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Farming with a View
Waltham was
originally part of Township No. 14, Bingham Purchase, and would
remain a part of Mariaville, made up of Townships 14 and 20 until
its incorporation in 1833.
Waltham sat
astride Brig. Gen. David Cobb’s “great road,” which began at
Gouldsboro and ended at the new settlement of Mariaville
Falls.
At this
juncture, the road connected with the Airline running from Brewer to
Washington County. These great roads were meant to connect all of the townships purchased
by William Bingham and open them up for settlement.
One of
Waltham’s earliest residents was Samuel Ingalls who ran an inn and
tavern where Webb’s Brook emptied into the Union River.
Ingalls’ Place
served an important function in the development of northern Hancock
County, as it provided a welcome refuge for settlers and travelers moving up
the river from Ellsworth
Falls. Despite the good
general’s roads, which were little more than goat paths through the
forest, the wise traveler chose the river to move freight, livestock
and the wife and children to their new homes in the forest.
General Cobb’s
great road followed the eastern bank of the Union River through the swamp and
lowlands of Township No. 8 and then to a great high ridge
overlooking the river valley. This hardwood ridge offered the
settler the promise of fine farmland and would quickly become the
place of settlement for many new families.
At the very end
of the ridge, now at the Fox/Hardison place, the road plunged down
over the ridge to the East Branch, crossing the river at Fox’s
Bridge and thence to North Mariaville over what is now known as the
Christmas Tree Farm Road.
A second
critical crossing began near the Hillside
Cemetery, running westerly down the ridge to the
Union River at Jordan’s Bridge, and
thence to the Morrison Farm Road in Mariaville.
This crossing
was important to the settlers at Waltham because it connected them
with family and friends on the West Bank and provided them with the
opportunity to attend the Baptist
Church in the southern part of Mariaville.
The Union River divided the two halves of
settlement in Township 14 and this division would gradually lead to
the decision to separate and form their own community in 1833. The
two communities would maintain close ties throughout the 19th
century, ties that were broken in 1923 when Graham
Lake was created.
There were
eight families in Waltham in 1810. These families were John Fox of
England; Joseph Jellison, Benjamin Jellison, William Fletcher and
George Haslem, all from Ellsworth Falls; Caleb and Libbius Kingman,
from Western Maine; and Samuel Ingalls.
Hugh Twynham
and Robert Mercer, both Scotsman, and Charles Jones, an Englishman,
would remove to Waltham at a later date, along with various members
of the Jordan clan from Bayside in Ellsworth and Trenton. These
families were joined by various members of the Colby family of
Ellsworth and the Moore tribe of
East Mariaville and Ellsworth.
Waltham was
created by a division of land with Mariaville. The Union
River formed the boundaries for
the community, beginning with the main channel and then following
the East Branch. The bulk of the community was taken from Township
No. 14 with a small segment of Township No. 20 included. Waltham did
not want the full economic responsibility of maintaining Jones’
Bridge over the East Branch, choosing instead to share the costs
with Mariaville.
This geographic
division left the community of East Mariaville isolated and with no
direct access to the western part of the community. Some access to
North Mariaville over the old County Road at Fox’s Bridge was
available up until 1920, but since that date, East Mariaville has
been a separate community with only the basic political ties with
Mariaville proper.
Waltham
possessed some of the best farmland north of Ellsworth, rivaled only
by Aurora. Farming was the
principal occupation of the community followed by lumbering in the
winter. The industrial heart of the community was centered on Webb’s
Brook with numerous sawmills and gristmills being built below the
bridge. Webb’s Brook and Ponds also provided an important highway
for logs and pulp heading down river to Ellsworth
Falls. The Webb’s Brook
Community was also the site of the Fox Hotel and Haslem’s Store.
Waltham shared
a Baptist minister with Mariaville, and in the 1850s built the fine
Greek revival edifice, which served as a landmark for travelers on
both sides of the river. Sadly, this building no longer graces the
landscape of Waltham Ridge. The building was similar to the one
built in Mariaville.
The Rev.
Charles Long ministered to both communities in the 1850s and 1860s
and was a much loved and respected figure. Waltham’s first Grange,
the first in the upper valley, was the Industry Grange No. 223
founded on July 5, 1876. This Grange was eventually disbanded and
was followed by the Scenic Grange No. 529 founded on Nov. 4, 1914.
The Waltham
Grange chose a name that best described its community, a community
of hard-working farmers and lumbermen who enjoyed some of the best
views to be found in the Union River
Valley. They were blessed with a front row seat on the river, providing them
with a fine view of the annual drive. They enjoyed the sheer beauty
of summer and the annual fall spectacular.
But best of
all, the community was an important artery in the great stream of
life that flowed down river toward the sea—a community within the
greater community of the Union River, a community whose life
depended on the flow of the river and the abundance of field and
forest. |
