Maine, its history, resources and government

Preface

In the preparation of this book for use as a text in the upper grammar grades and the high school, an attempt has been made at all times to keep clearly in mind one definite purpose — the presentation in as concise and readable a manner as possible of a general view of the historical and industrial development of Maine in the form of a connected story, without branching out from the main thoroughfare into innumerable byways of detail. It has been impossible to digress, even to include a few incidents of the most unusual interest, because they do not bear strongly upon the principal events either as direct causes or effects.

Moreover, the well-known fact is recognized that the human interest storj^ is most eagerly read, while lists of dates and the bare record of events furnish little attraction for red-blooded active boys and girls such as those who will read these pages. At the same time history cannot be written without making use of the chronological element to a sufficient extent to estabUsh clearly the record of growth and progress. When Part I of this book has been completed by the pupil, it is hoped that he may have in mind a fairly vivid idea of the whole story of Maine, and will be able to retell the plot exactly as if he had been reading an absorbing narrative of adventure.

No emphasis has been placed upon the local history of any particular town or city. This text is not, therefore, in any sense intended as a reference book. Omissions have been made, and made purposely, of many important items which some readers will say should have been included. The wealth of material is so great that the selection made by one would rarely, if ever, agree with that of another ; but, if it is desired to trace the complete record of Maine more minutely, reference may be made to the more pretentious works to be found in the nearest

iii

IV PREFACE

well-equipped public library. So comprehensive a course, however, is not advisable for the average pupil in the schools, whose time is already very much assigned, and who, at best, can assimilate only a small part of what might easily be placed before him.

The careful study of local history from first-hand sources is recommended as the best method of interesting the pupil in the broader phases of the subject. There is scarcely a town in Maine which can be said to be devoid of historical material worthy of investigation. The suggestions which are given on a following page will be found useful as a basis for such study, and the proposed outline may be expanded almost indefinitely in many towns which are especially rich in the lore of the past. The present must not, however, be forgotten in considering what has taken place in other years. A study of the Maine of to-day is, if possible, even more intensely interesting than the record of its earlier development.

Part II of this book deals more particularly with the present period of industrial prosperity. All that ha^ gone before has been simply a story of preparation for the day in which we are now living. The great natural resources of Maine have already been brought into use to a remarkable degree. Some of them have doubtless reached the height of their utilization and can scarcely be expected to show further gains, but others have been developed only to a small fraction of their potential usefulness. No greater service can be rendered to the state by the youth of this generation than to cultivate a spirit of pride in Maine, — its past, its present, and its future, — and a determination to make the best possible use of the opportunities which it offers.

In Part III is developed a brief summary of the central and local government of Maine. The knowledge of how public affairs are administered and the bearing wliich they have upon the citizens of a state as individuals is one of the most important and compelling duties in these days when so many influences are abroad, seeking in more or less insidious ways to cast suspicion and doubt upon the processes of organized gov-

PREFACE V

ernment. The purpose and necessity of control and regulation of the relations of all citizens with each other as a part of the great social fabric of the nation should be clearly understood, as well as the methods employed to give every one an opportunity to express his own personal ideas so long as they do not interfere with and disrupt the inalienable rights of others. This principle of judicious restraint apphes to the smallest unit of society — the family — and to every other unit therefrom through the school, the town, the state, and the nation. When each individual recognizes this one fundamental civic principle of personal conduct and responsibihty to others, we shall have accompHshed the true end of democracy and may look forward to a fuller realization of our claim to the position as the bestgoverned country on earth.

Glenn Wendell Starkey.

Augusta, Maine, July 14, 1920.

GENERAL OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF LOCAL HISTORY

1. Find out when your town was first settled, by whom, and in what part.

2. How did it get its present name ? Was it ever known by another name?

3. When was it incorporated ? Was it ever part of another town or was any other town ever a part of it ?

4. By talking with people who have lived in the town longest or who are descendants from early settlers, find out everything possible of interest in connection with the early history of the town. Has your town any reason for particular historical distinction ?

5. Many towns have a printed history. Has yours? If so, try to get a copy of it for study.

6. What were the first public buildings — fort, garrison house, town hall, church? Are any of those first buildings still standing?

7. What was the first industry aside from farming, which was, of course, the earliest business in most Maine towns? What are the present industries? When were they established? How many workmen does each employ ? About how much is the annual value of their product? Have there at any time been other industries in the town which are no longer in operation? What caused them to give up business?

8. Look into the war record of your town. How many Civil War veterans are still living in it ? How many men enlisted from your town in army or navy during the World War? How many were drafted ? How many died in service ? Did any one from your town receive a war medal or other mark of distinguished service ?

9. What men or women who have received state or national recognition in any line of work were born in your town or have made their home there?

10. Make a scrapbook in as attractive form as possible containing a record of all you learn about your local history, and include in it pictures of past and present interest, together with such other material of historical nature as you may be able to get. Carefully preserve this book. It is recommended that each school also make up such a book and place it in the library for future reference and additions. As years go by, the value of such a record increases because many of the people who know most about early history are passing away each year, and, therefore, it becomes more and more difficult to get accurate details of early events unless there is available a written or printed record.

vi

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS FOR USE OF

THIS TEXT

The necessary limits of any book intended for use as a school text make it impossible to include more than a small part of the material which pupils should have presented to them. Especially is this true of a book which deals with a great variety of subject matter such as contained in this volume. Teachers should be guided in its use, therefore, by the instructions received from principals and superintendents as to the amount of time to be devoted to the subjects of history and civics and to the methods employed in presenting each.

If there be no definite assignment in the school program of the upper grammar grades or high school for Maine history and government, the book may well serve as a supplementary reader, for outside reading assignments, or as a basis for a certain amount of language work. The importance of a knowledge of the three main divisions of subject matter herein contained is, however, deemed sufficiently great to warrant the taking of at least a minimum number of minutes per week for the purpose of bringing to the attention of Maine boys and girls the salient facts relative to the development of their own state.

One of the greatest benefits to be derived from the study of the following pages will be the arousing of a desire for the further investigation of many of the items to which it has been possible to make only the briefest reference. Teachers will be able from their own knowledge and experience to amplify the text and can, through discussion of the subject, bring out numerous points of great interest and of the highest permanent value.

The exercises at the close of each chapter are designed to suggest further study of the topics under consideration. Answers to most of the questions can be found in the text. Footnotes refer to outside sources needed in answering questions based on the latest statistical matter. Many questions will bring forth others of a similar nature and can easily be expanded, almost indefinitely, by the teacher who seeks to arouse a real interest in the subject. At all times the local application of the ideas presented should be kept in mind. Especially should care be taken that the section on government be approached from this point of view. There is ample opportunity to lead pupils, whatever their stage of maturity, to see how the machinery of government is organized to reach every individual, and to bring them to a

vii vm SUGGESTIONS FUR THE USE OF THIS TEXT

realization of the part which each must play in making his own town or community a good place in which to live.

Entirely aside from the workings of the machinery of state government, which each pupil in Maine ought to know, at least in its most elementary phases, the field of community civics is almost as broad as life itself. Such subjects as good roads, good schools, good health and sanitation may very properly be given a prominent place in connection with the study of those sections of the book which deal with closely related topics in the several departments of local and state government. Only in this way will it be possible to make the study of civics a really vital and interesting subject to boys and girls who have not yet reached the age at which such things as the bare facts of governmental activities and responsibilities have in themselves a strong appeal.

There can be no more important function of the school than the instilling of a right attitude toward public affairs in the minds of those who are to compose the state's future citizenship. Teachers have, therefore, a greater opportunity and a greater responsibility than any other group in this most vital part of the program for making the United States a nation whose people are law-abiding and whose high ideals are expressed in their manner of living. It is with the hope that this book may contribute specifically to such an end that it is placed in the hands of teachers for use in their schools.

Part I The Story Of Maine Chapter Page

1. The Earliest Exploration and Settlement . . 3 II. Further Settlement and Union with Massachusetts . . . . . . . . .11

III. The French and Indian Wars ..... 21

IV. The Revolution and the End of Maine as a

V. A Century of Statehood ...... 47

VI. History of Education in Maine .... 67

VII. The Present Educational System in Maine . . 75

VIII. Some op Maine's Noted Men and Women . . 103

PART n

I. Geography and Transportation II. Agricultural and Industrial Maine

113 128

Section II. The City . The County Government

How the State Is Governed

Section I. The Departments of Government

Section II. The Work of the Courts

ix

X CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

IV. State Officers and Their Work .... 197 Section I. Officials and Commissions . . 197 Section II. Public Money and Its Expenditure 229

V. How We Elect Our Officers ..... 234

VI. Maine's Future through Good Government . . 243

Appendix

Constitution of the State of Maine —

Article I. Declaration of Rights . . . . i

Governors of Maine Since the Adoption of the State

Constitution ......... iv

Reference Table of Statistics ...... iv

MAINE

ITS HISTORY, RESOURCES, AND GOVERNMENT

Part I The Story Of Maine Map Of

MAINE

PART I

Chapter I The Earliest Exploration And Settlement

A Common Mismiderstanding. Most people are inclined to think of the State of ]Maine as having been a well-defined unit of the United States ever since the time when the first settlements were made in this country, or at least since the original colonies were established. As a matter of fact, however, its boundaries have been in dispute over a long period of j-ears. It is natural that we should look at the outline of the state with its strongly indented seacoast, its fairly regular western border, its arched and curving northern boundaiy line, and its well-established eastern limits, just as it is represented on the accompanying map, and take it as a matter of course that its contour was smiilar to its present form from the beginning. But, were we to take the time and effort to follow through a series of sketches showing the various boundary changes, we should soon discover that many of us are now living in territory which for years was under control first of one nation and then of another, with no settled status and no guarantee that it would ever belong finally to the great country of which we are now a part.

Visitors from Northern Europe. We cannot know certainly when or by whom any part of the territory now included in Maine was first visited by white men. There is reason to beheve that men, coming by way of the island of Greenland from some northern European country, explored several places on our coast long before Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. It may have been as much as five hundred years before that date. However, we have no means of knowing that fact even though we may be reasonably sure that there were white visitors to our shores much earUer than those of whom we have authentic record. If this is true, then undoubtedly to Maine belongs the distinction of having been the first bit of the present territory of the United States to be seen by inhabitants of the Old World. Those brave and adventurous souls coming from northern Europe by way of Iceland and Greenland probably first reached the shores of Labrador and the island of Newfoundland, and thence followed the coast southward as far, perhaps, as Cape Cod in Massachusetts. These statements cannot be accepted as established facts because of lack of really substantial evidence, but in a study of the history of Maine we should not overlook an interesting incident of this kind for which there is at least some foundation.

Maine's Peculiar Location. Look for a moment at a relief map of North America and see if you can find Maine. You will note that it is more or less difficult to trace its boundaries even though you have many times examined maps on which they are clearly indicated. There is no natural dividing line on a large part of its border, as is the case with many states, which might serve to set it off by itself behind a well-established barrier such as a very large river or an extensive chain of lakes. This may in part account for the fact that this state, destined as it was to become the border state in the most irregular corner of the nation, proved to be peculiarly unfortunate in its position as a battle-ground over which surged the tide of conflict for generations. At the same time, however, this fact has contributed much to the interest which attaches to our history and has left us rich in the lore of historical happenings worthy of study and of preservation as a part of local records in nearly every town and city in the commonwealth.

What Maine Was Like. If we could have traveled about in the days before the colonists began to arrive and to attempt settlements within our present limits, we should have found practically the whole area of Maine one vast wilderness, with magnificent forests stretching northward from the coast and covering the fine farms that we now see about us on every hand.

THE EARLIEST EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT 5

The splendid rivers and countless, beautiful lakes, however, would have looked much as they do to-day except for the dams which have been built and the storage basins formed by them in many localities. The rivers probably flowed somewhat more swiftly, and rapids were more numerous than now. Forest trees overhung the banks of the streams everywhere in place of the miles of cleared land that now form their background, and wild animals of every description, many of them at present almost entirely unknown to us, roamed unafraid through the

A Headland on the Maine Coast

Lighthouses, similar to this one, dot the strongly indented shore-line.

dense growth and swam or forded the waters which happened to come in their path. That lakes and rivers and streams and ocean were fairly alive with fish in those days needs scarcely to be mentioned. Even to-day one of Maine's great resources is the abundance of fish and game which annually brings thousands of hunters and fishermen from all parts of the land to trail its deer and moose in the hope of carrying home a prize, or to cast and troll for the wary trout and salmon in some of the thousands of inland lakes or streams. Along the coast and in the lower reaches of the principal rivers a multitude of people pursue

6 THE STORY OP^ MAINE

fishing as a regular business for which the value of the catch runs yearly into millions of dollars.

The Indians. Like practically all the northern part of our continent Maine was inhabited by Indians. Some writers estnnate their number as high as 30,000 at the time when the first white settlers began to appear shortly after the year 1600, but we have no means of knowing how accurate that estimate may be. It is certain, however, that several strong and populous tribes held sway in different sections of the state and later made their power felt in ways which the white men found far from agreeable, although at times the two races lived together for years without serious conflict. The records which have come down to us indicate that the members of the Indian tribes which inhabited Maine were for the most part vigorous and of perhaps more than average stature. The rigor of the climate and the consequent necessity of more strenuous exercise, together with the added hardships of the preparations for the winter season, no doubt contributed to a physical development somewhat more marked than that observed in the tribes farther south.

First Record of Exploration and Settlement. There are con flicting claims as to the place which should have the honor of being the first to receive a colony of settlers, or even the first to be explored and claimed by any of the nations which afterwards made permanent settlements in Maine. Probably there IS no way in which we can ever definitely determine which claim IS inost valid, but there is more or less foundation for believing t^iat Verrazano, an Itahan, Gomez, a Spaniard, Thevet a Frenchman and Rut, an Englishman, voyaged along and possibly landed on the coast of Maine during the first half of the sixteenth century, even if no thoroughly authenticated record of these visits is available. It is generally accepted that Bar-

l^rZ !^"''''Jf. '^"'^ ^^'^^ ^"S^^^^^ ^"^ ^'^^ched Maine in 1602. Martin Prmg, an Englishman, is recorded as having visited Penobscot Bay in 1603 for the purpose of trading with the Indians. Shortly after, George Weymouth, also an Englishman, explored the Maine coast from Monhegan to the mouth

THE EARLIEST EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT 7

of the Kennebec. One of the blackest deeds of our early history is placed at the door of Weymouth when he took advantage of the friendliness and trustfulness of the Indians with whom he came in contact by enticing five of their number on board his ship and carrying them away with him to England. This marks the beginning of trouble between the English and the Indians in Maine. The part played by Weymouth cannot be excused and when we remember that one of the strongest characteristics of the Indian was never to forget a favor nor to forgive a wrong, we can scarcely wonder that the future relations between the red men and the white men were not of the most friendly nature.

Three of Weymouth's captives, upon arrival in England, were placed in the family of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and the kind treatment which he accorded them availed much in atoning for the wrong done them, so that, when they eventually were sent back to America, they were of great assistance in bringing about a better understanding for a time between the two races.

While there were doubtless small stations established for very brief periods by other venturesome parties of explorers, it appears that the first real attempt at a settlement was made in 1607 by a colony of about one hundred persons who established themselves at the mouth of the Kennebec River in what is now the town of Phippsburg. All of this part of the North American continent was claimed at that time by England on the strength of explorations by the Cabots and other early English voyagers who had landed on this side of the Atlantic. As was customary in those days, the king, as ruler and holder of all territory claimed as a right of discovery by a subject, gave grants of land to companies or individuals for purposes of settlement and colonization. Usually these grants were given as payment for services or as favors to influential noblemen and were bestowed with lavish hand. To them great tracts, comprising thousands of square miles with only the most general limits, were thus parceled out by royal grant and with little thought of the vastness of the enterprise, since these lands, located as they were on the other side of the ocean, were supposedly of little value except as a means of satisfying royal obligations and affording opportunity for adventure to those who were ever looking for something new.

Thus it was that Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Sir John Popham, as members of the Plymouth Company, received from King James I the right of the control of an enormous tract of territory which included all of the present New England states and much besides. The colony which settled at the mouth of the Kennebec was led by George Popham, brother of Sir John, and the name Popham Beach, in the town of Phippsburg, commemorates the name of the leader of this early settlement. The colonists erected a number of buildings and intended to make this a permanent place of abode and a center from which other settlements should be made. They soon found, however, that Maine winters, without adequate protection against their severity, were not to their liking and they became so discouraged, after the hardships they were called upon to endure, that they abandoned the whole plan and, rather than try again in a less rigorous climate farther south, they returned to England. Popham himself had become ill and died, and this no doubt was a potent reason also for their withdrawal. At any rate it marked the end of that settlement and no other of consequence was attempted for several years.

The French and Acadia. In the meantime the French had been very active in establishing a trade with the Indians farther north and east. They had planted a thriving colony at Port Royal in Nova Scotia and, by fair and kind treatment of the Indians in that section, had gained their confidence and succeeded in laying the foundation of a permanent and most profitable business with them. France laid claim, by reason of explorations of the St. Lawrence River, to all the territory tril)utary to it and a great deal beyond. These claims conflicted with those of the English, who regarded the entire coast and all the country west as rightfully belonging to them by right of discovery. When, therefore, grants of enormous tracts of land and trading privileges therein were made by both the English and French sovereigns, it naturally developed that much of the

THE EARLIEST EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT 9 territory included in these grants became a source of dispute. In spite of the tremendous size of the area involved and the comparatively small number of people who were interested directly in the question of ownership or control, there arose before long serious friction and jealousy. Attempts at colonization by subjects of one country were looked upon by the other as invasions of their domains. We shall see the result of the controversy arising from these rival claims as we pursue further the development of the country during the century and more which intervened between the time of the settlements just mentioned and the beginning of our nation's separate existence.

It was in 1604 that Sieur de Monts was given a grant by the French king which covered a large part of the eastern coast of North America and included all of Maine. De Monts made a voyage to inspect his domain during the above year and brought with him Samuel de Champlain, a skilled geographer, for the purpose of mapping the territory over which he had been given control. It is doubtful if he had any idea of its vast extent. In the course of their explorations of the Bay of Fundy, the Penobscot River, and intermediate points on the Maine coast, they came to a large island upon which they bestowed the name of Mt. Desert because of the high mountains which rose almost from the ocean itself, and because of their lonely appearance.

i(J) C. A. Townsend, Bel fust

The Champlain Monument on Mt. Desert Island

The bronze tablet reads : In honor of Samuel de Champlain, Born in France 1567, Died at Quebec 1635, A Soldier, Explorer and Administrator, who gave this island its name.

The general name given by the French to all the vast territory which they claimed between Cape Breton Island and the mouth of the Hudson River was Acadia. Most writers regard this name as being a corruption of Arcadia in Greece, while others maintain that it came from the name of an Indian tribe. It is more likely, however, that neither of these assumptions is correct and that the country received its name through the very common process of a combination of descriptive words. The Indians frequently referred to localities by a certain name with a suffix which sounded like " kadie," and that came to be regarded as a synonym for " place " until finally the French called the country in general " la kadie," a combination of the French " la," meaning " the," and '' kadie," meaning " place " or " country." This was contracted until the " 1 " was dropped and the two words became Acadie or Acadia,

EXERCISE I

1. On a plain sheet of paper, and without looking in any book, try to draw an outline of the state of Maine. After you have done tliis compare your outline with a map of the state and see where you have made mistakes. If you are not satisfied, try it again. You should have a good outline map in the very front of your scrapbook.

2. Why would people sailing across the Atlantic from northern Europe on a voyage of exploration be likely to reach Maine first instead of some other part of the United States?

3. Why did our rivers flow more swiftly than now at the time when the white men first visited Maine?

4. Why were there wild animals then which we seldom see now?

5. Have you ever seen Indians? Where? What were they doing? What were their habits of life in the olden days and how do they differ now?

6. Put a cross on your map to indicate the island of Monhegan. Another to mark Penobscot Bay. Another for the Popham colony. Another for Mt. Desert Island. These will help you to remember the places where our earliest history began.

7. Why did people come from France and England to make settlements in the Maine wilderness ?

8. Where was the land of Acadia? How did it happen that both the French and the English laid claim to the same territory?

Chapter II Further Settlement And Union With Massa- Chusetts

Maine Becomes Better Known. We have noted in the preceding pages the earUest explorations of the Maine coast and have seen how the first attempt at estabhshing a permanent colony proved of little avail. While there are many records of numerous visits to our shores by various men who were either sent out on trading expeditions or who undertook such enterprises of their own accord, yet any detailed acccount of these is unnecessary for our purpose. It is sufficient that we know that a constantly increasing number of people came and went for one reasori or another, touching here and there for brief periods and becoming better and better acquainted with the geography of that part of the state bordering the ocean.