The Portland daily press., 1896-06-06
MAKING THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOM.
What the Bangor s. Aroostook Railroad
Is Doing for the Big Northern County.

Volumes have been written about the
"B. & A."-the new and progressive
Bangor d Aroostook, and yet there is
always something more to say. The B.
& A. has been called ''the infant prodigy
OF American railroads." "a phenomenal
success the gameland route" etc., etc.,
and there is no exaggeration in these
descriptions. One doesn't have to exag-
gerate in order to make readable story
about this road. The truth is enough.
Proving the statement that there is al
ways something new to be said about the
3. & A. this brief article will have moth
ing about the big potato farms of Aroos-
took, or the great game country through
which the railroad passes, but will de-
scribe the latest branching out of the
b. d A. and the consequent rapid devel-
opment OF what was formerly almost a
complete wilderness.
This latest branching out of the 3. g.
A. is from Ashland Junction in Oakfield
to Ashland, a distance of 43 miles. 1t is
known as the Ashland branch, and was
completed on Jan. l, 1896. Since that
date the country traversed by the branch
has experienced a remarkable industrial
development. which is likely to continue
until thriving towns are built from the
rich resources of the region and fortunes
made for the men who have invested
their capital and devoted their energies
to the work.
There are on the new branch these sta
tons: Ashland Junction, Smyrna Mills,
| Weeksboro, st. Croix, Griswold, Masar-
dis, Squa Pan and Ashland. Every one
of these places has had boom since tie
branch was built. There were lumber
mills in this region before the railroad
came in, but all their product had to be
hauled long distance to the railroad,
and SO the business was limited in ex-
tent, while transportation expenses ate
up large part of the profits. Now, with
| cars running close to the saws, the old
mills have been enlarged and new ones
built, while many others are in process
of construction or are being projected.
At Oalztield, near Ashland junction,
Hackett & Foss, shook manufacturers,
are now furnishingithe B. 81 A with four
carloads of freight daily. At Smyrna
Mills, the lumber output has been largely
increased. At Weeksboro, Weeks Bros
are manufacturing great quantities of
shingles and have about 80 carloads piled
up in the mill yard ready for market. At
Ashland the Ketchum mills are saving
three carloads of lumber daily, and at
Masardis the Stinson mill is turning out
about the same amount.
| While the various mills at Ashland
| have been benefited by the new road, the
most important development is the cree
ton Of very large saw mill about mile
above the village, on the Aroostook river.
This mill will have both steam and water
power, and its production OF lumber will
| be immense.
All through the region traversed by
the Ashland branch, on the Aroostook
river and other streams, there are numer-
GUS valuable water power privileges,
most of them as yet undeveloped, and it
is only matter of few years when the
rich forests of the country, including
much cedar and big pine, will be turned
into the channels of commerce and made
to fatten the fortunes of the enterprising
pioneers who have followed the star of
progress up the B. & A.
LAURENCE T. SMYTH.