The Portland daily press., 1868-06-04
es'nss $500 per- a,,ns.n,, Ia, adrance.
Letter from skowhegan.
SKowHEGAN, June 3, 1868.
To the Editor of the Press:

To the Editor Of the Press;
A few days tarry in this village has confirm
Gu my first impressions in relation to the wa
'er power and the facilities for extending busi =
ness' continuous fall, for a mile or more,
over whlch passes the waters of the Kennebec,
fed by inexhaustible lakes, asking, in language
that cannot long be unheeded, to be permitted
to earn thousands year for the benefit of
those who may appropriate it to its legitimate
| use
Messrs. A. s. P. Coburn, the well known
milionaires, who reside in the village, are car
| rying on an extensive business in quiet way.
They own some twenty townships of timber
land, or about 100000 acres, from which the
lower Kennebec is supplied with logs sufficient
to keep its numerous mills employed during
the year. A large number of men and teams
are employed during the winter cutting timber
and getting it into the lakes and streams, to
be driven, IN early spring, to the places where
it may be wanted.
The Methodist society erected fine church
on the island last summer. The pulpit is now
occupied by Rev. Mr.. Allen, who resided three
years in your city and is now on his second
year here.
There are several very fine buildings in this
village the largest and most conspicuous Of
which is
coBURN BLOCK.
This block was named in honor of Messrs.
A. & p. Coburn, who are the largest owners.
1t is no feet long by 80 wide, extending
through from Water street to Elm street, of
modern architecture, with French roof On
the first floor are four stores extending the en-
tire width, fronting on both Water and Elm
streets, and two others of half the depth.
These stores are elegantly finished, comparing
favorably with the new stores erected in your
city. Over the stores is a beautiful hall, which
for size and convenience has no superior in
the State except your City Hall. The main
hall is 81 feet by 80, with gallery on three
sides and will accommodate, with good stowage
about 1000 persons. Over this is the Masonic
Hall, so feet by 80, with seven additional rooms
used for various purposes by the different
branches of this order. There is also an Odd
Fellows Hall, 46 feet by So, with three rooms,
"a banquet room 25 by 35-a library room of
the same size-the Young Mems Christian AS
sociation room 25 feet by 80, besides Select
mems room Office rooms, &C., all of which are
to be finished in the best style and some of
them to receive Schumacher's finishing touch.
The cost of the block will exceed $50 900. Mr..
L. Holt Of Bethel is the architect and builder;
he has superintended the building of some OF
the best houses in the country. / learn that
he has had an offer to superintend the build
ing of all the depots on the line of the Pacific
Railroad.
YANKEE PLUCK.
Mr. NJ. Willis came here from Nor Bridg-
water, last summer, and purchased an estab-
lshment that was built by the Excelsior man
ufacturing company. That business, failing
to be remunerative, was abandoned and the
property sold at auction. Mr.. Willis, being
stockholder in the company, and quite loser
thereby, came down and made an investment
of several thousand dollars, with the hope of
finding bis money where he lost it. The ma
chinery in the building was changed and
leased with power at very satisfactory rate.
In about six months after, the building and
machinery were destroyed by fire, together
with a machine shop in which he was largely
interested, by which he suffered loss of about
$4,000 with only S125O insurance. Within
little more than two months he had building
up 100 feet by 40, with four floors, and the ma
chinery in operation for grinding.
SLATE FOR PAINT.
1t has recently been discovered that slate
ground fine and bolted can be used in paints
so as to make great saving of lead. Mr.J.
w. Bailey has patent for a mixture in which
this slate is an important article, by which
paints can be made at much less than the pres
ent cost, and has contracted with Mr.. Willis to
grind 1000 tons year to be used in the paint
required at G. NJ. Bailey's Oil Cloth factory.
These paints are found to be as good in every
respect as if made of the usual proportion of
lead.
PLANNING MILL AND MACHINE SHOP.
A portion of Mr.. Willis's building is occu-
pied for planning machine, matching and
joining machine, circular saws and other ma
chinery used in a first-class mill of this de-
scripton. Mr. Willis is also one of the firm of
s. L. Gould, s. Co., who manufacture water
wheels and circular saw mills and do most of
the machine work for the mills in this vicinity.
They have also foundry where castings of
every kind required are made.
There are in this village several axe fac
tories, a skate factory, pump factory, -four
mill, sash and blind factory, bedstead factory
horse-rake factory, saw and shingle mill, shoe
and boot mandatory, Sc, of which 1 may
write more fully hereafter. G.