The Portland daily press., 1895-07-01
ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.l


the countryside for miles around of i'm
pending danger. Wednesday night the
sky will be illumined by two great bon
fires on David mountain and Rose Hill,
not, however, as omens of trouble, but
to let the country round about know the
city of spindles has begun her celebration
of the glorious Independence Day and her
own Tooth birthday. The occasion is a
great one in the history of prosperous
Maine city and the celebration will be a
big one of the old fashioned kind, with
modern Improvements and additions.
There will be the firemen 1000 strong
and their machines from all over Maine.
That is an orthodox feature of the old
time celebration of Independence Day.
A gathering of hundreds of bicyclists
with their silent steeds is a modern at
traction and good one. Fifteen compa-
MES of Maine militia will be in line when
the forenoon parade starts. After them
will march the thousand uniformed fire
fighters, then in glittering array will be
seen the First Regiment of Cantons of
Patriarchs Militant and behind them the
other uniformed orders of Lewiston and
Auburn. Ten elaborate floats will carry
the tableaux illustrating the growth and
prosperity of the city and these tableaux
will be beautiful pictures in which sturdy
young men and attractive maidens will
be pleasing figures. But, perhaps, a still
better showing of Lewiston S prosperity
and business will be the long array of
decorated teams representing the manu-
featuring industries and business houses.
The hope of future progress will be typi-
fled in the division of half thousand
school children, who will march in the
parade And the long column will move
tary bands. Col. A. B. Nealey is the
chief marshal and Col. Philbrook of the
Second Regiment of the National Guard
commands the military
In the days of our grandfathers, Inde-
pendence Day was not allowed to pass
without the oration, which was some
times eloquent and always long. Sena-
ernor Garcelon and Mayor Noble, who
will speak on City Park at noon, are
likely to make their remarks SO interest
ing that no one will begrudge the time
spent in listening to them. The Lew
iston Brigade Band and chorus of 200
school children will help stimulate the
patriotism of the crowd by rendering
national airs Later in the day, patrio-
tism will be aroused to a still higher
notch by the exhibition of the national
game to be given by the Lewistons and
Portlands The firemen will have
an old fashioned muster with trials of
the masheens" for cash prizes; the
militia will turn out for dress parade
and finally in the evening there will be
a dicnlau of fITpyynrkC whom
lent of $1,000 will be seen in flame and
stars. All the events are scheduled to
come off as follows:
9 a. m.-Bicycle races, athletic sports,
band concerts.
10 a. m.-The great parade.
80 p. m;-Speaking and music at
City Hall Park.
200 D. m.-Firemen's muster.
80 p. m.-The national game.
4.30 p m.-Dress parade of the Nation
al Guard
S0Op m-Display of fireworks.
OF course the small boy will do his own
celebrating with torpedoes and his faith
er will shut up shop and take day off.
Notices printed beneath q picture of a
cannon apparently aimed at an Ameri-
can flag, have already appeared in the
windows of many store announcing
that the place will be closed all day
The city will be gaily decorated and that
trade and patriotism go hand in hand
here as elsewhere is shown by the placard
in the show window of a dry goods store
stating that there can be found more
anywhere else. The work Of adorning
the city building with strings of little
flags, punches of bunting described as
"glories'' probably because they are far
from being glorious, and streamers of
red, white and blue bunting has already
begun. The sidewalk committee is very
busy in consequence, experimenting the
work which seems to meet their unquali-
fed approval
Lewiston has a right to celebrate her
centennial for 100 years ago where the
city now stands there were only few
scattered houses and log cabins. 1t
has been century of progress and Won
derful changes 1t was in 1868 that a
grant of land was made by the proprie-
and Jonathan Bagley. This grant in
cluded the territory around Twenty
mile falls" on the Androscoggin and was
made upon the condition that fifty fami-
lies should settle on it by June, 1774,
their houses to be at least ''16 by 20 and
seven foot stud. :" Paul sHildreth was
the first to arrive. He came in ITO and
If Paul could have been told of the
great Continental mill which century
later would stand within stones throw
of his humble dwelling, he would very
likely have thought his Informant stark,
staring mad Hildreth's cabin was
burned in the fall of ITO, but he built
another and lived long enough in Lew
iston to see it become a prosperous town.
He moved away in 1890 and died in Gar
diner ten years later. Lawrence J. Har-
ris, who came from Dracut, Mass, in
1771 built the first saw mill. Israel Her
rick, who arrived in 1774, was man of
prominence in the early days of the
town. His son, John, in 1900 built the
"Herrick house, long pointed to as
one of the old land marks hereabouts.
Jesse Wright, another of the early settlers,
owned land, the deed of which was ac-
knowledged before Stephen Longfellow
in Portland. The names of others of the
early settlers are still borne by citizens
of Lewiston, many of whom are promi-
nent in its affairs There were Amos
Davis, Jacob Barker, James Garcelon,
who came from Freeport in 1776, Ebenez-
pr Ham Henry and William Garvi1la