History Of Dexter
Prepared by
Miss Ella J. Mower
and the Pupils of Her School
Gazette Book and Job Print
1908
History of
Dexter
--
The tract of land now occupied by the town of
Dexter was, until the year 1792, the home and hunting grounds of the Red Man
and had never until then been looked upon by the eyes of the white man. At that
time Mr. Ballard and Mr. Weston of Hallowell were hired by the
The township now called Dexter was
designated on this plan as No. 4 in §th
Range. Two years after this
In the summer of 1800 Ebenezer Small, who
the year before had come from New Hampshire to Athens, came to the township, guided
by spotted trees, felled the trees on a patch of land on the hillside and built
a rude cabin near where Crosby & Crosby's office now stands and then went
back to Athens and spent the winter there with his family.
That same year John Tucker came to the
township and made a clearing where the Marble farm is now located and then
returned to his home.
Samuel Elkins was sent here also by Mr. Cragie, who was then the owner of the township, for the
purpose of finding a suitable place to build mills that the township might be
more desirable for settlement. He selected the outlet of the pond, near where
Abbott's mill is now located, cut down the trees, cleared away the underbrush,
built a camp of hemlock bark, hewed the timber for the
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mill frame and then
returned to his home in Cornville where he soon died. A short time after this
his brother came, completed the mill and set it in operation. From this time
until its incorporation the township was called Elkinstown.
The next spring Ebenezer Small returned to
the township on the crust, hauling Mrs. Small and a few necessary household
goods on a handsled, and
occupied the cabin he had built the summer before.
This was the first permanent settlement in the town of
In 1802 a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs.
Small, the first white child born in Dexter. Her name was Johannah.
In the fall of that year Mr. Small built a more comfortable log cabin on
One day when Mr. Small was away working
Mrs. Small visited her husband's bear traps on the south shore of the pond and
finding a bear in one of them killed him with an ax with which she was armed,
dragged the carcass home, dressed it and cooked some of the tenderesi
portions for Mr. Small's supper.
This same year Mr. Tucker returned to the
township with his family.
In 1803 Seba
French, William Mitchell and John Safford settled in the Barton district. Mr. hrench, for several weeks after
coming, slept on a sled.
In 1804 the first framed house was built on
what is now
It was this same year that the few settlers
were visited by sickness and death. Two of Mr. Small's children and one of Mr.
Tucker's died within two hours. They were buried in Mr. Tucker's field which
was afterwards set apart for a burial place. Their rude head stones can now be
seen, although the burial took place 104 years ago.
A few years later Andrew Morse built a
carding mill on Mr. Elkin's water privilege and Mr. J. C. Hill a fulling
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mill. This mill was afterward made into a shoe
factory and then into a planing mill and later sold
to Eldridge Bros, whoare the present owners.
In 1811 the L of the Flynt
house was built and is said to be the oldest building in town although some
claim that the Bates' house is the oldest.
On June 17, 1816 the town was incorporated
under the name of Dexter, the name being selected in honor of Samuel Dexter, a
well-known and respected lawyer of
In 1817 Jonathan Farrar came here from
Bloomfield, as Skowhegan was then called, and purchased the first sawmill that
was built, also the grist and carding mills, and a large tract of land now
occupied by the village north of Liberty street, and east of the stream and
pond. He opened a store in what is now the Flynt
house. In 1818 the postoffice was established and kept by him in his
store.
He continued to do business at this place
until 1835, when he in company with Oram McCrillis (C. P. McCrillis'
uncle), built the store now occupied by KimbalPs
variety store and moved his business to that place.
Mr. Farrar built the canal and in 1818
built the grist mill which after many improvements, is now run by S. L. Small.
In 1820 Jeremiah and Amos Abbott came here
on foot from
In 1828 Mr. Farrar erected the tannery on
Tannery or what is now called
Several years ago, this property was
purchased by
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John
Morrison who erected a woolen mill on the site of the old tannery.
The same year in which Mr. Farrar built the
tannery, Lysander Cutler came here from
In 1834 he and Mr. Farrar erected a woolen
mill where the Dunbarton now stands,
which was destroyed by fire in 1844 and replaced the same year by two-story
stone structure which gave it the title of stone mill.
The Abbott Brothers had previously built a
grist mill where the white mill now stands. This, in about the year 1846, was
purchased by Farrar and Cutler and remodeled into a woolen mill afterward known
as the white mill. At this time Calvin Copeland built a woolen mill where Fay
& Scott's machine shop now stands, which was afterward destroyed by fire.
In 1849 the brick mill was built by Foss and Conant.
SCHOOLS
--
In 1807 the first schoolhouse was built in
the district where Mr. Mitchell, Mr. French and Mr. Safford settled. In 1822 a
schoolhouse was built in the village, a little south of
About the year 1825 or 26 Rev. Samuel Baker
opened a boarding school in a two-story building located on the land between
the house of W. H. Carr and that of Elias Mower. Boys and girls were admitted
without tuition or pay for board; the boys being required to pay their way by
working on the farm connected with the school, and the
girls by doing the housework and such sewing as could be obtained for them.
This school was run for only three or four years, when the building was burned
and it is said that a sick man in the upper story, perished in the flames.
In
1835 a large school building was erected on
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the second floor served both for the High
school and town meetings.
The last town meeting held in this building
was in March, 1856. About 300 citizens had collected there, and in the midst of
the proceedings of the meeting, without warning, the floor began to settle and
before any one could escape, it went down,—or about three-quarters of it,—
carrying with it a large portion of the people present. When the weight of the
heavy flooring struck the floor below that also gave way and the men with all
the debris were carried to the cellar.
The noise of the crash was heard by many
throughout the village, and it was not long before the news of the catastrophe
spread broadcast. Though there were some quite seriously injured, it was a
marvel that there were not more, and that none were killed. As I remember, the
most seriously hurt were two men named Jethro Goodwin
and Eben Wyman, the latter being a brother of Nathan
Wyman, who, I think, was moderator of the meeting. At any rate he was on the
platform, and by his coolness and advice, those left upon the portion of the
floor which did not go down, were kept from being panic-stricken. Mr. Goodwin
had the misfortune to come against the stove, which was a big cylinder affair,
and very hot at the time.
Boys were not supposed to be in the
meeting, except on business, and the only business there for boys, in those
days, was the selling of pop corn, molasses candy or apples. Charles Bryant was
always on hand as a vender of apples, his father owning a large orchard in the
vicinity of where Charles Roberts' house now stands.
Charley went down with the rest, and upon
crawling out was heard to say, "Oh, where are my apples?"
The loss of the building for school
purposes somewhat upset the school affairs for a time; but other places were
provided as best could be for the time. I recollect going to school in the
little vestry underneath the Baptist church, but do not remember where others
were located.
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The following fall was the time of the
presidential election when James Buchanan was elected, and the voting was done
in the Methodist church. Some of the other churches were brought into use for
campaign purposes. I recollect at one demonstration that the speaker stood in a
window of the Universalist church, while the audience was partly inside and
partly out.
The relics of this old
school building were bought by Amos Abbott & Co., and is now used by
them for offices, etc. The exterior is very like it used to be, but the belfry
has been removed.
The present Town hall was then built and a
new High school building on
The grading of the village schools was
introduced by Lysander Cutler who took a deep interest in educational matters.
The first town meeting was held in the schoolhouse
first built. This was held August, 1816. At this meeting the amount raised for
the support of schools was $150 and in 1820, $400 was raised for this purpose
and $100 for defraying town charges.
FACTS
OF INTEREST
--
In 1803 the township was surveyed into lots
by Simeon Safford and in 1807 a post road was opened between Dexter and
Very soon after a post road was opened
between
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vice and the same can be said of the line
established between Dexter and Skowhegan.
Early in the 30's John Favor purchased a
modern
Early in the 40's a stage line was
established between
In 1820 Dexter had a population of 500.
Many clearings had been made and
Soon after this a Mr. Smith established a
ferry across the pond where the bridge now is. In 1824 the float bridge was
built.
THE
--
The present bridge across the Wassookeag, at Dexter, is sometimes referred to as the
"float bridge, but it is as far as possible from that, with its thousands
of tons of stone extending from its surface to a point below the ow-water
mark; and not only that, but many tons deposited within the wooden portion of
the structure below, placed there to destroy its tendency to float during its
construction.
The appellation, "float bridge,"
has come down from the time when the real float bridge was there, some over
forty years ago.
This old bridge served a great many years—I
cannot say how many—but I remember very distinctly how it looked, its peculiar
features that rendered it a source of fear to strange horses, and the time when
it was mysteriously put "out of commission."
It was constructed of logs, heavy timber
and planks, and was secured to the abutments at either shore, with
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self-adjusting inclines of about thirty-five feet, leading
from the road level of these abutments down to the float, or bridge proper.
The lower ends of these inclines rested on
the float, and were so arranged that they allowed the bridge to rise and fall
with the varying height of the water in the lake.
At the foot of the inclines, where they
rested upon the float, there was at times a space of about twenty-five feet
covered with water, caused, no doubt, by the weight of the inclines upon the
ends of the float.
Strange horses used often to balk, and
require time to examine the situation, and not infrequently a good deal of
coaxing, before they would venture down into the water, especially when the
high waves were dashing across the space.
The adjustable arrangement, which allowed
the bridge to rise and fall, also allowed the ends of the float to sink still
lower when heavy teams passed over them, so that in turn the strange driver got
something of a fright, as well as the horse; and it was wise for drivers of
heavy teams to go over this space as quickly as possible, to avoid going in too
deeply.
I recollect one time when there was a
circus coming to town from Parkman, the usual interest we boys took in going
out to meet the aggregation was augmented by a desire to see how the heavy
teams and the elephants would succeed in crossing. The circus trains had
usually come by the way of the
Well, there was a great delegation out to
escort the show into town, and some of the boys had been boys a long time
before.
Some one had given the circus a tip regarding
the bridge, so that they were very cautious, allowing only one team to go on at
a time; but even then some of them were in pretty deeply and got the inside of
some of the cages washed out.
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The elephants were taken around the head of
the lake, and not given an opportunity of passing judgment on the bridge. No
doubt the proprietors of the circus knew pretty well what the verdict of the
elephants would have been had they taken a look at it.
The old bridge was a favorite fishing place
"just as the sun went down." It was something peculiar, and a fact
that has never been explained, that the pickerel would bite only about
sun-down, and then only at certain points, just where the water deepened from
the shore. Every summer evening there would be a delegation of fishermen at
each end of the bridge, and many good-sized pickerel were caught, and many much
larger got off the hook, after coming to the surface long enough to furnish
foundation for a good "fish story."
The time came when the bridge got to be
expensive from constant repairs, and the question of a new one was agitated.
There was no question as to the need of a
new bridge, but there was quite a diversity of opinion as to what kind of a
structure would be best; and the discussion at the annual town meeting brought
forth many suggestions. Some advocated the idea of building across at the
narrows north of the island, where it was thought the fake would be shallow
enough to admit of building piers.
At an annual town meeting, Thomas Rogers, a
millwright and withal a genius, presented a plan showing a model which he had
constructed and setting forth its advantages. This model, as I remember it, was
about three or four feet in length, representing the full length of the
proposed bridge.
The townspeople had great faith in Mr.
Rogers' scheme, and at once adopted his idea as to construction.
The following fall, some of the people in
the north part of the town felt some uneasiness for fear the construction of the
new bridge might be unduly delayed; but whether from this or some other reason,
the writer cannot say,—
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But one morning it
was found that the old bridge had been disconnected at the north shore, and it
was impossible for teams to pass over. A footwalk was
made from the abutment, and the bridge made suitable for foot passengers; but
for weeks the people had to hitch their horses to fences and trees along the
road at the north shore, and walk into town and back, conveying their produce
and merchandise as best they could.
As soon as the lake was sufficiently frozen
over to admit of driving teams upon it, the building of the present bridge was
begun.
Below the low water line, it is constructed
of logs, alternately laid lengthwise and crosswise, and pinned together, and
above that line all stone, as can be seen.
In building, the work was begun where the
water was deepest, some over 40 feet, and so shaped to the bottom of the lake,
the form of which was found by careful sounding. At times, during the
construction, it was necessary to load it with stone, in order to sink it at a
proper level to prosecute the work.
The old bridge was floated down, to the
outlet, and much of it used in the construction of a building, used by
"Ed" Fifield as a paint shop, and the
platform around it.
It was located where the carriage
repository of Mr. Fish stood later, and from the shape and dimensions I am
inclined to think it is the same building that is standing there today.
REMINISCENT.
RAILROADS
The R. R. between Dexter and
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ing
the debt. In 1890 this road was put through to Foxcroft.
CHURCHES
The first church edifice in town was that
built by the Universalists in 1829 on a lot given them by Jonathan Farrar.
In 1834 the Methodists and Baptists built a
Union church, which soon after became the property of the Methodists.
The Baptist church was erected in 1839 and
in 1846 the Congregationalist chapel was built.
PHYSICIANS
Benjamin Clement was the first physician to
come to Dexter. He came in 1816. Two years later Dr. G. M. Burleigh came and
was one of the prominent citizens at that time.
HOTELS
In 1820 the first hotel was opened by
Benjamin Green on the site where Charles Hutchinson's residence is located. It
was called Green's inn. Four years later John Bates opened a public house on
Main strest, a little below Hutchinson & Gates'
furniture store. This building is still standing. Ten years later Mr. Davis
opened a hotel on
The Exchange was built by Loring Hayes in 1866, the land being purchased of Augustus
French who kept a dry goods store where E. G. Ayer is now located.
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NEWSPAPERS
The first newspaper was published here in
about the year 1850 and was called the "Isonomy." This was 5x6
inches, four page paper and was published by Elder
Witherell. He later published "The Gem." In about the year 1862
the Gazette was published.
A sheet called "The Neighbor" was
issued bi-monthly sometime between 1850 and '52 published by "Black and
White." Four to six copies were issued in manuscript, and addressed by
mail to the business men on the street, each issue to different ones. The
publishers (W. G. Cutler and C. W. Curtis) were careful not to be known as
such. This sheet continued about three months. A little before its discontinuance another
sheet was issued of a similar character, named "The Mince Pie," which
made but a few appearances. Not long after a third sheet appeared styled
"The Hornet," which had a short existence, its personals having too
sharp a sting for general approval. None of the authors of these papers were
generally known.