Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-07-07
For the Ellsworth American. |
Trenton 1852 to 1900.
No. 16.
THE FIRST SAW MILL on UNIo

| 'N'"' ~ 'e q hlpoteu question When autt
where the fEst saw mill was built on Union
river To antquarians and those interest
| ed in the matter we will call their alten.
| tion to a few facts some Of which have
already been noticed In these communica-
tons and which will throw some strong
| ight upon the question, We say facts,
because we believe the ancient papers from
| which we gather most Of them are worthy
OF hellef and that there can be no "conjeC-
| ture or guess work about them.
| 1t is conceded by all who have written
| upon the subject so far a. we have been
able to learn, that Benz. Miliken built
the first saw-mill on Union River" and
that he made the first improvements,
but most of them speak of the mill as a
double ssw-Enll on the dam where Col.
Blacks mills are we'll known to have stood
t Tor many years, conveying the inference
thAt tins double saw mill was the irst that
was erected and put in operation on that
river.
Dr. Calvin Peck in lS3s, In an address
delivered in Ellsworth. said: "Au the
oiHeSt persons now ahye agree that Benz
Miliihen ami Thomas. his brother, we're
the tir.t persons to make improvements
They built double saw-min on the site
where COL Blacks mills now stand" We
quote from the Bangor historical Yiy.i.
-ine Of 1890, Nos. /, . and g. page 20
Ellsworth aud Surry !" 1T is not easy
to locate the first mill on Union River-I
give the account As near As | can. Be0is-
min and Thomas Ml!iken built double
saw mill 1865 Gj on the site where Blacks
mill stood 10 l>6j Another ac.
count say, Samuel Millikrn am Others
built mill on Cards Brook IN l7G5 which
was known A. the Folly Mll"
Rural in one Of his interesting And
Instructive articles, published In the AMER
iCA\ IN lNsT. speaks Of a mill called the
Folly Mil and is the ONLY writer we have
reah who intlmates that the Rrst mill was
built In any other locality than where the
double saw mill was built before spoken
OF. In the same paper he writes in l>>,
was that Of Joseph Card. Wa- this the
Folly Mill built by Millken:"
hphraim Dyer in his deposition taken 10
te~t the title to township no. i d,po..s
Il also knew one Beui. Ml!liken. onr of
san Proprietors vino settled there think
IN the year 1865, for carried him down N
my vessel, being a sloop Of almost ID tun,.
with Thoma, Mlliken and abou, ,hir,y
men employed by said BENZ 1 Thomas
to build mill there. | carried down in
said vessel about four hundred pounds
worth of provisions 4 other stores. 4 I
am knowing to them building mill there
J'tSt tt'or the Fails 'Ion u ,trsa.. that rms
"H "f "td tot7Hshp No. l. INTO Union.
H'rer as helped them near fortnight.
3 staid with my vessel which thty made
n-e of y liye In until they got Il house
huilt. also carried two women do~n Id
the same vessel
Mr.. Dyer testiie~ that he think. the war
ne carried B"ul. M!bkcn and his thirty
men down Wa in I1G5 wa. ID not in
thiFty years after he had taken Mr. Mill
Ken aud h.s m,n down 10 erect this Mil,
lie may not have kept the exact date. and
IS not himself positive about the wear.
The proprictors Of Thorndike township
AT their meeting held Aug. /, 1864. a. the
house of Capt. Saml Skiliing, in Fal.
mouth, pa. ~ed the following vote VIZ
"A vOtel-That Heui. NiIIken n,svhova
Grant of any one Mil Priyil.oe IN s,i,I
Township Nj ID clear OF the is, Di,is
ion. VIZ. for one, Single saw Mn u.
50 sores " land adjoining nr,yjl,i H.,
build said MN, { tt her for service ,-gi e,
D aonths from this time f,ug i-c1
that the aforesaid committee rpn out .,i,I
Mil Privilege when they run out 1 mari
the l>t Division Of lot, aforesaid"
II the mill was not built within six
months the right to tn. prtyt,,.,. ,p,, I,.,
was forfeited. That further time wa. not
given and hat it was not necessary Ia
ask for it are evident from what follows
The committee were to run out the min 10,
'''''' N''' Ht' ~ hAtt ISt titN SION OF iiit-.
The records show that they run out the
lst division of lots in l76l. between SEPT.
2ud and Oct. - See Nathl Harmon, &C
count The record Of the same proprietor,'
meeting shows that Benz Milliken was one
Of the three committee men chosen 4, that
meeting to run out the lots, NathI .Jor-
dan ana Nath1 Harmon being the other
two, aud i, further esidence 10 prove the
eract year, Jonathan Millkeu in his depo-
>ition testtes-'t that he went down as one
If the proprietors to take possession of
rliorndlke township, that at which time
Mr.. Elias Banks, a surveyor, and com
mittee Of the proprietors, NathI Jordan
and Nsthl Harmon and Benz. N,Il{kyn.
were there making the first division az
lots aud that at tie same time Mr.. Beui.
Millihen who wa, also a proprie,or huiI. a
mill there and helped raise the .ama win
80 men, which he had there building .,i1
MILL Thi. was h.tw.en San. ood ana
Oct. 10Th l7Gl The lsrg. cr..y wor,,
upon the mill wouII ip.ure i,s rnmnl.,i,r
within that ycsr Tbi. opoh. , .o,,I, ,b..
wear the mill WAS erected # car,.iDly
corroborates your corre-n,,.d.,t ..p,r.l :