Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-10-20
ARO0sF00k- 81.
Story Of The Plantations
Which iRs HefsalitR to like Prosper
Gus Toms.


4 Long CiTcait ia Merriam ARoosloek.
BY Hoo. Edward wisEia-
cost gueus to the more shiekls settled
toxrs in Nerttera AroesEeok are numerous
a-f.aiiy ss:gtei iowrs SHES GA which are
found many large ard seli cultivated farms
viii. comfortable snd eomaodioas buildings
occupied by prosperous AMI intelligent cifi-
zsns. These settlements sefe for the most
part sEase a. the lime v hen the lant WAS the
pfcpefsy OF tie State and could be obtained
BY sexual settlers aron cay tsrms. The
fact tina; the STATE has parted with its Inter
est in these tosns aa4 that thsy are now the
properly OF xsasihy land owners who hold
them for the PURPOSE Of collecting stump
sge from the timber. aad xh3 IN NEST cases
discourage ssrfleme nj Of the lands, has had
a tend, rs 70 yetari IN great measure tie
De- I'm nj Of many pcr isns OF Aioos'ook
county. IN another Vsrg important way
this - STEM Of prcp'ietosship also works
sgaiasI the beat in;srests OF the County as
til. lsndo Sisers are Esos. persissept opp
% n.s Of the epsrisg OF new roics across
thfir IaEas- 10 raNy p.aess IN the County
outlying settlements could be connected
i'm business esnters BY shorter roads and
Ike,e roads would be built were Il not for
the dc;gEniac. opposition Of the land pro
Irletore. The thoIt line from Caribou eta
New Sweden and the lakes to Fer Kent is
road which was long needed and which
after a long coLtiaued contest With the pro-
pristers vas finally laid ont snd built by the
1 County Commi-si3ners.
Tn. rosrisUIs If The towIs crossed BY
this road sre still fighting i In the courts
upon alleged technical errurs on the pars Of
/ the commissioners and il Is still a
question as 10 whether i. will Re Dc
clarsd a legal county road. Though these
proprietoss have an uadoubted right to
thsir lands, having acquired them by actual
purchase ON tie state. i: is no less fact
tina. the mistak n policy which Iromp.ed
| tbs S. to seH the soil in all these unim-
| prov Il tss nsAiy3 nas nos. unfortunate and
| .iisA4;.ol3. -. iaaproyemel.s made BY the
| dax Z settlers " no made their homes on any
one OF these towns while the land was the
property Of the State. are worth many
| Zines more to the State than all it received
| from the sale of the entire township, and
| had the State retained the soil for sale TO
actual settlers these dozens might have
beea multiplied tenfoid in many eases.
| Directly ives, Of the town of Ashland lies
Township No. Eleven, Range 6, now,
/ known e4
| Garfield Plantation.
| The Arocs.ook river rams for come dis
lance very near the west line of Ashland
1 leaving a marrow strip of fertile land in that
town between the Aroostook river and the
H.. l. lar haa hAl
attached to the farms of the latter town and
/ for agricultural purposes is virtually part
of Garfield, the farmer Only being reminded
| that part Of his farm is in Ashland by
the visit Of the tax collector of that enter
/ prising town. From Clayton's mill in Ash
| land the road enters Garfield and continues
| in sou,herly direction for nearly mile,
when it branches and enc roai runs alorg
near the town line for a considerable dis
lance and then re-cnters Ashland and con-
tnues oa the west bank of the Aroostook
through that town and a portion Of Masar-
dis The Other branch runs up over 3
beautiful ridge through the young neighbor-
hood AMI cont nues on AS winter road
away into the wilderness about the Big Ma
cbias river.
Pioneers of the Plantation.
In ls1S James AID Robert Mccain came
to Ashland to assist in building the mill on
the Big Mschias, now known as the Clay
ton mill The mil was located near the
town line and the land where they settled
was in Township No. Eleven, Il, 6. Low
Garfield Plantation. Robert McCann was
an adopted son of Dennis Fairbanks. the
pioneer settler of PiesQue Isle. When
Young man Rooert and three other men
] - IL
chinery from Ola Town up the Penobscot to
| its upper waters, hauled across the port
age" to the Aroostook, then boated down
I the Atoostook to the mouth of Presque Isle
stream and poled up ihst stream TO the site
of the village of Presque Isle. This was
the machinery used 10 the mill built by
Fairbanks at thai place and Robert Nc Cam
assisted in bulldog this mill. He also built
the house "a the farm now owned by
/ Henry Piersoa. something over mile east
of PresGue ls'e village. He cleared up
part of the farm now owned by Mr.. Charles
/ Clayton in Garfield where he remained uG-
iii about twenty years ago when he removed
\ to Minnesota where he afterwards died. In
4 lsif Mr.. Isaac Hacker built mill on the
I Big Nachias river in Garfield, about mile
! from the west line of tine town. This mil
/ was burned about 1850 snd was never re-
built. About 1874 John Eastman came
from Princeton add settled near where the
road nov brsrches off to The Young neigh
l horhood. His son David Eastman nov lives
upon the farm. A year Ia er Mr.. John Young
came from New Brunswick and settled on
the ridge vest of Eastman, where his sons
John and Argus Young row live. No other
settlers cane 10 the town for a number of
year. though some chorp'ngs were made
and abandoned.
The next settler who came wai Calvin
Shur;l, n OF New Hampshire, who came
about ls50 ani settled short distance be-
You'd Mr. Yong whefc h. ! we'd until his
desth som, thirg tvsr twJ years ago. Dan
lei Coop r. who formerly drove the stage
from rattcn TO Ashland, came about III,
ssmr time ard 81 tiled nesr Shurt'eff He
afterwards sold To Geprg' Alien who liv-d
on the lot some tel yeais aud sold t, VIII
bur Bsrglett Ailca crossed the liver to
Ashland TO corciu 10 the sale of the farm
ard having cempie,el the writings and re
oeived his money STAT ID in a bsa, to cross
the Mschias TO hi, home 1t vas in time
of n high spring fiesh.t and his boat wss
overturned and he was drowned Several
weeks afterwards his body WAS found by
some bows tishtng at the mouth of Gardaer
Creek near Wsshburl. The money was
still in MS pocket whea the body was r1-
covered.
Amorg the her settlers were Ne Il
Stewart who ctne from Prince Eiward's
Island ahous 1853 ard settled near Mr..
Eastmaas where he has inside good farm.
George Anderson who came the same " AT
; AID settled on the lot where Edwin Bar lett
nlw lives and Allen MtQ1a'r!e who came
fem Neya Scctis in 1861 snd settled
rear the Allen farm where he sill
lives About 1869, NJ. Theodore d.
! Foster bought tracs Of land lying along
the Aroostock river, partly in Garfield and
! partly In A.hlsnd. Mr.. Foster formerly
I lived on the farm now owned by Mr.. Henry
| Dunn on the west side of the Aroos.o k
river in Ashland. He was for many yeus
! en- ,loyed as = scalsr in the woods by Mr..
: f. s. Coe Of Bangor and ether land PRO
| prietors. Havi removed to his new pur-
\ chase. which at the time was in its wilder
| ress state, Mr. Foster went 10 work to cles'
up y large farm and hes row an extensive
/, breadth under cultivation. His farm con
: sists of 400 acres cf excellent isni viii
!, 100 acres cltar d. lie cuts over fifty tons
: of hay AMI raises large crops of grsin AID
!, potatoes. His stock consists Of twenty
! head of cattle, ten horses and coils and
n twenty sheep lie bas q large la r
: with bssemeet and a supply of ru' ming
!, water in the barnard Mr. Foster k ep,
| q correct system of farm sccounts and ear
tell at the end Of each yer the fasnca
|, results of his farm operations. he faru
of NJ. Angus Young is STUFFED u OF
= beautiful ridge of land from which fin'
- view is had of Ashlaad vii sge ard ths
! lsr4