Hall, a retired ship captain from Bath. However, it served as home to many other famous people over the years. One of the most notable was James G. Blaine, who lived there with his wife Harriet and six of their children — Walker, Emmons, Alice, James, Margaret, and Harriet. Blaine purchased the home for his wife as a birthday present. The cost was $5,000. He and his wife moved into the home in 1862.
Although he was born in Pennsyl-
vania, Blaine was very influential in the state of Maine. Shortly after he moved into the home, he served as Speaker of the House of Representatives. He later served as a United States senator and Secretary of State for several presidents. In 1884, he was a Republican candidate for president but lost the race to Grover Cleveland. He lost the popular vote by only 23,000 votes. Blaine was also a co-owner and editor of the Kennebec Journal.
In 1919, the Blaines’ daughter, Harriet Blaine Beale, donated the home to the state of Maine. She gifted the home in memory of her son Walter Blaine Beale who was killed in action during World War I. The Maine State Legislature designated the home as
the official residence of Maine’s future governors and their families the following year. It was named The Blaine House.
According to Blainehouse.org, it was noted that Harriet Blaine Beale made the following comment when she donated the home: “It is my first and strongest desire, that this house, which has been a home for so many years and in which my son was born, shall be used and maintained as the official residence for the Governor of Maine, ... this would meet the approval of my dear son who devotedly loved his home, Augusta, and his native state. I leave the fulfillment of this trust to the good faith of the State for whose honor my son with many others gave his life.” (cont. on page 8)
(cont. from page 7)
According to Blainehouse.org the first chief executive to live in the Blaine House was Governor Carl E. Milliken. He commissioned the landscape architectural firm Olmsted Brothers to design the landscape at the Blaine House in 1920. The home itself has seen many changes over the years. Maine architect Calvin Stevens enlarged the home and turned it into a semi-Colonial style home in 1919. (Stevens also designed the Governor John F. Hill Mansion in Augusta.) The structure of the home is currently a combination of Federal, Victorian, and Colonial Revival styles.
According to Maineanencyclopedia. com, it is reported that many famous people were guests of Maine governors at the Blaine House. Some of those included President Ulysses S. Grant, President Theodore Roosevelt, Helen Keller, actors Bette Davis and Gary Merrill, comedians Fred Allen, Ed
Wynn and Groucho Marx, aviators Amelia Earhart and Wiley Post, as well as former heavy-weight boxing champion Jack Dempsey, among others.
Along with many governors and their families, many well-loved pets have resided in the Blaine House throughout the years. One of the best known was an Irish Setter named Garry, who was the constant companion of Governor Percival Baxter. The dog had his own couch in the governor’s office.
When Garry died, Governor Baxter ordered the flag flying over the Blaine House to be lowered to half-staff in honor of his beloved companion. This action generated criticism from some veteran and military groups who thought it was disrespectful to people who had sacrificed their lives serving under the flag. The controversy made national headlines.
According to the Maine State Mu-
seum’s website, Blaine wrote the following words, in defense of his actions: ”I firmly believe that when the men and women of this state and nation think through what I have done they will see…that my act heightens the significance of our flag as an element of human achievement that has been made largely through the faithful services and sacrifices of…animals.”
Baxter later honored the dog again when he had Garry included in his portrait which was hung in the Hall of Flags. Also in the portrait is a cane, which once belonged to Baxter, with a decorative carved handle in the shape of a dog’s head.
The Blaine House was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 because of its connection to the famous and historic politician James G. Blaine.
Auburn’s Elmer Drew Merrill
by James Nalley
Botany (i.e., the scientific study of plant life) and taxonomy (i.e., the scientific study of naming, defining, and classifying groups of biological organisms) are two branches of science that are usually overshadowed by other arguably glamorous scientific fields, with the latter considered by some researchers as a “dying science.” However, one man from Auburn spent his entire life in both fields, and became a recognized authority on the flora of the Asia-Pacific region. Such expertise was particularly helpful during World War II, when he consulted the U.S. War Department and wrote a handbook on determining which plants were edible
and which were poisonous in the Pacific Islands. He would go on to become one of the world’s most highly regarded botanical taxonomists.
Elmer Drew Merrill was born (with his twin brother, Dana) on October 15, 1876, in Auburn. While attending public school, Merrill showed great interest in collecting and identifying various plants, birds’ eggs, rocks, and minerals. In 1894, he attended the University of Maine, with the intention of studying engineering. However, he quickly switched to general science so that he could focus on the biology and classification of flowering plants. In 1898, Merrill graduated as valedictorian of his
class, and continued for one year as an assistant in the Department of Natural Science. According to the article, “Elmer Drew Merrill, 1876-1956” (1958) by William Robbins, “During his time in college, Merrill built a sizable herbarium of approximately 2,000 specimens, which he eventually donated to the New England Botanical Club.”
In 1899, Merrill served as an assistant to Frank Lamson-Scribner, a pioneer plant pathologist and expert on the classification of grasses at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). During that time, Merrill learned the principles of plant taxonomy and supplemented his training through field-
work in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. When the Spanish-American War ended in December 1898, the U.S. Taft Commission established the Insular Bureau of Agriculture in the Philippines, as one method of fostering cooperation between the two countries. Based on his growing reputation in the field, Merrill was appointed as botanist in this new organization in 1902. He remained in Manila for the next 22 years. As stated in the article E.D. Merrill, From Maine to Manila (1998) by Ida Hay, when he showed up to his post, “Merrill was dismayed to discover that the herbarium had been destroyed during the war, along with the botanical library and scientific equipment. However, starting from an empty building, he set out to rebuild everything.”
Although Merrill’s role was expanded to include a joint appointment with the Bureau of Forestry within a few months of his arrival, his respon(cont. on page 16)
Elmer Drew Merrill in 1928
(Courtesy of the University of Southern California Libraries and the California Historical Society)
Langlois’
Collision Center Inc.
(cont. from page 15)
sibilities quickly grew until he became both the Director of the Bureau and the Professor of Botany at the University of the Philippines. Over the next 20 years, Merrill was extremely productive. For example, he not only collected and studied plants from the Philippines, but he also studied plants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Indochina, China, and Guam. From such efforts, his herbarium grew to more than 250,000 specimens. According to Robbins, his “botanical library was recognized as one of the best in Asia.”
Meanwhile, Merrill published more than 100 papers on Philippine flora between 1907 and 1918. Among these works, there was a 500-page paper titled Flora of Manila, which covered more than 1,000 species. Moreover, as shown in his 637-page work titled Enumeration of Philippine Flowering Plants, he personally expanded the list of known Philippine species from 2,500 plants to 8,120.
In 1924, Merrill returned to the United States and joined the University of California at Berkeley, where he was appointed Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. During his spare time, he continued to focus on Asia-Pacific flora. As stated by Robbins, “He added more than 100,000 specimens from that region to the university’s herbarium.”
By 1926, word had spread of Merrill’s expertise, and he was asked to oversee the establishment of the California Botanic Garden. The initial plan involved 4,500 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains, all financed by the sale of surrounding property. During his short time in the role, Merrill successfully built administrative offices, greenhouses, a library, and an herbarium of 180,000 specimens. However, soon after Merrill left the position and returned to Berkeley, the plans collapsed, due to rapidly falling property prices ahead of
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the impending Great Depression. The herbarium was then transferred to the University of California at Los Angeles and the gardens were subdivided and sold for housing.
In 1929, as the country was amid the Great Depression, Merrill, as Director of the New York Botanical Garden and Professor of Botany at Columbia University, was able to continue many of his programs by taking advantage of personnel provided by the Works Progress Administration. In fact, according to the Archives of the New York Botanical Garden, approximately 300 personnel were employed to build walks, roads, fences, etc. in the gardens.
In 1935, Merrill left his position at the New York Botanical Garden and accepted the role of Administrator of Botanical Collections at Harvard University, where he supervised eight separate Harvard botanical units. Just two years later, he became the Director of
the Arnold Arboretum, which, to date, is the oldest public arboretum in North America. Over the next decade, Merrill acquired roughly 220,000 plant specimens from all parts of Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. Naturally, when the United States was involved in the Pacific during World War II, Merrill consulted with the U.S. War Department and wrote a helpful handbook for the allied forces titled, Emergency Food Plants and Poisonous Plants of the Islands of the Pacific (1943). In 1946, Merrill retired and became Professor Emeritus in 1948. One of his last major contributions was The Botany of Cook’s Voyages and Its Unexpected Significance in Relation to Anthropology, Biogeography, and History (1952).
On February 25, 1956, Merrill died in Forest Hills, Massachusetts. He was 79 years of age. According to the Archives of the New York Botanical Garden, “His library of 2,600 titles was
donated to the New York Botanical Garden and a fund was established to award an annual medal to ‘an individual within the entire field of botany, irrespective of race, creed or nationality, who is considered worthy of such an award.” Along with his many accomplishments and numerous honorary doctorates from some of the best universities in the country, his importance is no more apparent than the fact that seven plant genera (Merrillia, Merrilliobryum, Merrilliodendron, Merrilliopeltis, Merrillosphaera, Sinomerrillia, and Elmerrillia) and more than 200 species have been named in his honor. Interestingly, as stated by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, “When Merrill referred to these names that immortalized him, he was accustomed, with a twinkle in his eye, to translate Merrilliopeltis as ‘Merrill’s hide.’”
Go Tigers! The Gardiner High champs of 1946-1947
by Phil Thibeau & Brian Swartz
The home of the Tigers, Gardiner High School, went undefeated in football and baseball during the 1946-1947 academic year under Coach Ronald MacLeod, who had played for the Cony Rams.
After graduating from Colby College, he coached Orono High football. When Gardiner Coach Vinny Allen died unexpectedly, MacLeod applied for the position; hired in summer 1943, he coached all boys’ athletics except for ice hockey and did so with no assistant coaches.
MacLeod arrived at Gardiner just as students born early in the Great Depres-
sion passed through the high school. The Class of 1947 would prove particularly noteworthy in athletics. Football was dominant at Gardiner. During MacLeod’s first years as coach in 1943 and 1944, Gardiner lost only one game per season. In 1945 the Tigers won three football games and lost five.
More than 50 athletes (including eight lettermen) turned out when football tryouts started on August 27, 1946. MacLeod selected Leigh Mooers (210 pounds) as the center, with Don Eye and Don Thibeau as guards. Veterans Norm Ladner and Cliff Pottle took the tackle slots; Tiger Captain Brian
Dineen and Fred Douglas rounded out the front line.
MacLeod tapped as quarterback the 135-pound Jack McDonald. Serving as McDonald’s backup, Don Edwards also played good defense. The other players named to the offensive line were halfbacks Joe Baker, Jason “Jay” Chadwick, and fullback Mel Massey. The Tigers scored two minutes into their season opener against Mexico on September 14, and that touchdown said it all. Defeating Mexico, 19-0, the Tigers finished the season 9-0 by outscoring their opponents, 142 points to six points. Only Skowhegan scored against (cont. on page 22)
(cont. from page 21)
Gardiner during an October 5 away game.
Gardiner and Cony played their traditional season-ender at Williams Field in Augusta on November 16. At least 6,000 fans packed the stands and sidelines, “the largest crowd ever to witness a Gardiner-Cony game,” a source indicated.
Playing excellent defense, both teams repeatedly stopped their opponents’ drives. Then a Ram fumbled on his 30-yard line in the third quarter; MacDonald maneuvered the Tigers through nine players and ran the ball into the end zone. He missed the follow-up drop kick, but Gardiner held on to win 6-0 and claim the Kennebec Valley Grid Conference championship. Thus, the Class of 1947 closed out four years of football with a 27-2-8 record. “one of the best four-year records of any high school” in Maine.
Several football players turned out for Tiger baseball in spring 1947. Don Eye played catcher, Don Thibeau left field, and Norm Ladner right field. Brian Dineen took center field, Fred Douglas played shortstop, and Jack McDonald got the starting pitcher’s slot. Jay Chadwick alternated between pitcher and outfielder, and Mel Massey held down first base. Rounding out the potential starters were Fred Thibeau at second base, Jim Doland at third, Jim Hathaway as catcher, and Ed Morven, infielder.
Playing a 12-game schedule, Gardiner opened against Hallowell (now Hall-Dale) on Saturday, April 19. The Tigers thumped Hallowell 23-0; the win went to Fred Thibeau, stepping in as pitcher. He was also on the mound on Tuesday, April 22, when Gardiner defeated Lincoln Academy of Newcastle, 16-2.
On Friday, April 25, Jack McDonald limited the Brunswick offense, Gardiner bats frequently contacted the baseball, and the Tigers won, 13-4. They continued winning, defeating Winthrop, 17-3, and Waterville, 16-2.
Gardiner and Cony then faced off for four games in a row, with the first taking place on Friday, May 2. Back on the mound, Thibeau limited the Rams to four runs, while his Tiger teammates scored 11.
McDonald subsequently pitched Gardiner to three more consecutive wins over Cony: May 9, May 16, and May 23. That made nine wins and no losses for Coach MacLeod and his Tigers. Could they maintain the momentum?
They certainly could. Brunswick fell to Tiger bats, 17-2, on May 27. Winthrop went down, 10-2, on May 28; that win went to Chadwick. Hallowell
lost to Gardiner, 6-0, on June 6.
Having completed a perfect season, Gardiner baseball moved into the June playoffs. McDonald was the four-time winning pitcher as the Tigers swept their opponents. Gardiner even defeated larger Bangor, 8-4, and Edward Little, 4-3, to emerge as the state champ. Including the playoffs, Gardiner baseball outscored its opponents, 174 runs to 32 runs, and averaged 10.9 runs per game to the oppositions’ two. The season ended as graduation came due; many young athletes who had played on Gardiner’s 1946-1947 undefeated football and baseball teams graduated that June.
Kennebec Valley Railroad Wars
Lines built amid great controversy
by Charles Francis
The State of Maine has a rich heritage of railroading. One of the first railroads to be chartered in the country was the Calais and Milltown in 1832. The first railroad to operate in the state and one of the earliest in New England began carrying lumber between Bangor and Old Town in 1836. The first major railroad in the state was the Portland, Saco, and Portsmouth, which went into operation in 1842. Then the railroad boom hit Maine. By the late 1880s there were more than thirty railroads operating. Some were small, like the five-mile-long Kennebec Central Railroad, which connected Randolph and Togus, and some were
giants like the Grand Trunk Railroad, which ran from Portland to Quebec. Competition between rival railroads was fierce. Competing companies fought out battles in the state capital for charters. Some companies, like Eastern, which connected to the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth in 1843 giving Maine its first direct link to Boston, would soon be in a life or death struggle with the Boston & Maine which paralleled it. Then, too, there was the struggle between the Portland-based Grand Trunk Railroad and a Boston-based group to see who Quebec would award a charter to so that city would have a link to the Atlantic. However, it is doubtful that
any region of Maine saw more competition to develop railroads than the Kennebec Valley.
Part of the reason for the fierce competition to establish rail lines in the Kennebec Valley was geographical. The Kennebec Valley is in the central part of the state and the railroad that controlled it would dominate service between central and eastern Maine and Portland, where both the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth and Boston & Maine had terminals, and where ships bound for ports around the world waited for their holds to be filled. In addition, the Kennebec Valley was the breadbasket of Maine. No region in New England (cont. on page 26)
equaled it in agricultural production. Its farms produced apples and potatoes for shipment across the country as well as vegetables for the tables of Portland and Boston. It was also the cattle breeding capital of New England. It was said that by the end of the nineteenth century over half of the steers and cows in New England could trace their lineage back to the Kennebec Valley. So for these and other reasons competition was fierce to build railroads in the Kennebec Valley.
The construction of the huge Grand Trunk Railroad, which began in July of 1846, would create more problems in the Kennebec Valley and eastern Maine than anyone dreamed possible. The Grand Trunk was a broad-gauge railroad which cost $26,000 a mile to build. Most smaller rail companies, in order to save money, preferred using narrower gauges. This meant, however, that they could not connect with
1201.
(cont. from page 25) the Grand Trunk, a factor that was extremely important in the upper Kennebec Valley. The first attempt at building a rail line in the Kennebec Valley was the work of some residents of Gardiner. In
1836 these worthy individuals, anxious to attract more industry to their town, obtained a charter for the Kennebec and Portland Railroad which was to run from Gardiner through Topsham, Brunswick, and Freeport and end in Portland. This was something the residents of Augusta opposed. That the state capital would be slighted by upstart Gardiner was intolerable. The Augusta proponents were able to exert enough pressure on the legislature that their city was made the site of the terminus for the first proposed rail connection between the Kennebec Valley and Portland. Because of a lack of funding, this project still hadn’t gotten underway when the legislature issued charters for two lines connecting Portland and Bangor in 1845 — the Androscoggin & Kennebec and the Penobscot & Kennebec.
At first it had been the intent that both lines run through Gardiner and Augusta or neighboring Hollowell. How-
ever, the infighting that had marked the proposals for the earlier railroads began all over again. Lewiston and Waterville both wanted a piece of the pie. Then the issue of what gauge the lines should be came to the fore. Portland wanted the Penobscot & Kennebec, which was to connect it with Bangor, to be standard gauge. Since the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth was standard gauge, it meant railroad cars could pass from one line to the other. The Androscoggin & Kennebec was to link up with the Atlantic & St. Lawrence, as the Grand Trunk was now called, at Danville. If its cars were to be compatible with that line, the rails of the Androscoggin & Kennebec had to be broad gauge. Compounding the issue was the fact that both of the proposed railroads were controlled by the same group, who, of course, wanted their two lines to be able to exchange cars with each other for cost-saving reasons.
The end result of all this confusion,
bickering, and power playing was that the Androscoggin & Kennebec was a broad-gauge line. From Bangor until it reached Danville, the only central Maine city it touched was Lewiston. While with the expenditure of moderately more money it easily could have reached both Waterville and Augusta, the line’s promoters choose to skimp as much as possible on construction costs. As for the Penobscot & Kennebec, it achieved the goals of the earlier Gardiner-proposed railroad and more. From Portland, the Kennebec & Portland ran through Freeport and Brunswick, where a spur went off to Bath, and then to Topsham, Gardiner, and Augusta until it connected with the Penobscot & Kennebec coming out of Bangor. Finally, the Kennebec Valley had rail service. There was even greater controversy to come, however. A controversy that almost erupted into a mini-war.
One of the goals of Augusta’s rail-
(cont. from page 27) road proponents was a line running from the upper Kennebec to Augusta that would be able to connect to the standard gauge Kennebec & Portland. In this they were vehemently opposed by the powers that had established the broad gauge Androscoggin & Kennebec. Tempers ran high when supporters of the standard-gauge line, which they called the Somerset & Kennebec, presented a petition with 2700 signatures, favoring the line, to the legislature in 1852. The opposition had only been able to collect the signatures of 1500 people who were against the line. Lobbyist for both sides cornered legislators in the corridors of the capital demanding that their cause be heard. On the floor of both the House and Senate, lawyers for both sides thundered out their advocacy and opposition. W.B. Moor, one of the Androscoggin & Kennebec advocates, threatened to use a cannon to blow the Somerset to “King-
dom Come.” The place he planned to set his cannon came to be known as Moor’s Battery. In the end, supporters of the Somerset & Kennebec won out.
While many railroad plans and schemes sparked great controversy and confusion, not all railroads in the Kennebec Valley were built amid this kind of wrangling. One case in point is the little, five-mile-long Kennebec Central.
The Kennebec Central, which ran from Randolph to Togus, was a very profitable line for its size because it fulfilled a need that the larger lines couldn’t be bothered with. The Kennebec Central had two locomotives, five passenger cars, two box cars, and six flat cars. In 1897, a representative year, it carried 185,586 passengers, most of whom only rode for one mile. The fare for a mile was fifteen cents. The line carried 37,710 tons of freight that year. The charge per ton was $1.33. That year the Kennebec Central issued $2000
dollars in dividends to its stockholders, most of whom were from Gardiner. The Kennebec Central had been organized in 1889, well after the Kennebec Valley railroad wars ended.
The Kennebec Valley railroad wars ended with the coming of the Maine Central Railroad. The Maine Central came into being when the legislature gave formal approval for the merger of the Penobscot & Kennebec and the Androscoggin & Kennebec. The Maine Central went on to take many of the smaller Maine railroads like the Dexter & Newport under its umbrella. By 1871, the year it absorbed the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad, it was well on its way to becoming the state’s largest railway system. The Maine Central also did much towards solving the gauge problem. It converted the Androscoggin & Kennebec as well as several of its other holdings to standard gauge. By the time the Atlantic & St.
Lawrence — the old Grand Trunk — went to standard gauge in 1873 there were only three rail lines of any significance in the state that were not standard gauge. In this manner the Kennebec Valley railroad wars came to a close. The railroad would remain the transportation lifeline of Maine and the country until the 1920s when Americans would begin their love affair with the automobile, and trucks would begin playing a larger and larger role in freight transportation. Today most of the short lines of Maine, like the Kennebec Central, are gone. In some cases the only artifact they have left behind are empty rusting rails winding into the distance.
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Farmington’s Robert Francis
Teacher and World War II turret gunner
by Greg Davis
As we go through the hustle, bustle, and excitement of the holiday season, while the biggest fear for many of us is getting our Christmas shopping done on time, it is interesting to take a look at a 1944 Christmas when the biggest concern for Robert M. Francis definitely wasn’t what was going to appear under the tree. He was caught up in one of history’s greatest conflicts.
Robert Francis noted that in December of 1944, during a very cold winter, he was living in a tent on a small airfield in Juvincourt, just a few miles north of Reims, France.
The retired high school teacher was
then 19 years old and a top turret gunner on a light, two-engine attack bomber called an A-20. He manned the twin 50 caliber machine guns, he said. Francis was with the 645th Bomb Squadron, 410th Bomb Group, assigned to the Ninth Air Force, which primarily supported ground troops.
“On December 5, 1944 we were awakened about 3 a.m. and taken to the briefing room where we saw in amazement a huge hole or ‘bulge’ on the wallsize map,” he said.
This bulge was in the Ardennes Forest, Belgium. An area that was supposed to be ‘quiet,’ and where the U.S. troops were young and ‘green.’ These
troops were quickly overrun by German tanks and infantry, and the biggest battle of the war was on — The Battle of the Bulge, he recalled.
“At the briefing we were told our mission would be to bomb behind enemy lines. We were to destroy road junctions, bridges, and railroad yards because the Germans needed tons of supplies every day to maintain the offensive,” he said.
“At first we were upset because we wanted to strike them directly head-on, particularly near Bastogne — the encircled town from which the embattled American commander uttered the famous “Nuts” response to the German (cont. on page 32)
(cont. from page 31)
demand for surrender. But the fighter planes were assigned to that mission,” he said.
“We were driven to our aircraft and were all set to fly. But word came down to stand by because the fog was too heavy over the target areas.” That fog kept the flyers grounded for days. When it finally lifted they were flying two missions every day.
“On Christmas Day we were up early as usual and flew a tough mission, hitting a well-guarded bridge near Cologne, Germany. While flying home we were all thinking of the hot turkey dinner that Ike had promised every soldier,” Francis said.
But by the time the flyers got to the mess hall, the turkey was gone. “We got that famous baloney,” he complained. “After our Christmas meal we were all set to fly another mission as usual, but a jeep drove up and someone in it said that our mission had been scratched.
Another crew was to take it. That plane never came back,” Francis said.
The missions continued well into February of 1945 when the huge German advance was considered contained. However, the fighting remained just as fierce, because, “Ike was planning a giant pincer movement,” Francis said. “I continued flying missions until the war was over.”
He said the mission he will never forget happened after the Battle of the Bulge, near the end of the war in Europe.
“During the Battle of Achen, in March and April of 1945, we bombed seven days in a row. The Germans were fighting like dogs because we were now hitting Germany itself. There were many ‘88s’ (the 88-caliber cannon was used effectively as an anti-tank weapon and as an anti-aircraft gun) — the most accurate guns in the war, with proximity shells that got you,” he said.
“British troops were trying to cross the Rhine River and put up an artificial fog to cover their progress, but the wind blew the cover the wrong way and exposed them and us,” Francis said. The Germans brought in 88s to bracket the area.
Francis’ low-flying bomber flew across, dropped its payload, and was turning for home when “the first burst of flak got us in the nose, killing the bombardier although we didn’t know it at the time,” Francis said. “We crash-landed in Liege, Belgium, just inside our lines. Americans ran out and grabbed the two of us who were left. We were whisked off and were flying the next day,” he said.
Francis finished the war with 55 combat missions, earning an Air Medal along the way.
A-20 bomber crews were supposed to be rotated back to the States after 25 missions, as happened with B-17 heavy
bomber crews, but this never happened, he explained.
“The mission limit was raised to 25, then 30, 35, 50, and 55,” he said. Experienced aircrews were just too valuable to the war effort to send home.
The low-level bombers didn’t need oxygen and airmen were not issued heated flying suits, although it still got cold flying at the lower altitudes, Francis said.
His squadron had been equipped
with new A-26 bombers and was preparing to go to Japan when the atomic bombs were dropped in August of 1945 and the Japanese sued for peace. Francis mustered out of the Army Air Corps soon after that. Prior to his retirement he taught history at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington for twelve years.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Comes To Town
The President visited Skowhegan in 1955
by Brian Swartz
Dwight D. Eisenhower is the only serving American president who ever visited Skowhegan. Originally named Township 5 Range 4, Lynchtown Township lies in northern Oxford County and abuts the New Hampshire border. Aziscohos Lake and Parmachenee Lake are the major waterways within the township, and at the latter lake out-of-state sportsmen established the Parmachenee Club in 1890. The club leased 120,000 acres in the area and built Camp In the Meadows on the Magalloway River. A paper-compa-
ny dam later flooded the camp’s location, so club members opened a new camp on Treat’s Island on Parmachenee Lake.
Accompanied by Senator Frederick Payne (R-Maine) and Central Maine Power Company President William Wyman, a Secret Service detail, and other officials, Eisenhower visited the Parmachenee Club as its guest in early summer 1955. Eisenhower and his entourage arrived about noon on Saturday, June 25 and stayed until Monday, June 27. The president “obviously re-
WOODLAWN
laxed and enjoying himself, did exactly what any other vacationer would do — fished, loafed and had a good time,” the Brown Bulletin reported.
Eisenhower traveled east on Monday to meet Air Force One at Dow Air Force Base in Bangor. Roger C. Spear of Farmington remembered the presidential motorcade reaching Farmington “at 3:30 pm under the leadership of State Police Sergeant Kenneth Twitchell of Farmington. “Main Street was lined with spectators throughout the business district as far as South Street
where the caravan would cross to High Street,” Spear recalled. “People also packed South Street and High Street, all the way to the [Farmington] fairgrounds. “Many were waving flags and ‘Welcome Ike’ signs were hung along the way. Several onlookers found their way to the rooftops of the downtown stores for a better view,” Spear wrote.
Eisenhower traveled east on Route 2 to Skowhegan, hometown of Republican U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special 1940 election to fill her late husband’s unexpired term, she had remained in the House until winning election as senator in September 1948.
Crowds lined the streets as the presidential motorcade headed up Madison Avenue to the Skowhegan Fairgrounds. Standing up in a car with a removable sunroof, Eisenhower smiled and alternated his hands while waving
to onlookers that hot day. The motorcade turned into the fairgrounds and rolled onto the racetrack. As his car approached the grandstand where the president would speak, four suit-clad Secret Service agents bounced off the car behind Eisenhower’s and took up positions at the corners of the presidential vehicle.
Governor Edmund Muskie, his wife Jane, and Senator Smith accompanied Eisenhower as he walked toward the canopied platform from which he would speak. Some 7,500 people packed the fairgrounds, and everyone stood for the National Anthem. Eisenhower, the Muskies, and Smith mounted the steps to the platform. Muskie spoke briefly, and Smith introduced the president. He stepped to the lectern and faced the crowded grandstand.
The president obviously had Maine and Mainers in mind as he started speaking at 4:45 p.m. “No man can receive
greater acclaim than to be received in friendly fashion by a gathering of real Americans,” he told his audience. “So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you — the Governor for his official welcome, Senator Smith for all that she has so extravagantly said about my accomplishments, and each of you for the courtesy you have paid me by coming out here today that I might say hello. “I am grateful for the warmth of the welcome I have received all along the line, from young and old, from men and women, from workers and people who seem to be on vacation,” Eisenhower said. “And I might say, the most touching welcome that I received was from what the guides call ‘midges’ and I call plain black flies.
“I am certain that during all these years when I did not come, they have been waiting on me, because they swarmed around me with their cannibalistic tendencies, and I am sure they (cont. on page 38)
(cont. from page 37)
will probably starve until I get back here,” Eisenhower said, his remarks generating laughter. “My friends, as much as I have found here different, in the way of your scenery and your glorious lakes and streams and woodlands and piles of timber along the road, such as I have never seen, I find the basic fact is this: Americans are Americans everywhere. In our basic beliefs, in
our basic aspirations, in our hopes for the future and for our children, we are one,” the president said.
Talking a while longer, Eisenhower said that “everywhere across this state today I have encountered smiles and shouts and ‘Hi Ikes’ and waves of the hand, as I have met them here on this fairground.” He could not “reach each of you personally with a shake
of the hand,” but he wanted everyone to “know how sincerely I do appreciate the warmth of your friendliness, how earnestly I want to come back” to Maine.
Afterwards Eisenhower, Smith, the Muskies, and a few hundred invited guests attended a lobster bake, the only presidential lobster bake ever held in Skowhegan.
The Historic Moosehead Fire Tower
Big Moose tower rises again
by Brian Swartz
Big Moose is back from the dead. Twice in my life I have run into living, breathing acquaintances whom I could swear had died. I was overjoyed to find those folks still alive.
So, imagine my excitement upon recently discovering that a historic but decrepit fire tower I first encountered in 2000 has not succumbed to time and disrepair, either. The tower originally stood on Big Squaw Mountain, renamed Big Moose Mountain after the Maine Legislature ordered “squaw” geographical place names stricken from the state map.
About ready to give up the ghost when I first saw it almost 20 years ago, Big Moose fire tower (actually its cab) now rises fresh-painted alongside the Moosehead Lake Region Visitors’ Center. Located at the former state rest area on Route 15 south of Greenville, the visitors’ center and the resurrected Big Moose are the brainchildren of the Natural Resource Education Center at Moosehead (NREC).
Both structures are a job well done.
Big Moose is not just any fire tower; it is Maine’s first, the genesis for all such fire towers that followed.
Much more so then than now, the Maine economy was heavily dependent on forestry and logging. Greenville businessman William M. Shaw owned vast woodlands and the M.G. Shaw Lumber Company, which employed Elmer Crowley as a “forest engineer,” a term equivalent to today’s “forester.”
Crowley (and possibly Shaw) hiked 3,196-foot Big Squaw Mountain in 1903. Then, as now, trees shrouded the views almost to the granite summit, from which the men noted the spectacular vistas of Moosehead Lake.
Then, as now, wildfires threatened valuable timber stands. Difficult to pinpoint, a fire could get a good start before someone spotted the white to grayish white smoke billowing above a distant timber line.
Plotting the location of a new fire sooner could help direct woods crews to the scene faster to save the woods.
An idea came to Crowley atop Big Squaw. “I asked Mr. Shaw if this would
not be a good place for a forest fire watchman,” he recalled. “One man on this mountain could do more … from this point of vantage than 100 men traveling through the woods.”
Shaw concurred. Construction began on a Big Squaw Mountain fire tower in June 1905. According to the NREC, the tower “was a crude lookout manned by private logging interests.”
The tower’s floor was basically the mountaintop granite.
William Hilton of Greenville manned the tower until autumn rains ended the 1908 fire season. The tower’s “rapid adoption [by the state, which started manning the tower in 1909] was due chiefly to the careful and painstaking work of its first watchman,” Crowley later praised Hilton.
The fire tower evolved under state control. By 1919 a wooden cab perched atop spindly steel legs, sufficiently strong to last into the 21st century. Exposed to the elements, the cab was occasionally rebuilt.
In 1914 a fire warden’s cabin was constructed on the mountain. Accord-
ing to the NREC, “a frame camp” built in 1937 served as the fire warden’s home for the next 30 years.
In the 1930s, Civilian Conservation Corps crews constructed the mountainside-vaulting stairwell that ascended Big Squaw just beyond the warden’s cabin. The stairwell is 420 stone steps in length, by my count.
The Maine Forest Service staffed the fire tower until 1967, then shuttered the cab in 1968 in favor of aerial patrols. Other fire towers remained operational much longer; I can remember chatting with the woman from Down East Maine who, along with her Newfie or two, was the fire warden at Harris Mountain in Dixmont at least into the late 1980s.
At Big Squaw, a watchman (the accepted term in mid-20th century) reached the tower around 8-9 a.m. and kept watch until evening, usually making the last daily radio check around 6 p.m. Connected to the outside world by phone (initially in 1905) and radio (be-
ginning May 18, 1950), the watchman descended Big Squaw to the camp for the night.
Woodland owners welcomed rain because it reduced fire threats. The Big Squaw watchman spent rainy days working on “camp and trail maintenance,” according to the NREC.
Maine had at least 87 fire towers at its high point, and every watchman used a map table and an alidade to plot a fire’s smoke-indicative location. Compass-based direction was easy to determine; judging the actual distance to a particular smoke plume depended on a watchman’s knowledge of the assigned coverage area.
Shuttered permanently in 1968, the Big Squaw fire tower cab gradually disintegrated. It lacked perhaps all but one window when I “met” the tower in autumn 2000.
Built in 1958 on the 1919 steel frame, the cab did not survive. A Maine Forest Service helicopter and crew lifted the tower’s disassembled steel frame
Harris Drug Store
from the summit of Big Moose Mountain in 2011 and delivered the historic structure to Greenville property belonging to the NREC.
Then in September 2014, a Maine Department of Transportation crew transported the tower frame by flatbed trailer to the Charleston Correctional Facility for restoration. Staffers there built “the replica cab … to the original 1958 [cab] specs,” Bill Cobb reported in the 2016 annual report of the Maine (cont. on page 42)
Nestled amidst a tapestry of history and enchanment, our Inn is a magical haven that transports guests to a bygone era. Each room is steeped in stories of the past, with antique furnishings and period details that evoke a sense of timeless elegance. As you wander through the hallways, the whisper of history can be felt in every corner, with tales of yesteryear woven into the very fabric of the Inn. The surrounding gardens, filled with blooming flowers and ancient trees, add to the charm, offering a serene setting for reflection and discovery. Whether you’re seeking a romantic getaway or a peaceful retreat, our Inn promises an unforgettable experience steeped in history and magic.
(cont. from page 41)
Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association. Cobb, who is the Maine Chapter’s director, was credited by the NREC with providing the cab’s interior and map table.
The NREC later set the tower (cab and 1919 steel legs) on a concrete base next to the Route 15 visitors’ center. Project supporters gathered at the visitors’ center on Saturday, August 13, 2016 to dedicate Big Moose.
Passing by a while later, I pulled into the parking lot. “What a cute little tower,” I thought before reading the information placard at the tower’s base.
Memories of the 2000 hike came to mind. “Good Lord, you’re still here,“ I muttered while looking up at the cab.
Big Moose was back from the dead.
Livermore’s Timothy Otis Howe
by James Nalley
The U.S. Civil War (1861–1865) and the subsequent Reconstruction was a precarious time dominated by the legal, social, and political changes of abolishing slavery and reintegrating the 11 former Confederate States of America back into the United States. In this regard, abolitionists (i.e., those who favor abolishing slavery or capital punishment) had to be particularly vocal about their beliefs, especially in the U.S. Congress. At that time, a Livermore-born U.S. Senator from Wisconsin was considered one of the “Radical Republicans,” due to his support for racial equality and his opposition to discrimination.
Timothy Otis Howe was born in
Livermore on February 24, 1816. He attended local public schools before entering Maine Wesleyan Seminary
(currently Kents Hill School, a co-ed private college-preparatory school). After graduating, he studied law with local judges. In 1839, at 23 years of age, Howe was admitted to the Maine Bar and began practicing in Readfield. In 1845, he was elected to the Maine House of Representatives. However, due to ill health, he and his family moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the following year. There, attempting to restart his political career, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Congress in 1848 as a Whig, one of the two major political parties (the other being the larger Democratic Party) between the 1830s and the 1850s. However, in 1851, he was elected circuit judge and
(cont. on page 44)
Timothy Otis Howe in 1850
(cont. from page 43) served in that position until 1855. Interestingly, as a circuit judge, he also served as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, until a separate Supreme Court was organized in 1853.
In 1857, he ran another unsuccessful campaign, this time for the U.S. Senate. Not one to give up, Howe ran again and finally won a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1861, a position he would hold until 1879. However, this was a tumultuous time to be a political representative. For example, during his time as a U.S. Senator, he served during the U.S. Civil War and the Reconstruction. Meanwhile he was a staunch abolitionist and supporter of the 15th Amendment. This amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1870, prohibited the federal government as well as each state from denying a citizen’s right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
According to James Oakes, in his
Howe “argued against the claims of contemporary Democrats that blacks were inherently racially inferior and remarked that their claim that abolition would cause
a war of racial extermination was ‘a libel upon humanity, black or white.’” Based on his views, his political opponents considered Howe one of the “Radical Republicans.” In this case, they were called “radicals” because of their goal of immediate, complete, and permanent eradication of slavery in the United States.
Meanwhile, there were growing complaints from the Native Americans, due to the rapid expansion of U.S. territories into their rightful lands. For instance, in 1865, Congressional hearings chaired by Wisconsin Senator James Doolittle investigated the Sioux complaints from the Yankton and Dakota tribes. As a forecast of troubling times for Native American tribes, Howe stated, “Many agents, teachers, and employees of the government, are inefficient, faithless, and even guilty of peculations are fraudulent practices upon the government and upon the In-
book Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865 (2013),
dians.”
When Ulysses S. Grant became the 18th President of the United States (1869-1877), he offered Howe the position of Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. In a surprising response, Howe declined the offer because he simply feared that his successor to the Senate would be a Democrat. This was because the Democratic governor of Wisconsin would have replaced him with another Democrat. In 1879, Republican Matthew H. Carpenter, who helped perpetuate the party’s political machinery in Wisconsin, ran against Howe and won. Apparently, his political clout was too strong, despite Howe’s long political service.
In the presidential election of 1880, Howe supported the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party that briefly existed during the Reconstruction and the Gilded Age (1869-1901). Regarding this era, it was a time of rapid industrial
expansion, which resulted in materialistic excess (e.g., overly large mansions by wealthy families) and widespread political corruption. Following President James Garfield’s assassination, new President Chester A. Arthur (a Stalwart) appointed Howe as U.S. Postmaster General for the purpose of distributing positions in the U.S. Post Office to Stalwart supporters. According to Howe’s biography by the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, “In poor health and with little political support remaining in Wisconsin, Howe nevertheless received Senate confirmation and took office in January 1882.” However, although Howe “reduced postal rates and improved post offices, he failed to embrace civil service reform. He left much of the daily operations of the post office to his assistant postmaster general, Frank Hutton.”
In early March 1883, Howe returned home to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he
died on March 25th after catching a bad cold that developed into pneumonia. He was 67 years of age. He was subsequently buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Among all the reports of his relatively early death, there seemed to a common theme: loyalty. This was regarding the people he served, the role that he cherished in the U.S. Senate, and to the country in general. For example, the New York Times stated, “In 1865, in Milwaukee, Howe said these words: ‘One year ago, when large rebel armies were fighting on Southern fields for the defeat of our ticket, then I held up to you only the flag of the union, and I appealed to you to stand by the party which stood by it. Now I ask you to stand by the union party because it has saved the country.’ This little speech was the keynote of his loyalty.”
Skowhegan’s First Bank
by Brian Swartz
The first bank incorporated in Skowhegan celebrated its centennial with some fanfare and a positive outlook into its next century. Then reality struck.
Bloomfield split from Canaan to become a town in 1814. Three years later, Samuel Weston and other “public-spirited men” living in Bloomfield and Milburn (that portion of Canaan across the Kennebec River from Bloomfield) discussed creating a local bank. The grandson of Skowhegan’s first settler, Jacob Weston, Samuel Weston owned a mill and expansive woodlands in western Maine.
The Maine Legislature incorporated Milburn as a town on February 5, 1823,
and “keen competition existed between … Milburn and Bloomfield, each coveting the bank within its borders.”
Compromise led to the bank being located on Skowhegan Island, along the towns’ shared boundary.
The legislature incorporated the Somerset Bank on February 22, 1825, and named eleven incorporators, among them Weston and Eleazar Coburn (father of Abner Coburn). The bank opened with $50,000 in “capital stock” comprising “gold and silver.”
Somerset Bank operated until March 4, 1833, when the legislature incorporated the Skowhegan Bank and named 25 local men as incorporators. Picking up where the Somerset Bank
left off, the new bank moved from the Skowhegan Island site to Park Street in Skowhegan in 1845 (Milburn residents had voted to change their town’s name in 1836).
After the legislature renewed its charter in 1846, “the bank continued to develop, keeping pace with the growth and expansion of the community.”
Skowhegan businessman Abner Coburn became “prominent in the affairs of the bank,” and looking back decades later, a historian speculated that “what the Skowhegan Bank and its successor, the First National Bank, would have become, had it not had the advantage of Abner Coburn’s splendid ability, it is of course impossible to say.”
(cont. on page 48)
(cont. from page 47)
Skowhegan annexed Bloomfield in 1861. The bank reported $181,304.94 in “resources” in 1863, when early on Sunday, November 15 “two suspicious characters” who had arrived from Athens and stayed at a local hotel allegedly used gun powder to blow off “the outer door of the [bank’s] vault.” A hue and cry led to eyewitness accounts that the two men “were seen passing the bank and down Water street toward the Great
Eddy” aboard a horse-drawn covered wagon. Skowhegan “men started in pursuit” and tracked the desperadoes to Waterville, only to lose their trail there.
After Congress passed the National Banking Act in 1863, the Skowhegan Bank reorganized as the First National Bank. In 1869 some business leaders affiliated with that bank helped launch Skowhegan Savings Bank, and it “was welcomed within the doors of the old[er bank], where it was to remain for forty years.”
Soon afterwards the brothers, Edward P. and George N. Page, moved to Bangor. Edward became Skowhegan Savings’ treasurer in 1874; George was appointed First National Bank’s cashier in 1871. They held those positions for many years.
Still operating side by side, the banks in 1890 purchased the Dyer Block, facing Madison avenue from the southerly side of Water street. The banks continued operating together as
“each broadened its field, and the volume and number of transactions multiplied rapidly.”
After the adjacent Milburn Block burned on New Year’s Day 1909, the First National Bank bought the lot, constructed “one of the most substantial banking structures in the state,” and physically separated from Skowhegan Savings, which remained in the Dyer Block.
Now offering the full range of services found in similar national banks across the country, First National established a savings department in August 1911. Two years later the Federal Reserve Act “enlarged the scope of national banks and authorized functions which had not previously been granted,” and the First National Bank expanded its available services. “During the strenuous times of the World War [soon called World War I] … this bank was a loyal supporter of the government and a generous subscriber to vari-
ous war loans.”
The federal government extended the First National Bank’s charter for 99 years in 1923. Business was solid, and the bank celebrated its centennial in 1925. A 104-page booklet, A Century of Service 1825-1925, detailed the bank’s history. “At the end of its first century, The First National Bank of Skowhegan, direct descendant of the old Somerset and the Skowhegan Bank, is recognized in financial circles as an institution of exceptional strength,” the book stated.
Looking into the future, bank officials believed, “It cannot be doubted that they who read this record and write the history of the First National Bank of Skowhegan in the year of 2025 will have a narrative even more alluring with which to deal and greater achievements to record.”
But no one could foresee the Great Depression’s devastating impact on American banks. The First National Bank struggled through the 1930s but could not survive as a stand-alone entity. Liquidating its assets on December 20, 1941, the First National was absorbed by the Augusta-based Depositors Trust Company. Skowhegan Savings Bank thrives to this day.
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ABC Pool & Spa Center......................................................................16
ABT Plumbing, Heating & Cooling....................................................30 Advantage Insurance........................................................................44
Affordable Well Drilling Excavation & Forestry..................................19
American Awards Inc. .....................................................................20
Androscoggin Historical Society........................................................18
Another Man's Treasure......................................................................8
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Back Office Solutions Maine..............................................................23
Barclay's Skindivers Paradise............................................................15
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Best Western Plus Augusta Civic Center Inn.....................................21
Bingham Motor Inn & Sports Complex.............................................40 Bob Temple Well Drilling..................................................................18 Bob's Cash Fuel.................................................................................48 Brown's Construction........................................................................19
Buen Apetito Mexican Grill...............................................................24
C&S Market.........................................................................................7
Capital Area Tree Service....................................................................8
Carrabassett Valley Antigravity & Recreation Center......................46
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Clark Auto Parts................................................................................48 Collins Enterprises.............................................................................31 Colonial Valley Motel........................................................................31 Comfort Inn Civic Center...................................................................21
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Lizotte Construction.........................................................................28 LP Poirier & Son Inc., Excavation.....................................................17
Luce's Meats & Maple......................................................................39
Macomber, Farr & Whitten Insurance................................................8
Maine Association of Retirees..........................................................22
Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife....................................10
Maine Family Federal Credit Union...................................................18
Maine Historical Society.....................................................................4
Maine Pellet Sales LLC.......................................................................6
Mainely Puppies Plus, LLC.................................................................5
Maine’s Northwestern Mountains....................................................35
Mainiac Ink Screenprinting..............................................................33
Maple Valley Pharms.......................................................................25
McAllister Accounting and Tax Services...........................................43
McNaughton Construction...............................................................26
Ming Lee Chinese Restaurant...........................................................24
Monkitree Art, Craft, Design.............................................................22
Moose River Lodge & Motel............................................................41
Moosehead Motorsports..................................................................42
Mountain Valley Variety...................................................................28
Mount Blue Motel............................................................................31
Naples Packing Co., Inc. ...................................................................43 Niedner's
