Daily Kennebec journal., 1890-03-22
AROOSTOOK mo. ~.
Historical and Business De.
Yelopment Of The County.
The Modern Parish.
Interesting Sketch Of the Town o.
Pfeseue Isle.
Fourth Letter by Hon. Edward wissin

Fourth Letter by Hon Edward wissi
We have thus far written of Aroostoo
as county ard have given something
its history, geography, geology and its Al
ricultural and Industrial resources in ger
eral.
We shall now commence 70 write mo,
particularly of the 10 sns and villages d
Aroostook and chow something OF the
development, Of the industries no
established aud Of the opportuni,ie
in extending those slready unde,
taken. We shall, also, carefully eXsmin
the present state of agriculture in esc
town and section and show what hss Tee
accomplished here in this direction in tn
comparatively few years since this fertil
region commenced to be reclaimed fror
the original forest.
II entering upon this part Of the work
we shall commence at home and devote tn
present article more particularly to the vii
lsge of Presque Isle, TO be follo.ed mex
week by description of the agriculture
| sections of the town. We have found tn.
work of gathering what might be called tn,
ancient annals Of the town. something Of ,
| task. as there are now but fe = who can tel
of these early events from personal recol
| lection and the memories of those old set
tiers sometimes vary as to certain particu
lars. BY careful comparison of the te sti
mony of each we have We think arrived Al
| the substantial facts in most instances We
| are encouraged 10 pursue this part of the
work, from the fact that these few
old veterans will soon pass away
and then the correct story of the settlement
and development of the county will be much
more difficult TO arrive at. And here VT
would recommend to those who are inter.
ested in preserving something of the history
of Aroostook to cut out these letters as the y
appear each week and paste them into a
scrap book and when completed We hope
they may make a volume of some value fol
future reference.
As near as we can determine, the first tree
was cut on the territory now included in the
village of Presque Isle by Dennis Fairbanks
about the year 1928. He commenced q
clearing on the bank of Presque Isle stream
near the present mill site and afterwards
obtained from the State grant of a mile
square of land on the line between Presque
Isle. then known as"F. Range 2" and &c
Range q afterwards Msysville. Veranes
Chandler came to Presque Isle in Septem
Der 1894. Story Hooper then lived in log
house near the mouth of Presque Isle stream
on 1.-THE point of what is now known as the
Parsons intervale. Mr.. Chandler and one
Silas Blodgett kept bachelors hall for some
time in log house on what is now the
Henry Persons farm, and in 1889 Mr.
Chandler married Elizabeth, daughter OF
Story Hooper, and commenced housekeep
ing. Quite number of settlers had BY thi.
time made homes and small clearngs on
the Aroostook river in Letter G OF
whom we shall speak more par
ticularly when we come to Maysville and
the other agricultural portions Of what i.
now included in the town of PresQue Isle
Mr.. Fairbanks had built small grist mill
with one run of stones, and saw mill OF
small capacity for saving the lumber need.
ed by the settlers in building. In the grist-
mill all varieties of grain raised were ground
in this one run Of stones, and it may be
easily conjectured that the -four from " which
these early pioneers made their bread was
not of the finest quality. To Mr. Fair
banks, however, does not belong the honor
of grinding the first flour in Presque Isle
for previous to the building of bis mill, Mr.
Joseph Ireland hal hand mill turned by q
crank, called by the settlers "IreIands cof
fee mil" nth which he ground ~hea. ID
other grain. As late as 1893, the road from
Houl.on was cut out no farther north than
1.-The creek in Monticello, nearly thirty
miles south of Presque Isle. All north Of
that point was a trackless wilderness, with
the exception of the lumber roads
used in the winters operations. In 1899,
the road was cut through by the State from
Monticello to Presq0e lie, and thence to
Ashland and Fort Kent The road from
the ArUostnok river 10 the 81 John river,
now the mail route from Pre.qie Ise ~
Van Buren,. was not cut TIN u IA urJil 1913
In 1910, Leonard Reed came duwnVith hls
family and goods on a raft fro VI ssfdis,
and built on the present site of he I'resQut
Isle Hotel, the house in which Mrs Man
son now lives. and there kept hotel His
principal customers were the lumbermen
going to the woods in the fall and return.
ing in the spring, and other temper try
sol burners con7ected with the numbering
operations. which then constituted the
chief business Of the county There wa,
at tho time no store in all this region. Mr.
Fairbanks kept litt e tea, tobacco, rum
etc at his mil. which he sold for pretty
round prices, aud xr. Story Hooper some
times kept few goods in his log house on
1.-The point" over in &c" Ia ls4l, Captain
Moses Rose, Bei j,min Whidden, Jane.
CiOudman and Emmons Whitcomb came in
and settled along the new road cut through
from Monticello to Pres9ue Isle. Mr.
Whitcomb settled on what is now the Cook
farm on the Houlton road some two miles
south OF the village. The first clergyman
who came to Presque Isle WAS Mr. Pingree,
a missionary of the Methodist Society
whose mission included Houlton. Patten
Masardis, Ashland, Pr, sque I.le, Maysvills
a ID Fort Fairfield This circuit the good
man made on foot through the forest
preaching at lumber camps AMI at the little
settlements. travelling many miles on snow
shoes in the winter months and suff -rins
many hardships He first came in 1885
AID remained upon the wilderness circui
two years. In ls42 the first mail came to
Presque Isle. 1t was brought on horse bach
from Houlton once q week Noah Chand
Ter, afterwards proprietor of the Line
store" at Houlton, was Presque Isles FRS
postmaster. Dennis Fairbanks, in l843
built the two story house, known as tbs
Sumner Whitney house. now standing op
posite the Herald building. About tbi
time Eleszer Packard bought out Reed
hotel and afterwards sold to Sumner vi hit
ney. He in turn sold to his brother
Jerry Whitney, who moved the OLE
house to its present site and built the hote
| that was consumed in the FIRE that swept tn.
village in 1884. Sumner Whitney after
ward bought the Fairbanks house and ther,
opened another hotel. The little vilIag'
now started was so near the line Of Mays
vile that its northern exten sion grew owe
the line and the first store established va
on the Maysville side Of the line In 1874.
or 43, Geo W. and William Toxle bull
and opened store near where Henry Dun
| now lives This ~e are informed vas thi
/ first store north Of HouIton, though pre-
vi0us to that time q few goods had bee
kept for sale in houses and ou. buildings
We have been unable to ix the date 0
building the frst schoolhouse in Presqu
Isle, but II vas What was known a. the re
schoolhouse On the Rscklife farm on wha
is now the Centre Line road. In ls49
store was built by Sumner Whitney on th
corner where Perry's Opera House o,
stands and was occupied BY d. & A. W
Dudley. By this time settlers had gradu
ally taken up farms in the vicinity Of tn
village and quite q little settle ment ha
been made. The next store built was vha
vas known as the Winslov Hall store
which vas built by DR. Edwin W. DiboIs
and occupied by Mr.. Hall and afterrard
by J. W. Hines. This store stood on xhi