Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1893-10-05


Into the famous Aroostook county of
Maine, from Brownville, in Piscataqus
county, railroad which, in more than one
respect, is the most peculiar ever built, is
now being steadily pushed toward com
petion.
1t is the longest railroad ever projected
under one management in New England.
The potato may be said to be the leading
factor which led up to its construction,
though the spruce and hemlock log aided
somewhat. One-third Of il is through a
/ wilderness known only to the hunter,
trapper and woodsman. In its construc-
tion it is wholly modern.
1t is destined to open up fertile lands
i which can be made to support millions Of
! people 1t is hot competitor of, and has
/ hot enemy in, the greatest railroad in the
world, the Canadian Pacific; 1t has found
foes at home and In Wall street n New
/ York and State street in Boston, and has
found friends there, too; the great Ameri-
can express fights for it, aud invests al
\ most $3.50 900 in il, while the great Do
miuion express OF Canada Is its deadly
enemy; it holds as a secret from whence
comes S. 900 600 of the 81, 600 600 to be
used in its construction.
In It's building are found experts from
Canada. New Brunswick Illinois. Iowa.
Colorado and Central America, and for
more than year these men have been let
ting In the sunlight upon trackless forests
and great water powers. and have driven
the moose, caribou, deer and bear from
their longtime stamping ground.
Save those having an immediate interest
in 1t, this road is unknown to the world
+ Boston HeraH man recently traverscd
( Il, looked it over, interviewed its engl-
ncers, studied the country ard collec
general information regarding Il, aud this
j. what he says about il:
. 1t IS known as the Bangor Aroostook
railroad. 1t viii have for its main line a
rail- from Van Buren, through Houl.on,
Pre-que Isle and Caribou. distance Of
l'7.2 miles. with 4 branch TO Fort FaIt;lc 4
of IL miles and one to Ashland Of & 3
miles, a total Of 232 miles Thi, j. about
the distance between Boston and New
/ York. aud i greater mileage than the
combined mileage Of the original Boston s
Maine and Eastern roads between Boston
and Portland BIownyille &. about equal
distance between the east and west bound
aries of the state. and the fact that, com
menciug here.
232 MILES or ROAD
can be built In one direction. shows better
than anything else the Size Of the State
It j. INTENDED that over this road shall
come the product OF Aroostook county
This county which has never had 4 foot
of railroad save that own, 4 aud operated
by Canadians, IS Itself nearly as large A.
the State Of Massachusetts,. aud i ua-
doubtet'y the most fertile and prosperous
county east Of the Mississippi river
TO well understand the story Of most
remarkable railroad war. extending over
series Of years, and Of which the success
of the Bangor & Aroostook railroad IS the
history t. necessary. This county, way
up IN the northern region Of the State.
bounded on three sides by the provinces Of
New Brunswick ant. Quebec, had, in $50,
wilderness of wonderous sikc and beauty
and -on Of great richness 1t contained
then. and has now, an area If G. 500 square
miles. That year its population was 3, 900.
or about one person to TWO square miles.
In 1870, 1900; Ia $50, 1900; in 1850,
% 900 ; in 1870. % 900; in l>sO. Il 600; in
1890 so 900, and has now about &C. 900
The estates il 1850 had a valuation Of
ST 600 900 and In 1890 $40, ,OGQ 600, and
this increase came almost wholly from the
potato hills. from the sheep pens and cattle
pastures. As yet there are but sixty-seyen
to@ns and plantations. the largest hayin.
but population of 5 900, leaving more than
1000 -quare miles still wilderness, wait
ing, with it. wealth Of water power timber
and soil, the coming Of the pioneer
\ The rivers s.. John, st. Crolx, Aroos-
took, east branch of The Penobscot and
Mattawamkeag, threat portions of its
territory there are more than . 1000 lakes,
ponds, streams and brooks having trout
and salmon life, though no one ever
caught pickerel in Aroostook, and in
\ the woods can be found all the big game
| indigenous 10 Maine, even to the beaver
I More than 100 moose have been killed in
/ one winter in the last decade In Aroostook.
4 by the Canadian Indians, for the hides for
snow shoes and the shanks for boots,
\ The soil is dark loom without rocks.
and as soon as the stumps and roots are
out is easily titled by machinery. Hardly
is there a household in Massachusetts,
that is not each year made familiar with
some OF the crop of Aroostook, for with
its potato crop alone Aroostook feeds
millions.
Aroostook has been greatly retarded in
her growth by the need of railroad, and
| more than once has been wronged by
scheming men. Once there was state aid
and American capital to~ build the line in
to her territory; much of her timber land
was given as subsidy, but that road was
diverted to run down into the lower
British provinces. 1t was called the
European & North American railway, and
when President Grant came Down East
and blessed it he blessed concern that
was destined to grind for years The
HARDY ARoosTooK PIONEERS,
and eventually go into hopeless bankruptcy
and into the hands of receiver, later to
be rescued from its own rust by the Maine
| Central, " hich leased it.
The European ran away from Aroos-
took county after barely touching its
southern border, to Vanceboro. Here it
met foreign road, the New Brunswick,
which had line north on English soil,
parallel with the eastern boundary line of
Aroostook. This road ran nywhere from
two to ten miles from Maine soil up to
Edmunston, which is north of Maine, and
at two points on Canada soil, was gracious
enough to run branches into Maine. One
was at Debec, and here there was rickety
rail to Houlton, six miles, and at Aroos-
took Junction it put in rail to Fort Fair