A HISTORY OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF PALERMO ME. by Allen Goodwin Belfast, ME: The Age Publishing Co. 1896 Page 25-28 CHAPTER V. The mill which my grandfather referred to was on the Sheepscott river below the pond. There were two old mills, the Jonathan Bartlett and the Alden mills. The former said to be the oldest, which must been built before 1790. The barn now standing on the William Histler farm was the first, framed barn in town, and was built as early as 1790. The boards must have been sawed at this mill. The old David Turner house is still standing on the old farm as a stable, and is now owned by Wesley Turner. The Ransalaer Turner house is also one of the first houses. It shows the style of early days. It is in good repair and with the same good care will last another century. About 1800 my grandfather and his brothers, Stephen and Benjamin built the old mill on the Benjamin Marden farm, which was an up and down saw. The iron work of the water-wheel was made in New Hampshire, and brought to Augusta. From Augusta it was hauled on a hand sled by two men, at that time & distance of about thirty miles through the wilderness by spotted trees. From Augusta they followed the river to Vassalboro' then to East Vassalboro', then around the foot of China pond and up to near where the town house now stands; from there to Dirgo and to Branch Mills, which was before the roads were built, This mill had the necessary machinery for making hand rakes, which the Marden brothers sold for twenty-five cents each. They also had a brickyard and made bricks, which supplied the houses with their first brick chimneys. They were laid tip in clay and ashes for mortar. Later the property passed to Benjamin Marden, 2nd, and to his son Stephen, who operated the mill. They have all passed away now except Stephen's widow and two sons, Oscar and Frank. Oscar is a successful lawyer in Stoughton, Mass., having graduated in 1876 from Boston University Law School. In 1891 he was appointed judge and Justice of the District Court of Southern Norfolk. Frank is a successful business- man in the firm of George 11. Leonard Co., Boston. In 1849 the old houses on the farms formerly occupied by these Marden brothers were removed and new ones built by Joshua Goodwin, Alva Marden and Benjamin, 2nd. In 1844 it was voted to build a town house. The contract was let to John Erskine for one hundred and eighteen dollars. A quarrel began about the location. The south part of the town carried the day and it was built on Orchard Greeley's land near the cemetery: A warm battle ensued and it was sold at auction for sixty-five dollars. Again the south part ruled and bought it back by paying the interest. Several meetings were held there during the next year. Still the battle went on and it was again sold and moved to Longfellow's corner and since used for a store. The present town house was built by Enos Greeley in 1847 and located in the center of the town. The first -tilde boards were made by Joseph Creasey in 1823. The town paid him eighty-three cents each, for making. They were painted and lettered with a hand pointing the distance towards the principal places and have gone to decay years ago. The first store and traders in town, as far as I can ascertain, was Burrill & Benson, who traded at Greeley's corner in 1822, and Joseph Arnold at Carr's corner. Before this the people went to Belfast and Wiscasset to do their shopping, and Wiscasset was the nearest Post Office. The first building burned no, record was the barn of Andrew Bonney, burned March 1819, together with a large stock of cattle. A vote was passed on April 14, instructing the selectmen to sign a petition in behalf of the town asking the Legislature to compensate his loss. There was a grist mill owned by John Black, which was built about 1800. It stood on the same dam that Ira Black's saw mill did and was carried away in a freshet about 1812. Eli Carr was born in Goffstown, N. II., in 1806. He came to Palermo in 1811 with his father, Richey Carr, who settled on Marden Hill. He is now one of the oldest men in town being ninety years of age. His mind is clear and he can remember the most of those first settlers and can tell where they lived. He is a respected citizen and a worthy member of the First Baptist Church, and to him much credit is due for his assistance in preparing this record of Palermo. As my grandfather has said there were twenty-six families in town in 1793. 1 find that about ten years later at the incorporation of the town the families numbered about one hundred. I will give their names omitting those already mentioned. (Note: list alphabetized by submitter to US GenWeb Archives -tsv) John Bachelder Nathan Bachelder Daniel Bagley Nehemiah Blake William Blake Beriah Bonney Joseph Bowler Stephen Bowler Asa Boynton Oliver Boynton Eben Bradstreet Nathaniel Bradstreet David Briant William Briant George Brooks James Brown Jacob Buffum Samuel Buffum Joseph Carlisle George Carlyle Lot Chadwick Samuel Creasey William Creasey Asa Crowell James Dennis David Edwards Joseph Evans Nicholas Gilman Gideon Glidden John Glidden James Grant Stephen Greeley Gabriel Hamilton Mr. Hill, Father of Dr. H. H. Hill, late of Augusta. Samuel Hoyt Hollis Hutchins John Hutchins Hollis Hutchins, Jr. Benjamin Leadbetter John Leadbetter Stephen Longfellow Clement Meserve Benjamin Nelson Daniel Nelson John Nelson Jonathan Nelson John Perkins Joseph Perry Rufus Plummer Othnal Pratt Oliver Pullen Samuel Redington Joseph Richardson John Rigby Chase Robinson Daniel Sanford Fleury Sanford Robinson Sanford Francis Somes Nehemiah Somes Joseph Spiller Nathan Stanley Moses Stevens Samuel Stevens Amos Sylvester Luke Sylvester Daniel Sylvester, Senior Jonathan Towle Joseph Turner Shubal Weeks Waite Weeks Henry Whittier Isaac Worthing Jonathan Worthing William Worthing (c) 1998 Courtesy of the Me GenWeb Kennebec County Site ************************************************* * * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. 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