Radio Script #1215

Little Talks on Common Things
November 4,1979

On this program I like to remind listeners fairly frequently of what Waterville was like in the days gone by. For today’s broadcast I chose the year 1891, a year that has special significance for me, because it was the year in which I was born. Although I never saw Waterville until a September day in 1909, when I stepped off the train to become a freshman at Colby College, I have been a resident of the city for 56 years, because it was ten years after my 1913 college graduation, when in 1923 I became a member of the Colby faculty. In fact, during those 56 years of residence, I have lived in the same house on Winter Street for 48 years. So, while I claim the little town of Bridgton, over in Cumberland County as my birthplace, it is Waterville that has been my home for well more than half a century.

Some of the names to which I shall now refer are, I realize, unfamiliar to many of our citizens now of middle age, but I am sure our older residents remember them well. So let me tell you where some Waterville people lived in 1891.

Amos Abbott, overseer for the Lockwood Mills lived at 58 Elm Street. The elder Willard B. Arnold had his home at 30 Silver Street, near its junction with Spring Street, close to where the studio of Radio Station WTVL is now situated. His son Fred Arnold, who succeeded him as proprietor of the Arnold Hardware. Co. was then a young man living at 53 Elm Street. Through much of the 19th century, the Bates family, long well known at Ten Lots, was also prominent in Waterville. Horatio Bates, cashier of the Merchants National Bank, lived at 63 Silver Street, directly opposite the William Redington house that is now the museum of the Waterville Historical Society. Colby Blaisdell who in his last years lived in the Winter Street house that I now occupy, then cultivated a farm on the Webb Road. The Waterville Mail strongly Republican, then had a rival in the Waterville Democrat, whose fiery, explosive editor Benjamin Bunker lived at 63 Pleasant Street. Leonard Carver, a lawyer who was also at one time the State Librarian, and who had married Colby’s first woman graduate, Mary Low, had his house at 5 School Street.

A prominent Pleasant Street resident was the head of the Waterville Savings Bank, Everett Drummond, whose fine home boasted a stately white fence. On the same side of Pleasant Street, not far from Drummond, lived William B. Dunn. That big white house was later the residence of Herbert C. Libby, Colby professor and Waterville mayor, who married Dunn’s daughter. Everett Drummond’s son, Albert F. Drummond, who succeeded his father as head of the Savings Bank, was then only three years out of Colby College and was newly married. He and his gracious wife, Josephine Prince Drummond,
then lived at 57 Elm Street.

Another of the Dunn family that did so much for Waterville by bringing the Lockwood Mills to the community was R. Wesley Dunn, who had built his home at 28 College Avenue, about directly opposite the more famous number 33 where lived several successive presidents of Colby.

Several years ago a number of broadcasts of this program were devoted to George S. Flood, founder of the Flood Fuel Company. In 1891 he had not built his new house on Upper Main Street, not far from the present Elm Plaza, but still lived in the house of Mrs. Helen Noyes near the corner of Elm and West Temple streets. He had gone to live there when Mr. Noyes hired him to work for the Androscoggin and Kennebec R.R. directly after Flood’s graduation from Colby in 1860. Remaining unmarried all his life, he continued to reside in that big house until Mrs. Noyes’ death. George Flood’s brother Charles lived at his home on Morrill Avenue. He was the father of the well known monologuist and drama instructor, Miss Exerene Flood, whose portrait done by a famous New York artist, hangs in the Waterville Public Library.

The Foster family was well known. Moses Foster lived on Park Place, near the Baptist Church, and Reuben Foster lived on Park Street itself. One of the Foster girls married Dr. J. F. Hill, respected promoter of many local projects and father of two of Waterville’s nationally known physicians, Doctors Frederick T. and Howard F. Hill. Dr. J. F. himself lived on Main
Street, near the corner of Getchell.

Another Pleasant Street resident, neighbor of the Drummonds and the Dunns was Charles F. Johnson. who later became a United States Senator.

By 1891 the Knauff family was well established in Waterville. Christian Knauff lived at 27 Pleasant Street, and August Knauff on Dalton Street at the corner of Nudd. Of the pioneer Mathews family, Charles K. lived at 37 Silver Street, while John, father of the later high school principal Norman Mathews, operated a farm on School Street.

Of the Meader family. Nathaniel lived in the big house on Silver Street that is now the convent home of a Catholic Sisterhood. Ora Meader. laundryman, then lived at 20 Center Street. He had not yet built his home on Nudd Street. where during her teens lived his daughter, New England’s radio personality, Marjorie Mills.

Late in the 18th century two Morrill brothers had bought a large part of the land on which is now the new campus of Colby College. In 1891 several of their descendants were still living in the area. Ephraim Morrill and his son Alonzo lived in houses not far apart, near where are now the Colby tennis courts, and Jediah Morrill had his home on the Oakland Road, now Kennedy Drive, near the old outlet of the Second Rangeway. Three Morrills – Josiah, Nathan and Winthrop – lived on the Neck Road, now more popularly known as the Rice’s Rips Road.

No relative of the Mayflower Hill Morrills, but a man of prominence in Waterville 90 yeara ago was Llewellyn Morrill, living at 5 Winter Street. He was the father of four daughters, three of whom never married, but were all beloved local teachers.

One surviving member of the Nudd family was still living, and he, Frederick, lived in the family home, the first house built on Nudd Street.

Of the pioneer family Penney, Everett and Charlotte, the widow of Moses, still lived on the Penney Farm on the Oakland Road.

Another Waterville banker, Homer Percival, lived at 48 Pleasant Street. Warren Philbrook, later the Justice of the Maine Supreme Court, then lived at 47 Pleasant Street. He would later build a new house on Getchell Street.

Three of the eminent family of Plaisteds were then still in Waterville. Both Aaron and Appleton Plaisted lived on Appleton Street, and Philip was on Morrill Avenue.

At the corner of Appleton Street at 36 Front lived the Civil War veteran, Francis Heath, who with his brother William had recruited Waterville’s first company in that war. In the same house lived Francis’ son Edward. First occupied by the lawyer Solyman Heath, that Front Street house is still in the Heath family, now occupied by William Lawry, a descendant of Solyman Heath. Since 1891 the number has been changed to 60 Front Street.

Many Waterville people remember the photographer Sam Preble, who for more than 20 years took all group and individual pictures for the Colby Oracle. I recall that whenever Sam took a picture of a Colby fraternity group, he always asked, “Where’s the old he one?” Sam meant the elected head of the fraternity, whom Sam then seated in the center of the front row. In 1891 Sam lived right on Main Street at No. 66.

Only a few years earlier, Horace Purinton, the contractor, had built his new home on Pleasant Street. It is now the Sheldon Apartments.

In 1891 one of Waterville’s earliest families, the Redingtons, were well represented. Frank, Charles, Annie and Helen all lived at 16 Sherwin Street, and nearby at No.8 was Harriet. Sophia was at 38 Pleasant Street. Two of the Wares, wealthy land owners and lumber operators, were then in Waterville. George was at 6 Elm Street, and Harry had a new home on Silver Street at the corner of Redington. On Winter Street, where is now my own home, some of the 1891 residents were Charlotte Bessey, a music,teacher; Arthur Kennison, the Lockwood paymaster; Dr. George Howard and his niece Harriet Parmenter, George Reynolds, James Spaulding, Horace Stevens, Ann West, Lincoln Owen and Amos Purinton.

In 1891 the Colby faculty was much smaller than now. In 1979 the faculty have homes allover Northern Kennebec and Southern Kennebec counties, thinking nothing of commuting twenty miles from home to the Colby campus. In 1891 they all lived not far from the college. William Bayley, distinguished geologist, had his home at 19 College Avenue. William Elder, a chemist, was at 58 Elm Street. Edward Hall, the librarian, was at 159 Main Street. Shailer Mathews, Professor of History, lived at 19 College Avenue, and John B. Foster. Professor of Greek, was at No. 12. George Dana Boardman Pepper, distinguished clergyman and former President of Colby was at 40 Pleasant Street. Arthur Roberts, who had graduated from the college only the year before and was already on the faculty, lived on Silver Street near Spring. Thirteen years later he would become President of the college. Laban Warren, the professor of Mathematics was another College Avenue resident, at No. 25. Julian Taylor, Professor of Latin, had just built his new home near the railroad track at 37 College Avenue.

Now what about the Waterville schools in 1891. Principal of the high school was Lincoln Owen. Under him were only four teachers, quite different in number from the high school staff today. Those assistants were all women: Minnie Smith, Harriet Parmenter, Hortense Low and Florence Drummond.

Both North and South Grammar schools were then new buildings. Carrie Fuller was principal at the North school, Elizabeth Hodgdon at the South. Best remembered of teachers in these schools was Cora Lincoln at North Grammar.

The College Avenue School, long ago closed but still standing as an apartment house opposite a nursing home on upper College Avenue, was then very active. The old Western Avenue School, then called the Mill Street School, was presided over by Adelaide Soule. There was then only one school on Water Street, called the Plains School. There were also three one room schools in Waterville: The Webb Road School taught by Clara Morrill, the Neck Road taught by Sadie Morrell, and the Oakland Street School under Hannah Powell. Miss Powell later became a Universalist minister and missionary. After her retirement she lived at Waterville’s Sunset Home.

As for business in Waterville 88 years ago, the ads in the City Directory of 1891 are revealing. The Merchants National Bank, long since defunct, had John Ware as President, and H. D. Bates as Cashier. Its capital stock was $100,000, and in 1891 it had an audited surplus of $40,000. John Ware, the president of that bank, operated a brokerage business in the bank building, and he also sold fire insurance.

H. R. Dunham was then the junior partner in the firm of Dolloff and Dunham. They advertised Gents’ Furnishings, Hats and Capes, at 40 Main Street. That, of course, was the origin of the present widely known merchants of quality clothing, the H. R. Dunham Company.

At 126 Main Street, Edgar Fox sold pianos, organs and sewing machines.

Do you remember the old household medicine, Brown’s Instant Relief? Its label said, “For internal and external use. Nature’s remedy for man and beast. Instantly relieving coughs, colds, burns, neuralgia, toothache, and rheumatism.” You could buy that at Dorr’s Drug Store in 1891. Dorr also advertised colored tissue paper and Japanese paper napkins.

Indeed Waterville was quite a place in 1891, the year when I first came on this exciting scene.

Year: 1979