Penobscot County ME Archives History .....REBECCA WESTON CHAPTER (Dexter, Maine) 
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Tina Vickery tsvickery@adelphia.net May 7, 2005, 6:36 pm

Book Title: 

REBECCA WESTON CHAPTER (Dexter, Maine) Sprague's
Journal of Maine History Volume 9 July, August,
September, 1921 page 138-140

(From D. A. R. Magazine, May, 1921.)

Rebecca Weston Chapter (Dexter, Me.) aided in the
celebration of Armistice Day, 1920, by unveiling a
boulder to mark the site of the town. The Edward J.
Poulliot Post of the American Legion and the members
of the D. A. R., led by the Fay and Scott Band,
marched to the lot, which is now owned by J. Willis
Crosby, the members of Rebecca Weston Chapter marching
up the hillside and forming a semicircle back of the
tablet. After the music and invocation, Mrs. J. Willis
Crosby, Regent of the Chapter, delivered the following
address:

"This year of 1920 is a notable one. The tercentenary
anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims on our
shores is being celebrated throughout New England.
This year also marks the centennial of the
independence of our beloved State of Maine. So it
seems most fitting that we observe at this time some
historic fact, of our own town of Dexter.

"Because of our many patriotic sons who offered their
services to their country in the Civil War, later in
the Spanish-American War, and more recently the World
War, it seems eminently fitting that we, the Daughters
of the American Revolution, should unite with the boys
of the American Legion in the observance of Armistice
Day.

"We are to unveil a tablet marking the site of the
first dwelling in Dexter, and there is a bit of most
interesting history connected with it. In 1794, James
Bridge, of Augusta, purchased from the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts the present township of Dexter. He soon
sold it to Charles Vaughn, who was acting for a
company in Massachusetts. Vaughn was unable to meet
the conditions involved in the purchase of this land,
and Dexter passed through several hands before Andrew
Cragie, of Cambridge, Mass., purchased and induced
settlements upon it.


"During the year 1800, Cragie sent Samuel Elkins from
Cornville to locate a suitable site for a mill. He
chose the outlet of the body of water which was later
named Lake Wassookeag, and began at once to hew timber
for the structure. The mill proved an attraction, for
the same year Ebenezer Small and John Tuckler came
here to secure locations for future homes. Mr. Small.
made a clearing, put up a log cabin, and raised a crop
of corn. The next spring he returned to New Hampshire
for his wife. There was no road further than Harmony,
so with necessary household goods loaded on a handsled
and with Mrs. Small seated on top, they continued
their journey. There was not even a footpath to guide
them through the forest, and it was with great
difficulty that they found their way, by means of
blazed trees, and at last reached their destination.

"The hardships endured by these early settlers seem
almost incredible. At one time food was so scarce
that people travelled forty miles, on horseback, to
Norridgewock, and bought corn for $2 per bushel, and a
certain young man went to Athens to work in a hayfield
for a peck of corn a day.

"The contrast between those early days and the present
is great. Today the town of Dexter is beautiful, with
its picturesque scenery of hill and dale, lake and
stream, wooded hills, shady streets, its many churches
and educational institutions, varied business
enterprises, and fine residences, with their wellkept
lawns and shrubbery, and fine farms, of which we are
justly proud. And here in the shadow of these
venerable and stately elms, we, the members of Rebecca
Weston Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution,
take pleasure in unveiling this boulder with inscribed
tablet, marking the site of the first dwelling in
Dexter, and we dedicate it to the memory of Mr. and
Mrs. Small, who so bravely faced the dangers and
hardships of pioneer life."

(MRS.) ANNIE M. BRIRY, Historian.

Additional Comments:
Contributed by Androscoggin Historical Society


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