|
The Bethel Journals |
|
Bethel Maine History August 29, 2010 Now in its fifth year |
|
Bethel Maine History -1886 to 1968 The Bethel Journals is a local history website of the Bethel, Maine area that includes Newry, Gilead, Albany, Hastings, Mason, Locke’s Mills, Wilson’s Mills and the Androscoggin River valley in Western Maine. Follow development of life in the Bethel area from 1886 onwards. A “Journal” is a one year summary of news. See the Index below for profiles of people, places and events. (This is an on-going project.) Questions? Click Contact Me and email your question or comment.
|
|
The Bethel Journals are compiled by Donald G. Bennett P.O. Box 763 Bethel, Maine 04217 207-824-2094
|
|
Bethel—A Millennium Community |
|
A Prescott steam car at Poplar Tavern in 1905 |
|
William Rogers Chapman—1907
|
|
Sunday River Cemetery—Newry |
|
Androscoggin River bridge—1869 to 1927 |
|
The Bethel Journals - news and history Donald G. Bennett PO Box 763 Bethel, Maine 04217 |
|
History News People Places Events
|
|
Bethel Chair Factory December 24, 1886 “The steam was put on the boiler of the chair factory for the first time last Tuesday and everything worked like a charm even if the concern did cost the town of Bethel $8,000. “
October 18, 1944 a fire started in the boiler room destroyed the mill.
|
|
A Brief History of Sunday River — A look at the history of the Sunday River valley—Riley, Newry and Bethel—from hardy settlers to summer vacationers, skiers and the valley of second homes. Read The Boarders ; Locke Mt House and Farm for Sale, 1914
|
|
Bethel Water Co 1889 to 1968—In 1890 Chapman Brook on the side of Barker Mountain became the Bethel village water supply after an amazing year of engineering, pipe laying and investment by its founding members. |
|
Gould Academy - 1835—Bethel’s new academy held classes in the village pub/wayside inn until its first school was built—a one room affair. Read more about Daniel Gould, William Bingham II Gym and see how the main academic building looked in 1929—the 1881 school building with a facelift. |
|
The Bethel Fair— 1891-1934 Every fall, many towns put on large agricultural fairs—local people went to fairs in Andover, South Paris, Lewiston and to the State Fair but not until 1890 and 1891 did Bethel have its own full blown fair and harness racing. |
|
1962 Bethel Citizen
ci |
|
Bethel’s Corn Canning Factory - established in 1880 by Wolff & Reessing, New York importers, primarily interested in sardine canning, sweet corn canning brought a measurable economic benefit as a co-op industry for Bethel area farmers. In 1886, farmers contracted with the company’s agent to plant 225 acres for canning. |
|
1880-1889 Bethel’s corn canning factory ran seasonally on the former Eber Clough property by the upper Mill Brook dam. |
|
1887 —Bethel adopts town school system to replace district schools, notable citizens Dr. N.T. True and Rev. David Garland die. |
|
1888 —Corn canning down 75%; Dr. John Gehring marries Marian True Farnsworth; Wild River mill destroyed by fire; public water source explored. |
|
1889 Vote: town to build new corn factory; vote: Bethel to build a lock-up; chair factory rented Rialto Hall; steam boat Rumford to Bethel. Incorporation: Water Company and Bethel Village; Wyman brothers, Millbridge, Maine, A.S. Bean, J.A. Thurston, J.W. Bennett. |
|
1890 Public water in Bethel; corn factory moved; Wild River Lumber Co. formed; Bethel 1890 census: 2,209. John G. Gehring, Horatio Upton critical school system report |
|
1891 Bethel Fair inaugurated; American Bobbin, Spool and Shuttle Co; Cole Block built; Riverside Trotting Track; Garland Memorial Chapel |
|
1892 County Seat will move; Rumford Falls booms; new Bethel creamery; vote by Australian ballot, Pinckney Burnham died; Timothy A. Chapman of Milwaukee died; Cole Hall dedicated |
|
1893 Vote to approve new location and to build new county buildings; Cole Block for sale; new brick school house approved. |
|
In South Paris corner stone laid for new county buildings and courthouse – weekly newspaper Bethel News debuts— Poplar Tavern expands |
|
—A major flood - Bethel celebrates 100th— fire destroys Dr. N.T. True house - Gehrings build new home. |
|
Bowler buys Bethel News; all eyes on Maine Music Festival; West Bethel Union Church dedicated. |
|
George Thompson writes a letter to Bethel’s future citizens telling them how it was living in 1931 Bethel. |
|
Bethel Citizen, Bethel News—1895 (1895-1969) Bethel Inn Opens President John G Gehring, William Bingham and William Upson new owners—new inn replaced Prospect Hotel-burned in 1911 Brooks Bros Oil Prices—current prices for heating oil and kerosene. |
|
Cemeteries Riverside Cemetery ; Sunday River Cemetery Mt Will Cemetery ; Grover Hill Cemetery The Citizen—Bethel News 100 years Bethel News—Bethel Citizen Citizen—End of the Letterpress
|
|
1989 - Times are changing Through most of its history, Bethel's economic base has been farming, wood products and lumbering, and recreation and tourism. Over the years farming has significantly declined and the wood products and lumbering industry has somewhat declined but is presently holding its own. However, the recreation, tourism, and service industries and the educational sectors of our economy have made tremendous gains and we are rapidly becoming dependent on them as the mainstay of the area's economy.
|
|
Special Features—1880’s to 1968 |
|
Index to The Bethel Journals |
|
Railroad Story Bethel, Gilead, Hastings, Locke Mills, Mason and to a lesser extent Albany and Newry relied on the railroad for commerce and transportation of everyday goods into their communities. Grand Trunk/Canadian National trains linked our small towns to the rest of the world and vice versa. Tourism—buy a single ticket in NYC all the way to Poplar Tavern or the Bethel Inn. Freight from West Bethel to Scotland traveled by rail to Portland harbor thence to its overseas destination. |
|
S Bethel Ski Story—Sunday River and Mt. Abram 1959 and 1960 Short Takes - a chapter of short stories Bethel Steam Mill—In 1864, Bethel’s most technologically advanced mill A Brief History of Sunday River South Bethel—Walker’s Mills territory |
|
V Vernon Street Ski Tow—1948 Viking Village—by Pete Cunningham. |
|
Read more about Top Hat’s 1947 Grand Opening |
|
Early 1954—Portland to Montreal Canadian National at Bethel Station—passenger service ended - September 1960. |
|
Citizen September 2, 1948 |
|
Bethel area major news items year by year |
|
Vernon Street Ski Tow—1948 Bethel area skiers formed an outing club to operate a village ski area with rope tow. “Mt. Vernon” becomes inspiration, training ground for the Sunday River Ski Area opened in 1959. Many of the same people who took part in “Mt. Vernon’s” ski area continued the same jobs in 1959 and 60 when Sunday River Skiway opened . |
|
Names from Bethel’s history
|
|
William R Chapman
|
|
Frank E Hanscom |
|
From 1891 to 1893, Elmer and Fred Cole from East Bethel and Washington, DC, invested high hopes in creating a landmark property on Bethel’s Main Street. 1893’s financial panic blew over the country. The Coles lost their building but Odeon Hall lived on famously. |
|
Poplar Tavern - For decades North Newry’s social center lived here. The well informed of Portland, Boston, Providence, New York and New Jersey enjoyed summers here as well as the lake travelers and mountain viewers. Also read about a young girl’s vacations there circa 1910 |
|
NTL-1947 First meeting—National Training Labs, NTL Institute, 1947—first conference in Bethel at Gould Academy—goal: improve performance of groups and group leaders |
|
Rodney Lynch, Town Manager 1985 –1990 |
|
Friendly encounters, 1781 Indian raid, eventually displaced by white English settlers. Indian villages along the Androscoggin no longer existed by 1779; however early settlers met a number of friendly Native Americans who traded with the new arrivals. |
|
Wildcat Ski Area opens—Sunday River Skiway Corp created—Barker Mt trails laid out—skating rink at Crescent Park school—Bethel Furniture Stock opens. |
|
1937 |
|
Odeon Hall first opened as Cole Bros. Hall on May 18, 1892. However, as soon as August that year its name had become Odeon Hall. Thereafter, was the forum for town meetings, political rallies, concerts, Gould Academy graduations and movies. For all but the first year of its existence, it was owned by the Bethel Savings Bank until 1982. |
|
At least from the 1880’s a number of dairy farmers ran milk delivery routes in Bethel village. Without electric refrigeration milk had to be sold and used daily. Riverside Farms in Mayville was the last local dairy to supply milk in Bethel; it closed in 1967. |
|
1886 News – Col Clark Edwards was the town’s man of the year—he had been nominated by Maine Democrats to head their ticket in the race for Governor. The men of the town wanted a new mill to create more jobs. James Barrows came to town from West Paris with the offer to run a chair factory if the town built a new building for it. |
|
Glamorous new Bethel Inn opened with a burst of PR two years after fire had destroyed Bethel’s flagship hotel. |
|
In nearly every woodworking industry additions have been completed, and at the Chadbourne plant a new sawmill replaces older equipment. Machinery for converting waste lumber into chips for paper manufacture is in use at the Davis, Chadbourne and Hanover Dowell Co. mills. New motels completed were the Thunderbird Motor Inn of Max Zallen on Main Street and the Red Rooster built and operated by Roland Glines at Mayville. Of importance to the entire area Sunday River Skiway opened in December.
|
|
Bethel Junior Chamber of Commerce formed. Mail by rail ended and truck delivery began. Newry’s Grange Hall was moved away from Newry Corner. USAF tanker crashed into a Newry mountain. Passenger train service ended. Mt. Abram ski slopes opened in December. |
|
Town Manager Michael Houlihan resigned. Former Bennett’s Garage being converted to a shoe factory. Norma Jodrey named chairman of Bethel Winter Carnival. New A&P Store to be built on Railroad Street. Bid accepted to build new “Telstar Regional High School” and middle school. Bethel Area Development Corp voted Henry Hastings president. Bethel Water District approved by voters. New Casco Bank & Trust Co. building started at corner of Main and High Streets. |
|
Bingham fund grant of $400,000 to SAD 44 accepted. Bennett’s Garage closes; $1 million bond issue for new high school; site clearing for new high school begun. |
|
Fritz Tyler—one of Bethel’s most interesting, energetic personalities. From black-smithing to business owner. |
|
Trappers Weekend at Neil Olson’s, East Bethel, annual social event for trappers. |
