The Republican journal., 1906-09-13
BUCkSPORT, Tilt HISTORIC.

pioneers from Haverhill, Mass, among
whom was Col, Jonathan Buck. who
surveyed the land for the toWn' the
first actual settler being Joseph uross.
1t was fitting honor to Col: Buck that
the town was called Buckstown when
Incorporated in 1892, changed to BUCKS
port in 1S17-for business nad revived
after the war of 1912 ana So lMPoltanS
had the town become IN sniPpiug anu
shipbuilding, that the latter name was
the more appropriate. ~ tha1 yeal.
also, the town was maue -" poi' VI
entry by the United States.
The town next to Searsport has been
more celebrated as a ship ouildlng
place than any other town IN Maine IN
the earlier years, although in later
years it has been surpassed by Bath
and some other places in this respect.
The first vessel ever built on the Pc
nobscot was launched here in 1779:
She was a sloop Of about go tons and
named Hannah. The last was the
Roosevelt, now carrying the gallant
Peary and his hardy crew somewhere
amid the ice-bound regions OF the
north in search of the elusive pole.
While speaking of ships we may as
we'll say that the regular passenger
trains on the Bucksport branch OF the
Maine Central railroad commenced
running December Il, 1874. 1t Is date
some one may be glad to know.
During the Revolution the town SUI
fered the loss Of nearly all its !nhaol-
tants, most of the buildings having
been burned four years after the pat
tie Of Bunker Hill 1t was rebuilt
after the close of the war and the IN
habitants enjoyed great wave OF pros.
perity. The British took possession OF
the town in 1914 and held 1t until the
close of the war;
Bucksport has always been noCed Ioi
its interest in education. Inc hfsC
school was kept in a log cabin IN 1857
and in 1904 the first schoolhouse was
built on the land that is now the lawn
connected with the residence OF Mrs:
Barnard. In the year of 1907 social
library was established which was Kept
up almost without interruption until
the books were moved into the beautl-
full little Buck Memorial library, which
is one of the architectural gems OF the
town. The East Maine Conference
Seminary is one of the early education
al institutions of the Methodist denom-
ination, the present buildings, so beau
tifully located, dating from 1851.
To see the beauties of Bucksport one
must ride through its picturesque hill
side streets and from some of the high
points of land back from the river,
through the vistas of its tree-embow-
cred landscape obtain views OF the
winding Penobscot with the famous
old Fort Knox opposite, which, quite
useless as a modern defense, is inter
esting as memory of the past. Such
views we obtained during ride in
which our guide pointed out many OF
the beautiful old houses Of the earlier
families, some of which have been re.
built but many:of.-which remain much
as in the days of their former owners.
Among these are the residences of
Hon. Parker Spotford; George Blod-
gett, proprietor of the morocco tan
merry, which gives employment to some
60 men; Mr. Bradley; W. H. Gardner;
r. S. CHM; Maj. John A. Darling; the
old three story colonial mansion OF
Mrs. Swasey and several others. We
also noticed the several churches, the
Spofford school building, and the new
and beautiful chapel O. the Congrega-
tionaI society, of which church and par
ish Mr. Gardner has long been an Off
cial member. In the course of our
drive about the village we saw the orig
inal homestead of the Buck family, and
in front of it, on the opposite side of
the street, a vacant lot of land on which
is standing the old building III which
Richard p. Buck went to school when
a boy, which he said should never be
torn down and which he left in trust
to be forever preserved by the town.
We also visited the cemetery OF the
Buck family and copied the following
inscriptions from the monument OF the
first Mr.. Buck: "Col. Jonathan Buck:
The Founder of Bucksport, A. D. 1862;
Born in Haverhill, Mass, TIA; Died
March Is, 1896"
There many things of personal inter
est in this town. Here is the famous
old Robinson House, now kept by P.
H. Wardwell, a very noted hotel, for
many years kept by the late Mr.. Moses,
whose son is the we'll known florist at
Bar Harbor, and whose daughter is the
wife of Mr. Charles G. Atkins, the as
sistant fish commissioner in charge OF
the government fish hatchery at Green
lake in Orland. On the old Pond place,
near the Robinson house, is beauti-
full cut leaved maple, of which Mr.. At
kins planted the seed on the farm OF
his former home in Kennebec county
and which he brought here and trans
planted SO years ago.-Turf, Farm and
Home.