The Republican journal., 1881-10-06

Houlton, situated on the banks of the MeduXen
keag river, is in its geographical location one of
the most eastern Of American towns, but for push
and enterprise it is one of tho most western.
| Twice within few years it has been terribly
smitten by fire. but with an heroic courage it has
| twice been rebuilt and much improved The old
stores consumed by fire have given place to large
business blocks which for size and elegance would
do credit to any town in the State Those not
| burned have been enlarged TO accommodate the
increasing trade. The streets filled with teams
stores are crowded with customers, and the hustle
and rush Of traffic is seen and heard on every hand
Many new dwelling houses have been erected
| within few years, and there is probably other
town in the State that can boast of aR equal num-
| Der of beautiful mansions. Prominent among
| these we noticed the beautiful homestead Of the
| late Hon }. 6. Madgan. The hotels are large and
| well patronized, We found rest and refreshment
at the Exchange, and the long list of arrivals upon
the hotel register would gladden. the heart of any
landlord in Maine. Two weekly papers, the Times
| and Pioneer, are published in town, and l under
stand that both are well patronzed The academy
large three stored building, under the super
| vision Of Prof. knowlton, is in prosperous con
| ultIou, anu 10 uO!Ds great SOou III tIle count!
There are seven churches in town, but if the mum
Der could be reduced to three 1t would at least be
| better for the survivors. As it is some are dead
| others dying, while the remainder are enjoy
ing rapid growth. 1t may be an Illustration of
the doctrine Of the Survival of the tittest"
There nearly of lawyers in the vii
lage, and twenty physicians are practicng here.
and yet, strange to relate, Uoulton is peaeeable
| and healthy community. Court in session,
Judge Virgin presiding - within the bar many
countenanccs familiar years ago-a great lumber
case, involving many thousands of dollars, was in
| progress. The opposing counsel were G. P, Stet
| son, of Bangor and l.. Powers Of Houlton. As
| we listened for moment were reminded Of the
| old quotation. "Whun Greek met Greek then came
| the tug OF var"
uoulton has a magnificent water power and IN
@ hasty walk along the banks Of the river We saw
| tAat many manufactures had been erected within
few years Among them were woolen factory.
starch factory, steam and shngle mills, grist
mills, machine shops carriage factories, while the
| Shaw Bros have large bark extract works, built
upon the hill near the railroad depot,
| This is also famous farming town and is the
commercial centre of as fine All agricultural region
as eau be found in New England We rode through
the towns of Houton, IIodgdon, Liuncus, oakteld,
| Dyer Brook smyrna Ludlow, New Limerick Lit
teton and Monticello and were more firmly con
vined than ever before of the fact that Aroostook
county is destined to be the great agricultural ter
utory Of Maine. No other county in the State can
| successfully compete with it, The land i'll many
places is rocky and broken, but in all sections the
soil is very fertile and produces the most abundant
crops. Within a few years the people lave turned
their attention from the lumber business to farm
| ing, and already a marvellous change is apparent
Great farms have been cleared, new farm buildings
erected, and large crops Of wheat oats, rye, bar
| ley, buckwheat and potatoes are annually raised
Many farmers keep large dairies and send butter
and cheese to the Bangor and Boston markets
Many cheese factories have been erected and near
y all are doing thriving business. Bee culture
is becoming quite an item Of business With its
noble herds of COWS and nnumcrabe hives Of
bees, Aroostook is il reality a land flowing with
milk and honey Agriculture in the county is
only in its infancy The people are only beginning
to discover the vast wealth SO long concealed in
their fertile acres. Thousands of acres remain
uncultivated, stretching out over swales and ridges
covered with d magnificent growth Of maple, birch
and beech The land Is waiting tor the hand of
Industry to unlock the treasure doors and possess
the immense wealth. And it does not wait in vain
The human tides to a small degree are surgns in
this direction, and Aroostook is becoming the pill
srims Mecca. Many Of the young men of west
orn Maine and from other New England States
have bought lanjs in the .lroostook in preference
to the west, and 50 far as we could learn have
never regretted their choice Hundreds of people
from the adjacent provinces are annually settling
in this county, and help swell its rapidly ncreas
ing population
The inhabitants are awake and in earnest. Town
and county roads are being pushed with great
energy through the forests thus connecting settle
ments and towns with each other, and the air is
filled with rumors Of coming railroads
The Aroosook trade is prize for which cities
and corporations on both sides OF the boundary
lire are striving Thus tar it would seem that our
provincial cousins have won and this immense
traffic has been coaxed down to the seaport towns
Of New Brunswick, But the natural outlet is
through the valleys of the AIattawamkeag and
Penobscot, and if Bangor and the Maine Central
railroad is wise, the steel rails will soon connect
the lumber city with the upper Aroostook 1t Is
to be hoped that the young mon Of Maine will
make a tour through this famous region before
turning their face to the west
In making the tour OF towns mentioned above,
we visited the eanp meeting at Hodgdon, the
church dedication at Houltou the homes of Old
friends, and the cemeteries where loged ones are
buried The circle of visitation has been com
peted, and here We are IN Houltou again waiting
tor the nine O'Clock train TO bear us away to home
and friends We stand upon the hill that over
looks the village The sun throws its golden ligh,
upon the domes and spires The flags from the
public buildings arc lylug at hal. mast. The rush
and roar Of traffic is heard in the distance. cur
mind goes back over quarter of ID century when
a harefooted boy we walked the streets Of Houl
ton but now how changed 1t is 10 longer little
hamlet unknown to the outside world, The Old
barracks and 1a- staff on the hill are no longer
standing Like majority OF the soldiers who
were quartercd there they have crumhed to dust.
The great loreSts which then crowned its hills
have given place to beautiful fields The little
stores and dwellings, have vanished. and before us
lies great village, a centre of culture wealth On
terprise and commercial Importance. And yet 1t
is only the beginning Of the successful career
Houlton is destined to enjoy.
The bell rings, and with many WISHES for the
welfare OF our native town, step on board the
cars and turn our faces to the west. h.
-n=--.----x=.-.-z--z-
Wise Words.