Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-10-06

/ ing, law-abiding. home-building men. The
| republic will never suffer 1etriment at ner
lands"
The historical sketch of Fairfield BY n.
w. Brainard, Esq, was a complete resume
of Fairfield events from earliest date TO the
present In describing the privations of the
original settlers the author said
The tract Of land comprising what is now
the town of Fairfield was settled previous 10
the year 1881. In the spring of that year
William Kendall and Peter Pushard, with
possibly few others were living here. In
that spring Eihu Bowerman (the name was
afterward changed TO Bowman), moved from
Falmouth, Mass, and with his wife and two
brothers, Harper and Zaccheus, settle d in
Fairfield on the farm where Abel Hoxie now
lives. His son, Alden Bowman, born in
1882 is without doubt, the first white child
born in Fairfield. Pictures of Elihu and
others to the 9Th generation are still pre-
served. In letter to John and Abigail
Nichols, written in ls4s, when he was about
80 years of age he tells his early experience
follows: When we got to Wateryille |
hired room for my wife, then | with my
brothers, went up TO Fairfield then a wilder
ness. When we got there We bad neither
bread, meat nor fish to live upon but what
We had to pay for in labor, and after paying
our fare we had only % cents in money left
In this situation we had a hard beginning.
That sRmmer we worked out two-thirds of
the time to pay for food, and the rest ef the
time we felled trees for ourselves and pre-
pared to build log house in the fall
and when fall came We built log
house and covered it with bark.
Here we had bark overhead and bark
underfoot for a floor, . and after we
got the log house a little fixed my wife
moved up. Then our house furniture was
all together and might easily have been
hauled on a hand-sled at four times.
Th. SUMMER we raised few potatoes on
Remington Hobbs farm and put them into
the cellar, where they all froze. At this
time we had got chimney in our log house,
a nd made it little comfortable. | soon met
man in Winslow that would let me have
corn and wait for his pay till next spring.
This corn with about % pounds of pork and
some smoked herrings with the frozen pota
toes were all the provisions we had for the
winter. And whilst this winter was passing
away, some time before sugar making COM
we hauled about 500 feet of boards |
four miles on our hand-sledS. We had no
nail to nail the floors that were often un-
even and tottering. | think we had not a
square OF Rlass III our lOg uOuse lOr Nv /
wears or over = For the first ten
our tea was boxberry tea, which we
drank without sweetening or milk.
This spring Q7S4) after sugar making was |
over, we got two cows. They ran in the |
woods. Then we had plenty of sugar, milk |
and butter, which added comfort to our |
hard fare. Our cows ran in the woods |
for years, and think | ran hun |
dreds of miles in the woods after cows, |
often without shoes on my feet"
At the Massachusetts state election in 1883 |
the year following that of the Incorporation |
of Fairfield, the town threw sixteen votes. |
There were in all probably 25 voters in
town, showing population in all of about |
$50 votes. At our last state election this /
town threw $50 votes, there being in town
over /, 900 voters and total population of |
3 800. At the state election in 1920 after /
we were separated from Massachusetts, |
the town threw 50 votes for William King |
our first governor, but for Hon. John Moore
for Senator there were thrown l57 and the /
combined vote for representative was l13, |
showing population of about 1000. This
had increasdd to over 2 900 in 1910 to 2,4S2 |
in 1850, 2,753 in 1860, 2,S99 in 1870 and TO
3 3,044 in 1880, while in 1890 We shall
expect to see the figures well up to 1000. |
Our greatest gain during the last fifty years
has been made since the last CENSUS.