Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-08-12

in a fine new 35-horse power touring
car which he has just bought. lie eoeS
first to Boston, then TO worcester
| Springfield and up the Connecticut val
lev through New Hampshire and YER
mont. and back home by way OF the
| White Mountains and western Maihe'
The tour will include. before II Is COM
pleted, 500 miles Mr.. Baxter was one
| of the first automobile enthusiasts III
Maine. and has owned many machines.
\ In fact. when he built his beautiful new
home upon College street In Bruhswick'
ii was joke among his friends that ne
| first built a great basement to store MS
automobiles in and then built the mousse
| above il as an incidental feature. MANY
motor vehicles of various types are
| stored there. and Mr.. Baxter ana MS
friends get a great deal Of enjoyment
out of them.
Hon Henry V. Poor Of Brookiine,
Mass, aged 81, who wrote the historical
address delivered at the Andover CEN
tennial, this week, is the Oldest living
graduate of Bowdoin College. he was
born in 1872 and graduated in the class
of '35. while Ex-Governor AlonZo Garce-
| lon Of lewiston who has often been re-
| ferred to of late az the oldest living
graduate. was born in 1913 and gradu-
| ated i'm IS3s MIR. Poor was born in An
dover and is the grandson OF Ezekiel
Merrill, who was the first settler OF the
| town i'm 1889. The old Merrill house is
| ft-a,l Of Arf a
| into IL palace of beauty by the hand of
| wealth. 1t is now the summer nome or
Mr.. Poor, who has spent fortune in
developing one of the finest country es-
tates in America. This gentleman is a
most remarkable character. lie IS now
almost 80 years Of age and still in full
possession OF all his mental faculties
and physical energies. The Oldest liv-
ing graduate of Bowdoin College, he is
| held in the highest regard by the alum
nj of that institution. He is the grand
son of the founder of the town and has
| inherited all the sturdy virtues or that
| hardy pioneer. When but young man
| Mr.. Poor left the parental roof for a
wider field of action and in after years
became recognized as one of the great
| business men Of the country. 1t was he
who founded Poor's Railroad Manual.
a standard work among the railroad
men of the country, and one of the most
profitable assets of its owner. today.
Accommodating large fortune in the
railway business, Mr.. Poor once again
turned his attention to the home of his
childhood in Andover. The estate had
always been held in the family and
| Mr.
it's renovation. He purchased all the
surrounding land that he could find for
sale and as this was mostly covered
with dense forest it gave him the
opportunity for designing and building
up one of the most beautiful and unique
country homes to be found in all this
broad land. The old house was first re-
modelled and improved by the expendi-
ture of many thousand dollars. Many
of the old-features were retained and
some of the rooms are kept in almost
their original condition. The old fire.
places, wainScottings and seven by nine
windows are yet here and present a
strange contrast to the oak carvings and
plate glass that perchance may be
found in an adjoining room. A large
museum hall has been added, and this
is filled with rare and costly relics from
the reign of Louis XIV and his success
sors upon the French throne. Costly
statues and Conservatives of marvel
Gus beauty are also here. and ripening
oranges may be seen by the side of ma
tive fruit. 1t is not, however. to the
beauty Of the buildings and immediate
grounds that this establishment owes
Its greatest charm, but il is to the mag
nificent park upon which the owner has
expenGed more than 100000 to beautify
and adorn. Here. upon his own private
grounds are more than 80 miles of roads
through the dense and shaded forests.
One portion of this park is intervale
land and it is here that the great elms
are found near the Ellis river that flows
through the estate. On the higher
ground are old-growth pine and oak.
and among these the roads wind i'm and
out in every directions Charming. is a
word that but family expresses this
place. 1t is beyond anything to be
found among the old halls and parts of
England because its natural advan-
tages are greater. 1t is a place Of
which any man might well feel proud.
Although a private ownership it is open
to the public at all times and the boys
of Andover Are free to use his boats
and swings whenever they choose to do
So. 1t is no wonder that such man is
popular. Here Mr.. Poor and his family
spend their summer months. His wife
at SO years of age is a wonderfully pre-
served woman and a rare lady of the
old school. With them are two daugh-
tiers. Mrs. Agnes Blake and Miss Lucy
c. Poor. Now and then comes another
daughter. Mrs. Alfred d. Chandler of
Boston, and their son, Henry V. Poor,
Jr.. who is one of the wealthiest bank
ers of New York. A wonderfully pre-
served man is the owner Of this estate.
1t is to his persistent efforts that the
centennial celebration Of this week
largely owes its success.