Fryeburg Academy - Academy Bell Yearbook (Fryeburg, ME)

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12 THE ACADEMY BELL The surface of the outskirts of Canton is uneven, while the center is smooth and level. At Canton Point, called by the Indians Rockomecca Point is a large beautiful lake and interval, which was in Indian times planted with corn. Whitney Pond is located in the southern part of the town. This town has several machine shops, for the manufacture of agricultural implements, a tinware factory, and an iron foundry. Peru is bounded on the north by the Androscoggin River and is twenty-eight miles from Augusta. The sur- face is uneven and broken. On the Androscoggin there is a narrow interval, very smooth and fertile. Wheat and other grains were formerly the productions but lately corn, oats, hay and grass have been added. The only mountains of mention are Black Mountain and Tumble Down Dick. There are several small ponds, some of which are Cranberry Pond, Worthy Pond and Twenty Mile Pond, and Spear's Streams 5 there are several mills on Spear's Streams. Hartford is in the eastern part of -Oxford County. It was settled soon after the Revolutionary War. It is water- ed by numerous ponds and small streams, and has good farming lands. The surface of Hebron is hilly. In the northern part is Streaked Mountain. It is a large rather smooth elevation, rising to the height of about sixteen-hundred feet above the field below. Hebron is well watered by ponds and small streams. The principal ones are Big Brook, Middle Branch, and Matthew's Pond. In Hebron is the Hebron Academy, a school for boys. Here also is one of the largest sanita- riums for tuberculosis in the United States. Buckfield is situated in the eastern part of Oxford County. There are several rich' beds of magnetic iron ore here, from which the very best wrought iron and steel can be madeg lime stone is also found, which yields lime nearly equal to that of the Rockland quarries. A bed of yellow ochre has also been opened. The town is watered by Twen- ty Mile River. This river is made useful by suilicient water power for several mills and machinery. Oxford is in the southern part of Oxford County near Hebron. The surface is somewhat hilly. Water is sup- plied by the Androscoggin and the outlet of Thompson's Pond. There are several large mills in Oxford. In the western part of Oxford County is Sweden, forty- five miles from Portland. The soil is good for farming purposes, especially for the growth of grains. Kezar River crosses the western part and there are also two ponds by which the town is drained.

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THE ACADEMY BELL 11 novelties, sleds, step ladders, children's toys, apples, can- ning, feldspar mining, clothes pins, pole bale woods, marbles and granite, snowshoes and ski manufacturing and mining for semi-precious gems. Its population is about 3,650. Norway was first settled in 1786, an attractive village in Oxford County. Norway has a fertile soil and is watered by the great Pennessewasse Pond, which furnished good water power for the mills. The leading industries are prac- tically the same as Paris. Shoes, apple barrels, cider bar- rels, canning, dowels and wood novelties, guns, lumber, snowshoes and ski manufacturing. Snowshoes used by Peary in his discovery of the North Pole were manufactured here in Norway. Summer hotels also serve for an impor- tant industry. Albany was once called Plantation of Oxford. It was settled about 1800. The leading industries are lumber, shingles, spool stock. It has a population of 360. Andover was settled by Merrill in 1789. The first mills were erected in 1791. It was incorporated under the name of East Andover in 1804. The leading industries are lum- ber and spools. Byron is situated in the northern part of Oxford Coun- ty on Swift River. The surface of Byron is very hilly and uneven. There are two mountains known as Turk and Broad Swift River runs through the entire length, and there is also a pond called Garland Pond. This place is well watered and has three or four mills. The principal occupa- tion is agriculture. Wheat and corn are grown to a large extent. Lumbering serves for occupation in winter. The northerly portion of the town of Grafton is timber- ed with pine and spruce, while the southerly portion is very mountainous. The soil is very fertile. The streams are Cambridge which flow into Umbagog lake and Bear river flowing south to the Androscoggin. Lumbering and farm- ing serve as occupations for the inhabitants. Roxbury is practically the same as Byron. Mexico is located twenty-five miles north of Paris. It is well watered by two tributaries of the Androscoggin River, and has a good, rich soil, and supplies the large amount of water power. It has diiferent mills. Dixfield is situated on the north side of the Androscog- gin River, opposite the town of Peru. The surface is broken. The principal elevations are Large and Small Sugar Loaf and Aunt Hepsey's Mountains. It is drained by the Androscoggin, and contains no ponds or lakes. Agriculture is carried on extensively, and woolen goods are manufactured.

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THE ACADEMY BELL 13 Hiram is in the extreme southern part of Oxford County. It lies on both sides of the Saco River, and it is rather uneven at the center but on the Saco and Ossipee are some tracts of pitchpine plain. The most noted moun- tains are called Bill Morrill and Mount Misery. Saco River runs through a part of the town. Ten Mile Brook, Clem- on's, Spectacle, Image, Hancock, and Bryant's Ponds fur- nish water power for mills and other machinery. The great Ossipee River separates Porter from Parsons- field. It is six miles in length and contains about twenty- three square miles. The surface is generally uneven, hav- ing many hills of considerable height. A large number of cattle are raised for market. The soil is good for raising Indian corn, potatoes, wheat, rye, and oats. There are many good orchards of natural and grafted fruit. Mine Mountain, though not very large, is celebrated on account of the mining operated there by William Towle in 1802. Small portions of iron, lead and silver have been found there, also on Rattlesnake Mountain. There are also a number of ponds. The two largest are Concord and Bickford. The former covers one hundred and fifty acres and the latter about one hundred. There are several small mills on these ponds. Denmark is situated in the southern part of Oxford County, and joins Fryeburg in the southeast. Its surface is very hilly and very stony. The principal mountain is known by the name of Pleasant Mountain, which is 2,000 feet above sea level. The Saco River bounds Denmark part- ly on the west. There are several small mills and they have enough water power to furnish these. The lumber business was formerly the chief industry, but now agriculture, fruit raising and stock raising are more important. Greenwood is situated nearly in the center of Oxford County. The surface is very broken. It is watered by nine ponds, three which empty into the Great Androscoggin at Bethel, and the other six into the Little Androscoggin. Agri- culture is the leading industry, many apples are raised and shipped each year. The surface of Gilead is very mountainous and a con- siderable portion is covered with forests. Gilead is drained by the Androscoggin River, which runs through its entire length. Wild River falls into the Androscoggin. The Grand Trunk Railway passes through this town into New Hampshire.