The Bethel Journals

The 1890 Journal

Compiled by Donald G. Bennett   May 3, 2007

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 


Part I – January - March

 

Quote of the year!

 

“The wisdom of Gilead and the news from Bethel did not appear in the Democrat last week and the readers will never know their great loss.”

September 1890 – Bethel correspondent

 

                 Home    1890 Part II     1890 Part III    1890 Part IV     January      February     March

 

January

 

1-3-1890:

 Bethel All the villages in Bethel and surrounding towns report on the Christmas holiday activities.

 South Bethel:  Lyceums will be held every Friday; admission is fifteen cents.

Bethel:  The Chinese Village Company under the auspices of the Ladies Circle of the Universalist Society will present an exhibition and entertainment at Ideal Hall on January 7th. Real Chinese people with their funny instruments, drums, fiddles, songs, horns, etc. These people come highly recommended by ministers of all denominations. The streets of Bethel are now well lighted and it makes a big improvement on a dark night. Much credit is due W.E. Skillings for his skillful arrangement and prompt setting of the lights. 1-10-1890:

 East Bethel: New officers of the Alder River Grange are announced.

 Gilead:  W.E. and J.P. Skillings will commence sawing birch (at their Gilead mill) the middle of the week. They have a machinist repairing (the mill saw).

Bethel: We have had good sleighing ever since Thanksgiving.  The studio of Mr. York, our photographer, was closed January 3rd for one week. They needed a rest after a busy holiday season.

 

Advertisements

 

WHITNEY BROS.

 

Manufacturers and Wholesale and Retail Dealers in

 

Granite, Marble and Statuary and All Kinds of

 

CEMETERY WORK

 

Bethel ……..Maine

 

Buyers of Barre, Vt and Scotch Granite, Italian Marble and Statuary Figures

 

 

 

YORK

 

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

 

Special attention given to Groups and Class work.

 

 

BETHEL…….MAINE

 

 

 

1/17/1890

 

OLD COMFORT SLEIGHS FOR SALE

I Have Ready for Sale

30 New Sleighs

Price from Thirty to Forty Dollars

Upholstered with Best Mohair Plush

 

J.C. BILLINGS

Bethel ………………. Maine

 

1-17-1890:

 Albany:  Albany Basin, business is good here this winter. W.H. and C.H. Morrison of Bridgton have contracts to cut the pine on lots owned by Hastings and Thomas this winter.  They already have 500,000 feet cut and hauled. Their crew consists of 8 horses and 12 men.  Mr. Hastings has a four horse team drawing lumber to Bethel and Norway. Hastings and Thomas have a brand new stable where all the horses are kept. F.L. Willis of West Paris has a good mill and has the contract to saw the lumber. Jacob Dresser has a contract to land 1,000 cords of poplar by the river for Hastings and Thomas.

          Newry:  J.A. Thurston jammed his foot quite badly last week by a falling shook. He is having large quantities of birch drawn this winter to his mill. Frank Russell and others are drawing to his mill across the Androscoggin River above the Corner though they have to drive some distance around the opening in the river.  Mercury last Saturday: 42 above.  Six inches of snow Saturday PM.  Business is lively on Bear River drawing birch and poplar. Morton Thurston of North Newry is drawing part of his staves to the shop of his brother, J.A. Thurston, for manufacture. 1-24-1890: The Androscoggin River is now frozen at Bean’s Ferry and teams have passed over a few days.

West Bethel:  N. Bean of Gilead is at work in S.S. Bean’s new blacksmith shop ding repairs in and around the mill as well as custom work.

Newry:  J.A. Thurston’s mill started up Monday. Bethel:  The Bethel Choral Union began its second season’s work. They are to sing Schubert’s “Miriam” and some part-songs this winter.

Gould Academy:  There will be a lecture on Volcanoes and Volcanic Phenomena given by the principal. The lecture will be followed by a chemical experiment depicting an active volcano eruption. The new reading room at the Academy is to be a fine thing – having leading periodicals and Boston daily papers. The library will also be furnished with a new card catalog. 1-31-1890:

Bethel:  La Grippe (influenza?) has closed Gould Academy.  The spring term will commence February 11th - one week earlier than was intended.

 

February

 

2-7-1890:

 Bethel: Bethel can look forward to an opera by Gilbert & Sullivan, “Trial by Jury” directed by Dr. J.H. Johnson.  After performances in Berlin, NH, he intends to come to Bethel with the opera. From the correspondent’s report it seems that this production was presented by the Bethel Dramatic Club.

 NW Bethel:  N.S. Stearns has sent away eight carloads of pulp this winter.

 

2-14-1890:

Newry:  Mrs. J.A. Thurston has just purchased a nice Estey organ costing $150. Now there will be music in the air.

North Newry:  M.C. Thurston is rushing business at his mill. He manufactures annually about 1,000 cords of birch into dowel and spool stock besides using quite a large amount of oak and maple for shook which he markets in Portland and elsewhere; such industries are important to our town by way of giving employment to large numbers.

Middle Intervale:  Carter Bros. are getting out 75 to 100,000 pine, also 100 cords of birch for Morrill’s mill. Buck & Kimball are getting 200 cords or more of birch from the Cummings place to the Thurston’s mill at Newry Corner., also about 80 cords poplar into the river and about 100 cords pine pulp for Canton Pulp Mill and about 40,000 pine for Virgin at Hanover and 50,000 for Morrill’s mill at North Bethel.

West Bethel:  A number of our scholars are going to school at Bethel (Gould) Academy. Some board, others are taking advantage of the scholars reduced rates on the Grand Trunk and are home nights. The mill (A.S. Bean’s new long board mill?) starts up to saw long lumber this week.

 

 2/21/1890:

 All villages report the “la grippe” going around.

Newry: The Branch circle met last week with Mrs. Jacob Littlehale – about 50 present. Mr. and Mrs. Littlehale know how to entertain their company royally.

West Bethel: Dance Saturday evening at the Grange Hall by Frank Goodnow and Charlie Merrill. Good music and reduced rates. 2/28/1890:

Newry:  A foot of snow on Thursday night held up the stage to Upton; on Friday only as far as Ralph Kilgore’s and made it to Upton by 4 o’clock; then came back as far as Newry and made the trip back to Bethel Sunday morning. Gilead:  Mr. Hastings (Rob) has 16 teams in the woods this winter (at Wild River).

 

March

 

3/2/1890 - Bethel Town Meeting:

 

Officers elected for 1890: Moderator: William E. Skillings; Selectmen: for one year, A.W. Grover, C.W. Kimball, E.S. Kilborn.  Clerk: L.T. Barker. Treasurer: O.H. Mason for the Fiscal Year February 14, 1890 to February 15, 1891. Superintending School committee, J.G. Abbott, F.E. Barton, J.G. Gehring and H.N. Upton. Upton was appointed to fill a vacancy. Town Agent: A.E. Herrick. Tax Collector: T.H. Chapman.  Auditor: G.P. Bean.

[Art. 25th. To see if the town will vote to permit the Bethel Water Company to lay its pipes across the Androscoggin River upon the Bethel Toll Bridge, so called, or to hang them upon or under said bridge, under the direction of the Selectmen.]  This item was not approved.

 

3/7/1890:

 Gilead:  Sledding is nearly all gone on account of the mild and rainy weather of late.

 Newry:  Quite a number from this part of the town attended the festival at the Poplar Hotel, C.R. Bartlett, Prop., some 115 present including from Bethel, C.E. Bisbee and wife, the popular trader, and John Philbrook. A very nice oyster and pastry supper was served – there was plenty of it.  Town meeting offices – N.S. Baker, moderator; clerk and treasurer: J.A. Thurston; selectmen: S.R. Widber, M.L. Thurston and J.B. Littlehale.

                                                 Bethel: Mr. Wyman, our sweet corn man, is taking down the old corn factory (located on or near the Eber Clough property west of Mill Brook) and having it moved together with the machinery to its new location near the depot, where the town owns about two acres of land and are to build on it a corn factory building with the $2,500 raised for that purpose. Mr. Wyman will occupy it; the old factory building will become an annex to the new one. The Kickapoo Indian Company last Friday evening offered a bottle of “sagwa” to the homeliest man in the audience if he would come out boldly and claim it.  There were about a hundred present and among them several not very picturesque faces. To our surprise Mr. Moses A. Mason, Esq., came forward and the Indians saw him; they ran and got the bottle of sagwa and gave it to him. Mr. Mason must have tried his medicine because at town meeting he never looked better in his life. Ladies Club meets this week on Saturday at 3 PM with Mrs. Dr. Gehring.

In 1890, the town sold the Eber Clough property at auction. In 1889, it had been valued at $3,133.25. At auction the sale closed at $1,125 - about equal to its insured value.  Other expenses included $3.00 to A.E. Herrick for making deeds, $11.25 to Cyrus Wormell for auctioneer fees and $2.25 to Atwood, Forbes & Co for printing auction bills.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 


 The Hasting Bros. are hauling lumber to the lower side of Kimball Park where they will erect two nice cottages this spring. The lumber is brought from the Hastings mills in Gilead. William Hastings has bought the Sanderson estate in Kimball Park. B.R. Bryant has hauled 200,000 feet of timber from E.S. Kilborn’s mill on Mill Brook this winter. He hauled on pine log 14 feet long that measured 700 (board) feet. Mr. Abbott who does blacksmith work for F.C. Bartlett has invented an under spring buckboard which entirely does away with the ugly jar of that vehicle. Lectures will be held at the (Gould) Academy this week and a dumb bell class of 40 worked out. Teachers are invited to normal lectures at the Academy. Subjects will be Aids and Methods in teaching History, Reading, Arithmetic, Geography, and Grammar. An outline of psychology and its applications to teaching will also be given.

 West Bethel:  Oscar Grover, Grace, Eddie and Archie Grover, Otis and Maurice Mason, Henry Mills, Maude and Georgie Merrow, Daren Grover, and Alice Barker are all at school at Gould Academy, Bethel.

 

3/11/1890 (Oxford Democrat)

 Bethel: The town voted at the annual meeting (at Ideal Hall) to return to the district highway system and $3,500 was voted as a labor tax. Also: $1,000 for repairs on bridges; $2,000 for support of schools; $2,500 for support of the poor and to pay town officers’ bills; $600 for text books; $2,000 to reduce town debt; $500 to repair school houses. The town voted to retain the town system of schools and to accept the appraisal of school houses made by the selectmen, March 1, 1888 and appropriated $7,700 to pay for the same (district reimbursement and town assumed ownership?)

[Article 9th To see if the town will vote to revert to the district system for schools and re-establish the school districts as they existed March 1st, 1887 Art. 10th. To see if the town will accept of the appraisal of its school houses, as made by the Selectmen, March 1st, 1888 and grant and raise a sum of money for the whole or a part of the same.]           Voted to take from the Bethel Water Company water to supply two public watering troughs to pay therefore a sum equal to the tax assessed on the Company’s works and franchise for a term of 20 years. Voted to accept the building and other property now in the hands of the trustees of Gould Academy if the trustees will convey and $1,000 was appropriated for a free high school to be run in conjunction with said Academy under the provisions of the State Law, providing satisfactory arrangements can be made. [Art. 26th. To see if the town will vote to accept the building and other property now in the hands of the Trustees of Gould Academy, if said Trustees vote to surrender the said property to the town; and to establish and maintain said Academy as a free high school under the provisions of sections 36, 37,38 and 39 of the Schools Laws of Maine, and to appropriate such sum of money as may be necessary to support and maintain said Academy as a free high school. ] Voted to tax dogs $1.00. Voted to sell the Clough property (part of this property had been rented by the first corn factory owners and to sell the toll bridge property). Town officers are all Republicans.

 

Another article sought a vote on the approval to open the newly laid out road called Mason Street. [Art, 17th To see if the town will vote to open the road as laid out by the County Commissioners, leading from Broad Street, between the houses of Daniel S. Hastings and Mrs. Cyrene S. Littlehale (the Moses Mason house), and connecting with the street open on to Chapman Street near the house of Josiah W. French, and raise money sufficient to pay damage and build the same.]

And in other news: Several carloads of lumber from the Berlin Mills Company have been landed on the site of the new corn shop.  Civil engineers were engaged last week in making levels for the Bethel Water Company.  The annual meeting of the Bethel Village Corporation is called for Monday the 10th. The warrant has a number of articles but an important one is to define the exact limits of the village corporation. A commission will be appointed for this purpose. Although the corporation embraces two school districts, the exact limits are not accurately defined. A private school is in progress at the school house in the upper district (No 15, in 2005 this building was “The Pines” guest house of The Bethel Inn and Country Club) under the management of Mrs. Ellen P. Kimball. Mason: H.G. Mason, in a bad way; J.H. Bean, been quick sick; Mrs. Belle Brown, seen by Dr. Twaddle; Donald Bean, birthday party; Arthur Hutchinson, returned from Wild River; D.E. Mills, doctor’s care.

 North West Bethel:  S.W. Potter, pension papers; G.G. Chapman, quite ill; S.S. Bennett, bought barber shop in Gorham, NH.

 East Bethel: East Bethel Library Association appreciates and thanks Bethel village citizens for their support of a $50 appropriation to their library; C.C. Kimball and daughter Belle, visiting; H.D. Howe, returned to Butte, Montana; George K. Hastings, visit Mass,; Mrs. M. S. Kimball, returned from Paris (South Paris); A.M. Bean has cut and landed on the bank of the river 100 cords of poplar timber.

 West Bethel: Pleasant Valley Grange taking new members, has paid for property and has surplus in the treasury and will paint the hall this spring. A.S. Bean reports that he has 55 men on his payroll at the mill on an teams hauling timber thereto.

Newry:  C.M. Walker, lost a horse; C.B. Harlow, finished school; M.L. Thurston, quite sick.

3/14/1890: Advertiser

 Bethel: W.A. Parker has left employment at the Bethel Chair Co. to take up the insurance business. The Bethel Chair factory is adding “some very pretty styles of chairs” to their list. Mary L. Abbott of Upton has been sworn in as Assistant Postmaster in the Bethel Post Office.

 Albany:  The town meeting on March 3rd was moderated by James A. Kimball; W.B. Cummings is clerk; J.H. Lovejoy is treasurer and the selectmen are: Freeman H. Bennett, Austin Hutchinson, and Charles A. Flint.

South Bethel:  The dance at Charles Ester’s on March 4th was a great success when 23 couples joined in the grand march with others coming later, excellent music by Bacon’s Orchestra. Several exclaimed about the excellence of the oyster stew. D.A. Coffin made the stew. 

3/14/1890:

Bethel:  Village Corporation meeting March 10th, Officers chosen:  Assessors: Charles Mason, Horace C. Andrews, Eben A. Kilborn. Clerk: G. R. Wiley. Treasurer: Edwin C. Rowe. Collector: N. F. Brown. Engineers: N.F. Brown, G.R. Wiley, J.C. Billings.  Twelve fire police were chosen.  A commission of G.A. Hastings, R.A. Frye and L.T. Barker will define the exact boundaries of Bethel Village Corporation.  It was voted to raise $200 to light the streets the ensuing years. The contract for supplying the village with water for fire protection purposes which had previously been executed with the Bethel Water Company was read before the meeting and ratified by its vote. It will be remembered that the water company agree to furnish 25 hydrants at $32 a piece for 20 years which aggregates $800 a year payable semi annually.      The water is to be brought from Chapman Brook five miles and the pipes are to be 8 inches in diameter and will cross the river attached to the bridge. The work is to be done and the water running by the first day of next September. Geo J. Hapgood has a great variety of gentlemen’s ties for sale cheap. He also has received a case of the nicest smoked hams the market affords plus all kinds of meats, sausage, tripe, etc.  Hastings Bros. have just stocked in a full line of mixed paints of all kinds and white lead, turpentine, paint, oil, etc.

 

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Advertisement – Page 3, Advertiser, March 14, 1890

 

NOT HOW CHEAP, BUT HOW GOOD

 

Are you going to have a new harness this season?

If so now is the time to order it.

 

Any style harness made to order and all Custom Work Warranted

 

I also have a stock of SALE HARNESSES that

I am offering at bargains

 

Don’t buy of a peddler before you see my goods and the worth of your money guaranteed.

 

E.H. YOUNG _ _ _ _ Bethel, Me

 

 

3/18/190 Oxford Democrat:

Bethel:  The foundations of the new corn shop are ready and framing has begun – pushing as hard as weather permits. Messrs. Kimball and Westcott have just finished hauling oak to the Bethel Chair Company from Albany to the factory here. About 300,000 feet of varied lumber is stored around the factory.  Arthur S. Merrill, severely cut at Bethel Chair Co.; Universalist Society ladies gave a rainbow party at Ideal Hall. Arthur Merrill has bargained with G.A. Hasting for a stand upon Paradise Street. 

West Bethel: A.W. Grover loaded a second car with cedar posts and poles for rustic work; they will be shipped to A.K. Aston, Shelburne, NH. Mr. and Mrs. J. Pike, benefit surprise; many roads broken in March; Mrs. Francis Barker, fell, poor condition; George Granville Chapman, died; several parties are storing ice.

 Mason:  A.G. Lovejoy family sick; H.G. Mason, weak; Arthur H. Morrill, sick; Sarah W. Tyler, poorly; H. Hutchinson and sons are cutting and hauling birch for D.E. Mills; Rev. Davis, will leave town soon.

 Albany:  A.S. Bean started his birch mill; Harry Inman, to return to Natick, Mass.; a list of the ill: Mrs. Hiram Robbins, Mrs. Roscoe Emery; the Thomas Kimball’s and Charles Eames families. Louisa Cummings died suddenly.

 North West Bethel:  Gus Chapman, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is at William Chapman’s; Arvilla Grover, working for Mrs. Hiram Wilson.

 Newry:  Samuel Eames, at 95 years old made the trip to attend town meeting.

Gilead: Mr. Staples of Canton, logging up Wild River, has 500,000 spruce yarded and has 12 two-horse teams drawing to the river. Frank Farwell, died in Boston; George G. Chapman, died.

 

 3/21/1890:  Advertiser.

 Albany: D.A. Cummings has a crew hauling timber for a barn frame which he contemplates building on his pine hill farm before haying.

 South Bethel: The next meeting of the Ladies Circle will be held in the school house March 27th. A box supper will be served. There will be a programme for the evening consisting of music, readings and declamations, etc.

Gilead:  Mrs. Georgie Bennett started a private school with a subscription list of nearly 25 scholars but for some reason only a few attend so I hear. We wish she might have good attendance to keep the young urchins out of idleness.        J.M. Bartlett took from Hastings mill at three trips ten thousand of sawn lumber with one pair of small horses.

Bethel:  At the annual town meeting in Bethel, the town voted to give H.C. Barker the care of the lock-up and he will be responsible for all money paid for use of the room. It is now to be used for the convenience of any persons who wish to occupy a room for a day’s business, such as referees, committees, etc. as well as holding court for criminal cases.

Why don’t the Bethel selectmen occupy the room for their meetings instead of hiring a room elsewhere?

 News from traders and merchants follows: Hasting Bros. received new lots of Campbell’s varnish in varied colors. C.E. Benson has a good stock of fresh meats constantly on hand. The Whitney Bros. are doing nice work on tablets and monuments at their shop near the station. The Town of Bethel has a strong crew at work putting in the foundation of the new corn factory near the chair factory. Messrs. W.E. and J.P. Skillings at one time the past winter received orders for spool, 39,000 gross, in 30 days and one-half of this skilled help were sick with the grip. They worried through however and held their orders. Mrs. Gehring will read for the benefit of the Ladies Club at the vestry of the First Congregational church, March 25th at 8 PM. The programme will be as follows:

 

“The Sleeping Car” – a farce.

Song – rendered by Bertha Grover

 

“The Legend of the Organ Builder”

Trio – Mrs. Snell, Mrs. Skillings and Miss York.

 

“The Origin of the Grippe”

 

Closing with a new version of

“Listen to My Tale of Woe”

 

 

3/25/1890: The Oxford Democrat.

Bethel: W.E. Skillings left on a business trip last week to New York, Philadelphia and other cities. Bethel Corn shop work is progressing; the Wyman’s are building an ice house and are filling it with large quantities of ice.  Eli Merriman of Readfield, merchant tailor, was at Bethel House taking measurements and orders. W.F. Lovejoy of the Bethel House attended his nephew’s funeral in Augusta; Judge Foster is at court in Skowhegan.

 Newry: J.A. Thurston at Newry Corner began running his steam mill nights; he employs seven men to complete the night shift; J.S. Allen runs the boiler at night for two months; Mr. Thurston has about 1,000 cords of timber in his mill yard to turn into dowels, spool strips and staves. 3/28/1890: Advertiser.

Newry:  The snow is going; the river is rising and the ice is breaking. A number of residents are recovering from the grip.  John Philbrook bought quite a number of oxen at Upton and they were drive down Saturday. We understand J.A. Thurston is soon to run his mill nights as well as days. All of his children are sick with la grippe.

 East Bethel:  Sugar makers are preparing for the sugar season.

West Bethel:  Mellen Mason’s blacksmith shop was burned Monday morning with tools, ice and meat packed below, farming tools stored above. Loss: $400. It had been newly built last fall.  A.S. Bean’s teams are again hauling from the Bog.

Mason:  School began last Monday, Mollie Barker teacher.  She boards at J. Hastings Bean’s where she will enjoy all the comforts of home.

Bethel:  Molly Gill our Bethel dressmaker is in New York studying the spring fashions.

 

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