The Portland daily press., 1883-10-24
Houlton and It's Industries

While at Houlton visited some of its
industrial establishments. The first that we
entered was the wooden mill, employing
about twenty persons. The goods made in
it are not fine, but exactly adapted to the
needs of the people here, and they are very
good, as we'll as strong and durable. Cloths
for mems wear, including material for ex-
cellent shirts, suitable for this cold climate
and for working men; excellent articles in
their way. There is also finer cloth for
women's wear about house, safe against fire
as well as against cold. Blankets are also
made of quality every way suitable for this
market. The wool is not of the finest, but
it is good and is produced in this town and
vicinity, and the goods are all sold here.
The re: ult is that all the money expended
in this way remains in the village, and the
total product of the mill is so much added
to the wealth of the town, besides giving
profitable employment to many people.
The next establishment visited was a
great starch factory, which consumes 5000
bushels of potatoes day. The street near
the factory was blocked by large farm wag-
ons, each drawn by two good horses and
filled with barrels of potatoes, waiting its
turn to drive upon the platform scale with
in the establishment, to be weighed. 1t is
wonderful to see the immense quantity of
potatoes poured into the enormous "bins'
ready for the ''graters," into which they
run by gravitation. The graters are cylin-
ders of sheet iron, or steel, so punched full
of holes that the raised edges are very sharp.
These cylinders are four feet long and two
feet in diameter, revolving two hundred
times minute. The pulp of the tubes falls
upon screens of fine brass wire closely WOW
en-, which are necessarily and sharply shak-
en- from side to SIDE. Water pours freely in
small streams upon these screens, carrying
all the starch through them into conduit
below, while the refuse passes on to the end
and falls into another conduit, which leads
it into the stream below the dam, while the
starch passes into large receptacles, where it
is washed by violent agitation in abundant
water, which is drawn off after the starch
has settled to the bottom Men then enter
the reservoirs and shovel the snow-white
starch into baskets, and it is wheeled off in
to dry houses, where it is made ready for
the barrels in which it is sent off by mail to
market. 1t furnishes large part of the
"sizing" used in the manufacture of cotton
cloth.
The farmers have a sure and profitable
market at their doors for all the potatoes
they can produce, and the land here bears
large crops, paying well for the labor and
outlay. The whole of the money produced
by this industry remains in this town, adj
ding so much every year to the accumulat-
ing wealth of the people.
/ visited also the carriage and wagon fac
tory, and the plow factory and saw many
specimens of their work, which is of the
best and especially adapted fer the use of
this community. The wagons are employed
here in great numbers. l saw many of
them on the roads and in the village, drawn
by two horses, some of them by four horses,
loaded heavily with farm produce, going to
the starch factory or TO the railroad station.
The money paid for all these carriages and
wagons remains in the place, and contrib
utes to the wealth and comfort of the people.
Great quantities of the very best shingles
are produced here and go off by rail to Port
land, Boston and New York, the money
coming back into the pockets of the working
men, from whose labor all these things
come. 1t is all labor turned into cash, the
results of which are seen everywhere in and
about this beautiful and prosperous village,
in handsome houses and good barns nicely
painted and well kept, in we'll managed
farms, every year becoming better and more
valuable.
When was there ffty-seven years age,
I boarded with ''settler" some weeks in a
log house, one of the best of the kind, af-
fording in fact. snug quarters for the family,
when the ''best room" contained LOGGER.
The two sons of this pioneer are there today,
rich farmers, living in large. handsome
houses, with farm buildings OF the very best,
substantial and honored citizens. The
houses, barns and all the buildings are well
painted and in perfect order.
We visited the Garrison on. Garrison hill,
a reminder of the Madawaska War. From
the hill we had an extensive view of all the
country around for many miles, including
the village and part of New Brunswick,
two miles away. Upon the line is greg
counter and sfixings' In New Brunswick.
The Military road, running from Malta
wamkeag to Houlton, was built by the gen.
eral government for the accommodation of
the garrison, which was established here in