Dexter High School - Signet Yearbook (Dexter, ME)

Page 22 text:

I 20 THE SIGNET Another woolen mill was built in 1847 by Calvin Copeland on the present site of the Fay Sz Scott machine shops. This-was destroyed by fire in 1868. The next year in 1848, the Hrm of Foss, Conant Co. erected a brick mill in the lower part of the village, now known as the Wassookeag Mill. They operated this until 1855, when they sold out to Farrar 8L Cutler, who thus be- came the owners of three woolen mills, besides other smaller interests. Dur- ing the National financial crisis of 1856 the financial strain became too great for the firm and it was obliged to sus- pend. The mills passed into the hands of the creditors and, in 1863 were or- ganized as the Dexter Woolen Mills, and continued under this name for the next twenty-five years. In addition to these more important industries, there were many of less im- portance, of which may be mentioned the foundry and machine shop of Na- thaniel Dusting a box-mill opposite the brick mill, a carding-mill in the building' which now serves as the office of the Morrison Woolen Co., a wood-working mill near the tanneryg and several mills outside the village limits. The village school system has always been the pride of the townspeople. This had its beginning in 1822, when a sub- stantial school building was erected near the site of the Crosby Law office. This building also served for many years as a town hall. In 1834, on ac- count of the rapid growth of the town, larger school accommodations became necessary and a two-story building was erected on the site now occupied by the Pleasant street schoolhouse. The low.- er fioor consisted of two schoolrooms, while the second floor was used as a town hall.. This served until 1856, when, during the town meeting of that year, the fioor gave way and over 300 people were participated into the base- ment. Strangely enough, no one was killed and but one or two seriously in- jured. The building was then moved away and now serves as the mill-office and storehouse of the Amos Abbott Co. Our present Town hall was then built, the lower floor serving for a long time as schoolrooms for the primary and in- termediate grades. At the same time a new building was erected on School street for the grammar grades and the High school. The present grading sys- tem was introduced into the schools during the fourth decade of the cen- tury, chiefly through the efforts of Mr. Lysander Cutler, who was deeply inter- ested in the schools. Four of Dexter's nine churches were built during this period. The Univer- salists in 1828, erected a small meeting house on Church street, which has since been greatly enlarged. Six years later the Methodists and the Baptists erected a union church upon the present site of the Methodist church. This served for both societies until 1839 when the Bap- tists withdrew and built their present church. Seven years later the Congre- gationalists built a small meeting house which now serves as a vestry for their present church. Thus we have briefly traced the rapid growth' of the town, industrially, edu- cationally and religiously and have seen the village grow from a small country cross-roads to a manufacturing town of considerable importance. t

Page 21 text:

THE SIGNET 19 year 1820, to nearly 2,400 at the out- break of the Civil War, an increase of over 500W in 40 years. The number of polls increased from 95 to over 400 and the property valuation from 327,000 to about 3500,000, on a two-thirds basis, or three quarters of a million, a record surpassed by few towns in this part of the country. , At the beginning of this period the center of population of the town was not the village, but a point some dis- tance to the east, where the first school- house was built, the village proper con- sisting of only four roughly constructed dwellings and seven other buildings. The early inhabitants of the town la- bored under great difficulties for all goods must be brought from Bangor, the nearest market, on horseback, over roughly constructed roads which were hardly more than trails. There was no regular mail service and there were no stage lines. A year after the incorporation of the town, Jonathan Farrar came here from Bloomfield, now Skowhegan. Mr. Far- rar, being young, active, and even wealthy for that time, soon became the most important character in the early history of the town, and to him, more than to any other, is due the period of prosperity which followed. He com- menced a system of permanent improve- ments, dug the canal, and built the gristmill dam. He built a new gristmill, which, greatly enlarged, is now operat- ed by S. L. Small. He purchased the Morse saw- and carding-mill and the carding-mill of James C. Hill, the latter was several times remodeled and finally converted into a planing-mill which became the property of the El- dridge Bros., the present owners. Mr. 4 Farrar also opened a store in the low- er story of his dwelling, which is now known as the Flynt house. In 1818, when the first mail route was establish- ed between Bangor and Harmony, through Dexter, he was appointed post- master. - In 1820, Jeremiah and Amos Abbott came here from Andover, Mass. They purchased the Morse carding- and saw- mill from Mr. Farrar and by subsequent enlargement and remodelling converted it into a mill for the manufacture of woolen cloth. This was one of the first woolen mills in the state and sent the first woolen goods from Maine to the Boston market. Another pioneer industry was estab- lished in 1828, when Mr. Farrar con- structed a tannery on what is now Cen- tre street. This was gradually enlarg- ed and later under the Shaws, became one of Dexter's most important indus- tries. , This same year Lysander Cutler came here from Royalston, Mass. He formed a partnership with Mr. Farrar and took a very prominent part in the afairs of the town. In 1835 Farrar Sz Cutler pur- chased the gristmill, previously con- structed on the present site of the White mills by Jeremiah and Amos Ab- bott, and enlarged and remodeled it into a woolen mill now owned by the Morri- son Woolen Co. At about this time Farrar 8z Cutler erected a large and complete woolen mill on the site of the present Dumbarton mill. This was to- tally destroyed by fire in 1845, but Far- rar 8z Cutler, not discouraged, built upon the same site a large stone mill two stories high. This forms the two lower stories of the present mill, hence often called the stone mill.

Page 23 text:

THE SIGNET 21 CHAPTER FIVE i OMING now to the outbreak of the Civil War, we find that Dex- ter's record in this memorable ' struggle is a most honorable one, 283 of her patriotic sons offered their services to the Federal government and of this num- ber, which represented over one-half of the men available for war duty, and about one-sixth of the total male popu- lation of the town, many paid the high- est tribute of loyalty that a soldier can pay-they gave their lives that the Un- ion might be saved and that our nation- al honor might be unstained. Not only did these men of Dexter do all in their power to aid in putting down the rebellion, but the municipality itself played its part by carrying out to the letter the orders relating to the pay- ment of bounties to enlisting men. In all 340,238 was paid, at rates varying from S53 to S300 per man. The town also gave liberally to the support 65? the families of the men who went to the front. ,I Although the rosters of nearly all Maine regiments held the names of Dexter men, by far the greater number were in the 2nd, the 6th, and the 20th. These famous regiments participated in every important engagement of the army of the Potomac, including Antie- tam, Fredricksburg, Rappahannock Station, the Wilderness Campaign and Gettysburg. Innumerable acts of heroism were performed on the fields of battle by Maine men, in recognition of which thirty-nine medals were awarded dur- ing the war and many more in the two years immediately following. We should be especially proud of the fact that one of these thirty-nine was pre- sented to a Dexter boy, Otis O. Roberts, then a sergeant of Co. H., 6th Maine Vols. In telling the story of how he won this honor, Mr. Roberts says:- 'Twas late on the afternoon of Nov- ember 7, '68, while the battle of Rap- pahannock Station was at its height. My regiment, having been ordered to capture a line of rebel rifle-pits, formed for the charge and swept forward toward the rifle flashes' which marked the ene- my's line. Half-way across the field we came to a sunken road, where we stop- ped to get our breath. Hearing the or- der to charge again, I repeated it to my company, then started on the run for the enemy's trench. Reaching it, I paused, and looking back found that not one of my company had followed me. Realizing that I could not stay where I was and not wishing again to risk my life on that bullet-swept field, I leaped over the trench into the midst of the rebels, who, when they found that I was only a lone Yankee, and not a percus- sion shell, politely invited me to surren- der. ,As I sat there in the shelter of the trench suddenly the air around me was filled with flying arms and legs which resolved themselves into a squad of five blue-clad infantrymen, whom I joyfully recognized as belonging to my own com- pany. Snatching up my riHe, I joined them in a headlong rush down the line of the trench toward where other com- panies of our own regiment had suc- ceeded in breaking through. The rebs in our path, deceived by our boldness and