<\/p>\n
Among the many odd items that have come to my attention recently is the record book of a Waterville highway surveyor for the year 1850.<\/p>\n
Before towns elected one man to supervise the maintenance of all the town’s roads, it was the custom to divide every town into highway districts, much like we used to call neighborhoods. A resident of the district was elected annually to attend to its roads. Though these men did not necessarily know anything about surveying, and they seldom were able to use chain and sextant to lay out a new road, they were called highway surveyors, though what they actually did was supervise building and repair of roads and bridges.<\/p>\n
To each surveyor the town, at its annual town meeting, allotted an amount of money, proportioned among the districts according to road mileage. It was the surveyor’s duty to see that the allotted amount was first of all, collected from the property owners, whose names and ratings were handed him by the selectmen.<\/p>\n
In this particular instance the surveyor of one of Waterville’s districts was John Ramstad, and his instructions signed by Selectmen Samuel Appleton and Henry Saunders were as follows: “The following is a list of the persons and the sum set against each, amounting in the whole to $163.27, to be expended on labor and materials on the highways and bridge, within the limits assigned to you. You will see that this work is done before November 1, 1850.<\/p>\n
“You are to accept labor, equipment and materials in lieu of cash from any of those who so prefer, and by vote of the town you are to grant to those who pay in cash a discount of 25 percent. You are required to keep a daily account of all labor, equipment and materials furnished.<\/p>\n
“You will allow for a yoke of oxen ten cents an hour, for each horse five cents, for a plough 25 cents a day and for a cart 50 cents. For a man’s work you will allow ten cents an hour, or $1.00 for a ten hour day.”<\/p>\n
Ramstad, in the fall, submitted an account for every cent of the $163.27. In two instances he cut wages in a way that shows the low regard for the foreigner in our Maine towns in the middle of the 19th century. “One item read: “Paid Irishman 2 days work @ 75\u00a2 – $1.50.” The other said: “Paid Frenchman, 7 days shovelling snow at 3 shillings – $3.50. That was fifty cents a day. The year 1850 seems late for anything to be valued in shillings in a Maine town, but the old New England rate of six shillings to a dollar persisted well up to the Civil War. By 1850 few financial records recorded pounds, shillings, and pence, but like the late “two bits” in the west, the phrase “three shillings” for half a dollar lasted a long time.<\/p>\n
One of the men who paid Ramstad in cash was Alpheus Lyon, prominent among the founders of the Waterville Universalist Church. Another was Otis Dunbar, of a prominent pioneer family.<\/p>\n
So much for Waterville roads in 1850. Now let us move ahead 27 years and note a little folder called Waterville Business Guide for 1877. It is an 8-page folder only 4-1\/2 by 3 inches and despite its title on the first page, we surprisingly find on that page the only Waterville ad. All the other ads in the folder are devoted to merchants in Skowhegan. The single Waterville ad was by Lewis and Stevens: “Manufacturers of carved handles, shields, brackets, picture frames, cover leaves, and knick-knacks. Furniture repairing and jig sawing job work of all kinds done promptly and at reasonable rates. Next door to Carpenter’s Music Store, Main Street, Waterville.”<\/p>\n
Archer and Burgess, in what they said was the Skowhegan store formerly occupied by E. Staples, must have been in the jewelry business, but their ad gave primary attention to something else. It said: “General agent for Singer Sewing Machines. A large supply of needles and attachments always on hand.” Then in fine print was added: “We also have a large stock of watches, clocks, ear, jewels and pins, cuff buttons, shawl pins, shirt studs, finger rings, solid and plated silverware, gold pens and pencils, pocket knives, revolvers, notions and spectacles.”<\/p>\n
If you think that ad contained some odd combinations, listen to this one.<\/p>\n
“G. B. Fairgrieve, Water Street, Skowhegan. Choice fruit, confections, cigars and tobacco oysters and sardines.”<\/p>\n
Or take this one. “Woodman – Caskets and coffins, in rosewood, walnut, elm and pine, covered with broadcloth and velvet. Also drums, banjos and tambourines. Office desks, show cases and counters made to order. Over Burrill’s Store, Skowhegan.”<\/p>\n
With one ad Augusta got into the picture. William Wendenburg let people know “the best and surest remedy for coughs and throat trouble is the genuine Wendenburg’s Cough Syrup, manufactured and sold by William Wendenburg, Water Street, Augusta.”<\/p>\n
A part of one page of this little folder is devoted to time table of Maine Centrai trains in and out of Waterville, as well as mail arrivals and departure at the Waterville Post Office. There were two daily trains from Waterville to Portland via Augusta, and one via Lewiston. There were three trains to Bangor, the earliest at 3:35 a.m. More acceptable hours were 7:25 a.m. and 5:10 p.m. Two trains left daily for Skowhegan, at 7 a.m. and 5:12 p.m.<\/p>\n
The Post Office announcement said: “Portland, Boston arid the West: Arrive 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.; leave 9:05 a.m. and 8 p.m. Lewiston and Auburn, arrive 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., leave 9 :15 a.m., 8 p.m. Eastern mail, arrive 9 :30 a.m., leave 4:48 and 8 p.m. Skowhegan and north, 9:30 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. Fairfield Center, North Fairfield and Larone, 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.<\/p>\n
Another report I chanced upon recently was the Financial Condition of Kennebec County for 1946, 31 years ago and just one year after the ending of the Second World War. That year the County Commissioners were Harland Hussey of Windsor, Vinton Dunn of Augusta, and Elmer Keller of Hallowell. The Sheriff was Charles Watts of Augusta. He had more than 40 deputies scattered throughout the county, seven of them in Waterville. Well remembered among them are Ernest Bickford, James Colby, John Rowell and Ernest Stedman. The County Attorney was James Reid, the man who afterward had a distinguished career as a judge.<\/p>\n
In terms of valuation by county assessment, Augusta led with $15 million, but was closely followed by Waterville with $14 million. Winslow, despite the prosperous H & W mill, was down for only $4 million. Lowest in the county was Chelsea with $300,000.<\/p>\n
Some items in the list of expenditures seem today unusual. Court Chaplain $20, Ice for County Buildings $192, Posting Road Notices $30.<\/p>\n
By 1977 standards, salaries were low in 1946. The highest paid municipal court judges, A. A. Hebert at Augusta and Cyril M. Joly at Waterville, got $1,800 a year each. P. E. Lamb at Gardiner drew $1,200, while H. E. Fortin at Winthrop got only $600 a year. Each of the three County Commissioners was paid $1,000 a year. Highest pay went to the Judge of Probate, who received $3,000. The Register of Deeds got $2,200, as did also the Register of Probate, and the County Treasurer drew the princely salary of $2,000.<\/p>\n
Now let me tell you about a house said to have been built with the proceeds of gold salvaged from a Kennebec wreck. It was the old Getchell homestead at Getchell’s Corner in Vassalboro, built about 1785. And according to legend at least, this is what happened.<\/p>\n
When Benedict Arnold made his famous expedition up the Kennebec with an army of 1,100 men determined to capture the British stronghold at Quebec in 1775, his bateaux passed the little settlement at Getchell’s Corner. Opposite the town wharf one of the bateaux capsized, and it was one carrying several thousand dollars worth of gold coins, part of Arnold’s treasury, with which he was to purchase provisions and at the end of the march pay the soldiers. In the summer of 1776 three Getchell boys, by persistent diving in the shallow stream during the driest season, succeeded in salvaging many of the coins.<\/p>\n
The house built with the money was a large, square building with a long, attached ell. A walk of native flagston led to the massive front door that had a big brass knocker. Well into the twentieth century the house contained some of its original furniture, ancient candlesticks, a big brass warming pan, and corded beds. The door swung on L-H hinges of enormous size, the kind of hinges said to have been designed to keep the witches away. The huge beams in all the rooms were hand sawn. Floor boards were sometimes as wide as three feet. Telling about the old house in 1930, the Portland Press Herald said: “Hundreds of autoists pass the little village every day during the summer, but only a few realize the beauty and historical interest that are right on the road they traverse.”<\/p>\n
Before disastrous fires some forty to fifty years ago swept the community, Getchell’s Corner was a prosperous place. In the 18th century it had the Southwick Potash Kiln, the only such facility on the Kennebec north of Augusta. Near the little village were built river and coastal vessels including at least one ocean-going ship, John Lang’s Ocean Bird. When Maine became a state in 1820, Getchell’s Corner was larger than either North or East Vassalboro, and was the trading point of the town.<\/p>\n
And with that salute to a Kennebec village of long ago, we must say goodbye until next week.<\/p>\n
Year: 1977<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Read the script for “Little Talks” program #1134, Broadcast on October 9, 1977<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27136,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9731"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/405"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9731\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}