The following odd items cannot be classified. I jot them down as they
came to me, sometimes in full, sometimes in fragments, thinking that
here and there a reader may find something of interest.
_Maine Militia_: To Robert Cornforth, you being duly enrolled as
a soldier in the company of which Capt. Rufus Berry is commanding
officer, are hereby ordered to appear at the usual place of parade of
said company, at Lieutenant George Wood’s dwelling, in said Unity, on
Tuesday, the fourth day of May, 1824, at 10 o’clock in the forenoon,
armed and equipped as the law directs for military duty and inspection,
and there await further orders.
By order of said commanding officer. Dated at Unity, this 20th day of
April, 1824. Edmund Murch, Adjutant.
Elizabeth Fowler was the first female born in Unity.
The first juror drawn in town was Daniel Whitmore.
The first orchard was known as the Melvin orchard. It was on the place
now owned by John M. and Arthur Thompson. The seeds were planted in a
sap trough. One year, it is reported, they raised one thousand bushels
of apples.
Dog Hill received its name in this way: Matthew Fowler, known as
“Duke,” when going to “Antioch,” was usually accompanied by his dog.
One day this dog attacked a sheep belonging to a Mr. Stevens, who took
his gun and shot the dog as he stood by his master’s side. From that
time it has always been called Dog Hill.
_Choosing a Guardian_: Unity, March 3, 1815. Remember this day a lad by
the name of Ben Skiff, belonging to Lincoln, informed me that he had
chosen Henry Farwell of Unity, Kennebec County, for his guardian. Abner
Knowles, Town Clerk.
_Gold_: In the seventies there was quite an excitement in town, as it
was reported that gold had been discovered upon the James Mitchell
farm, south of where D. E. Loveland now lives, and opposite the George
Webb place. Mining was begun in earnest, a stock company was formed and
the blasting of the ledge commenced. Experts were called in, who, alas,
reported that “all is not gold that glitters,” which caused a fall in
the price of stock. The miners retired from work, and the mine remains
for future generations to develop. The certificates of stock are held
as souvenirs. The property is now owned by George Murch.
_Range Lines_: Range lines are the old lines between the Penobscot and
Kennebec rivers, by which land was formerly located. One of these lines
runs between the Rufus Burnham farm, now owned by J. R. Taber, and the
Judge Hezekiah Chase farm, now owned by F. A. Whitten. The well on F.
A. Bartlett’s place (the brick house near the station) is exactly on
that line.
_Lines_: After the first store was burned, where the L. H. Mosher store
now stands, a dispute arose with regard to the line, Elijah Winslow
wishing to build. It was finally settled that the southeast corner of
the foundation where the Mosher store now stands was the legal corner
of the main street and the Waterville road, the Waterville road being a
three-rod road like the road leading from the Chandler hotel to Chase’s
Corner, on the Belfast road.
_General Meeting_: The Friends’ General Meeting was held in Union
church, February 22, 1873. Mary Comstock of New York was the principal
speaker, assisted by Eli Jones of China, Maine, and Chas. R. Tucker of
New Bedford, Mass. A heavy snowstorm prevailed and no trains ran for
one week.
_Mast of the Constitution_: One of the masts of the frigate
Constitution was cut on the farm of the Hon. Crosby Fowler. It took
twelve yoke of oxen to haul the mast to the river and one to haul
the runs. A piece of wood cut from the same stump is in the writer’s
possession.
_Cider Mills_: The first cider mill of which I have any knowledge
was on the Jacob Truworthy place, now owned by G. W. Varney, nearly
opposite the Frank Mussey place. The next one was the Parkhurst mill,
now owned by L. P. Foster, which went out of commission several years
ago. Thomas O. Knight has a modern mill on his place. There is also one
near A. J. Harding’s, belonging to George Trull.
_The Circus_: The first circus in town was held on the lawn between the
residences of J. A. Adams and J. R. Taber. The ring marks are still to
be seen. Joe Pentland’s circus was held upon the grounds now occupied
by the Portland Packing Company. The treasurer of that company said
that they took more money at Unity than at any other place between the
Penobscot and Kennebec rivers.
_Kernoclis Bog and Kernoclis Brook_: In the southern part of the town
of Unity there is a bog called Kernoclis Bog, and along the eastern
border flows a brook or stream, which is never dry, called Kernoclis
Brook. This bog and this brook are both referred to in the ancient
deeds, where it is sometimes found spelled Knock-Wallis. The name is
derived from the name of an Indian who dwelt in the forest on the
borders of the bog when the white men first came to the region. The
bog itself in the centre is muddy peat to an unknown depth, covered,
except in places, with a thick growth of moss. In places the water
shows through the surface and is never dry. A person standing on a
mound of this moss can cause the surface of the bog for a long distance
around him to wave like the waves of the sea, from which circumstance
this part of the bog is called the “Shaking Bog.” It contains about a
thousand acres, and its borders are covered with a dense, dark growth,
consisting mainly of spruce, fir and pine. In the winter it is the
haunt of deer, as it is very warm, and the surface of the water holes
in the “Shaking Bog” never freezes over.
At an election held May 17, 1810, to elect a representative to the
General Court, Lemuel Bartlett received seventeen votes; Samuel Kelly,
two.
May 11, 1818, Rufus Burnham was elected representative to the General
Court.
July 6, 1819, the vote to become an independent state stood
ninety-eight in favor, five against.
September 20, 1819, Rufus Burnham, M. D., was chosen to attend the
convention at Portland which met to draft a constitution for the state.
April 13, 1820, Hon. William King received seventy-two votes for
governor.
April 25, 1824, voted to pay each soldier the sum of twenty cents
before the General Muster.
March 31, 1828, the support of the poor and all liabilities therefor
were sold to Isaac Mitchell for $152.50.
April 26, 1829, the vote for representative to Congress stood: Hon.
Ruel Williams, 40; Gen. Jesse Robinson, fifteen; Nathan Cutler, eleven;
George Evans, one.
_Postmaster_: J. R. Taber was appointed postmaster in 1865 and held the
office at three different times. The last appointment was May 31, 1895,
resigned September, 1914, age seventy-five years, total service twenty
years; succeeded by E. T. Whitehouse, October 27, 1914.
_Station Agent_: Railroad opened in 1870; Alfred Berry, station agent.
_Mail Carriers_: Thos. J. Whitehouse was appointed mail carrier in
1870, Fred A. Whitehouse appointed mail carrier in 1889. This service
has been in the Whitehouse family since the railroad was built in 1870,
with the exception of a short time after the Central House was burned,
when it was conducted by J. R. Taber, who entertained the traveling
public while the Central House was being rebuilt.
_Rural Free Delivery_: On October 1, 1902, the rural free delivery was
established, with Gurney A. Stevens as carrier.
September 14, 1901, William McKinley, President of the United States,
was killed. The church bell was tolled for forty-five minutes by Peter
Whitney, after which fifty-eight strokes, suggesting the President’s
age, were made.
December 15, 1901, a heavy rain was in progress. No trains ran from
Burnham from Saturday, the fourteenth, until Sunday, the twenty-second,
at 3 P. M., when a freight passed through to Belfast. The following
Monday the writer handled over sixty bags of mail.
July 16, 1901, the glass in the shade at noon stood at 100 degrees
above zero.
The mill house opposite Connor’s mill was built by Sherwin Crosby.
Nathan and Joseph Farwell, sons of Henry Farwell, were born in Unity
and moved to Rockland. Nathan was elected to the United States Senate,
and Joseph to the Governor’s Council.
On March 24, 1904, the sharp shock of an earthquake was felt here at
1.50 A. M.
Clement Rackliff and his wife, H. Chase Rackliff, were members of the
Society of Friends and used to attend the Friends’ Yearly Meeting, held
at Newport, Rhode Island, making the entire journey oh horseback.
When Walter Hurd’s barn was raised, Elias Jones made a speech from the
ridgepole.
March 27, 1827, the support of Lydia Davis was sold to Isaac Mitchell
for four cents a week.
Joseph Stevens built a house near a spring on the Jackson farm, now
owned by Alonzo Bacon, it being east of south of Mr. Bacon’s house. The
six acres directly in front of Mr. Bacon’s house were formerly owned
by Henry Farwell. He left it unfenced for years, and it was called
“Farwell’s Common.”
The first bridge at the village was built opposite the mill house.
Hezekiah Tilton, son of Gibbs and Huldah Tilton, was a noted Methodist
minister, at one time bishop of the diocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Copps Opening was the section one mile west of the Elias Fowler place,
now owned by William Gerald. Samuel Copps and a man named French built
a log house here, each family occupying one-half. One-half mile this
side lived a man by the name of Samuel Davis, one-fourth mile away a
man by the name of Plummer, who built a log house north of the Fowler
place on the main road. Isaiah Whitten built a house afterward owned by
a Mr. Taylor.
Electricity was turned on in Unity Village for the first time on
January 1, 1916.
The Unity postoffice will become a third-class office during 1916.