Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-01-08

lie honors. Only once was the town
meeting ever held at the Hook
For quarter of a century HALO
we'll struggled on in the wilderness,
gaining gradually in population and
prosperity in spite of the depression
of the long war for liberty and the
bad influence of it's internal strife.
The location of the kennebec bridge
at the Fort instead of at the Hook
was the climax Of the troubles be-
! tween the two villages and it was
evident there was no relief save in
a division of the town. The move
ment for division came from the
Fort and consequently was opposed
by the lower village. The petition
prevailed. however, with the Massa-
chusetts Legislature and on February
20. 1897, the Middle and North par
isheS of Hallowell were incorporated
| into a town by the name of Harring-
ton, the present city of Augusta. On
June 8, 1897, by act of the Legisla-
ture, on petition of the inhabitants.
the name of the new town was
changed to Augusta. According to
thorities the name Augusta was
probably taken from that of a more
, ancient Augusta, small fishing vii
lage at the head of the tide at Small
Point harbor which was settled in
1116 but wiped out a few years later
| by the Indians and never rebuilt.
| The new Augusta embraced about
two-thirds the limits of old Halo
we'll and over one-half the popula-
| ton and valuation. A year later the
| population was 1,140. Both towns
were benefited by the division. Au-
gusta, no longer embarrassed by
Hook opposition, began at once
many local improvements. Its de-
velopment, however, was slower and
along different lines than that of
Hallowell, which by virtue of it's
| location became after n few decades
the commercial metropolis of the
river
J When the two villages divided, the
name Harrington had been given the
new town at the suggestion of Amos
! Stoddard, the representative TO Leg
islature, in honor of Lord Harring-
ton, an English patriot and an hon
ored minister of George II. Just
why this name was so quickly
changed to the present name Au-
gusta is more or less vague. Tradi-
ton, however, says that inasmuch
rs migratory fish were then common
! for food and commerce at the old
| CushnOc rapids, the wits of dis
gruntled Hallowell graphically cor
| rupted the name of Harrington to
Herring-town which somewhat spoil
ed it for sentimental use and injured
the feelings of the citizens.
During the war of the Revolution
the town suffered much. It's growth
was retarded and well nigh sus-
pended. The Tory proprietors aban-
doned their estates and many fed
from the country. Most of the lead
ers of the Plymouth Colony were
Tories and their influence was bad.
The great land proprietor, Benjamin
Hallowell, for whom the town was
named, suffered the contiscation of
his abandoned estate within it for
his hostility to the patriot cause.
The same treatment befell Sylvester
Gardiner and William Vassal. whose
names were given respectively to the
southern and northern adjoining
towns.
The most obnoxious local Tory
was John Jones, WHO had built Il
mill on Bond Brook and who was a
surveyor. Several times he was i'm
prisoned and driven from town. At
ter the war he lived a quiet and
peaceful life which ended in 1882.
His grave is unmarked and forgot
ten in Mt. Vernon cemetery.
In 1875 the town formed a mill
tary company with William Howard,
son of Augustus first settler, as cap
tain. Later it sent number of men
into the Continental army, furnished
it's quota of provisions and struggled
as best it could to pay the enormous
taxes of the times. The town furn-
ished 16 men for the Inflated ex-
petition against Castine In lT9
which attempted to wrest that town
from the British.
The most memorable war incident
connected with the town in its early
history was the passage through it of
Gen. Benedict Arnold and his LOO
troops in September, 177o, on their
way to Quebec. This expedition
came in IL transports from New
buryport to Pittston, at which point
the troops were transferred to ba-
teaux and the ascent of the river
begun. The army remained en-