The Bethel Journals
1890 Journal
Bethel Maine History
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
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.
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).
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.
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.