The Bourbon news., 1897-09-10
MOOSEHORN CORNER.
Its Unique GuidebOard from Which II
Got Its Name.

Got It's Name.
The guideboard which has stood at
MOosehorn Corner, Blanchard, Me-.
country crossroads for go years is
famous all over New England, and is
visited and admired by hundreds of
tourists every summer. Tho idea of
using the blades of moose antlers in.
stead of boards for telling the public
the names of and distances to nearby
places originated in the brain of Tom
Puffer. the giant blacksmith of Pisca-
taquis county, who owned a shop at
the corner now called Moosehorn. -
the center of four crossroads he put
down a stout post, upon which he
strapped the antlers of two gigantic
moose. one above the other, and placed
at right angles, so half an antler pointed
down every road. The name of the
town and it's distance were painted up
ON the antler blades, and for more than
quarter of a century the town OF
Blanchard had the most valuable guide
board in the union.
Blacksmith Puffer created his moose
horn guideboard 62 years ago this sum.
mer. After his death the boys took lib
critics with it. and finally succeeded in
shooting the upper set of antlers away.
The lower set is in place to-day. Upon
one blade, painted in rude letters. is
this inscriptions: 'Munson, 6 miles" "
On the opposite horn the reading is:
"Blueberry Plains, 21s miles" The
antlers measure 70 inches from tip to
tip, and the blades are eight inches
wide Old residents say that the upper
set, which the boys used for target,
was considerably larger, with much
wider blades.
Seventy-five years ago, when the re-
gion north of Dover was a wilderness
Puffer went there and put up a black
smith shop, getting his trade from the
outgoing and incoming woods teams
When he was not busy in his shop he
made long trips in the woods. One
spring, when he was cruising on the
north side of Bald mountain, which is
west of Moosehead lake, he came upon
clearing that was thickly strewn with
antlers of moose and caribou. They
were so plentiful that he said that he
could fill a long rack with them without
starting up his cart. He brought down
several boat loads to Blanchard and cut
them up for handles for hunting knives
which he forged in his shop. The wides
moose antlers he saved, hoping he would
be able to sell them. One set of moos,
horns, so tall that when set up on enc
man could walk under the arch with
out touching it, is believed to be The
| largest pair ever worn upon earth
Charles Dutton, an aged resident, whc
saw them when Puffer was alive, says
they were fully eight feet from tip tt
tip. If his estimate is correct, they
were larger than the horns of th'
| largest Irish elk that has been found.
Puffer soon found that it was easie1
to find moose horn than it was to sci
| them. He was getting old and rich, an(
a few years before he sold out his shoI
lhe put up the moose-horn guideboarC
which has made the corner famous
Two or three years before his death b.
moved to Exeter and made a will, leav
| ing his money to the town and request
| ing that the great antlers be placet
above his grave for a monument. Hi
| grave is now marked by marble slab
The town got the money and spent i
| for current expenses. Nobody know
where the moose antlers went. If any
body has them to-day he can sell then
for 50 ,0OO.-N. Y. Sun.