Samuel D Hanson School - Crescent Yearbook (Buxton, ME)

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8 THE CRE SCENT Around seaports the sea captains' houses were very common. The old captains were lonely on shore so they built flat roofs like their ship decks with a cupalo on top. These had windows on all sides and there the captain could take his telescope and chair and comfortably watch the ships sail in and out of the. harbor. trimmings whic porches. Cups Throughou as French korma Spanish stucco and seen in no other part of the MAINE F on the rapi Meonbeams danced of water seem studded r . ,I After the Civil War many northerners grew extremely wealthy. They had nothing to spend their money on but elaborate homes. It was then that the gingerbread houses with their ornate h looked like lace hanging from the roofs and los, gables, amd balconies were seen everywhere. t America were the foreign influenced types such ndie houses, gambrel roofs, Swiss Chateaus, and houses but all the other types are purely American world. Shirley Lieby'42 ORTS ds of the riv with diamonds. The soft K1 c, making sprays breeze'blew through the pine trees, the trees swaying back and forth keeping time with the rhythmical marching of the night sentinel. Such are the elements '.'. fhich surrounded Fort Edgeoomb or any fort constructed in the early seventwenth century. Addition upon this scene would have to be, in order to make it traditional. A lovely girl clothed in a flowing dress, wearing a velvet wrap and glass slippers. The girl being the commanding officer's daughter, has a dull life in the fort. At this time the shad- ows move - out steps a masculine form, which is the hero and heart throb of the Fort. The scene completed - either the moon disappears or the fort is attacked hy Indians. At the time Maine first becare settled, the environment of the peopl: was vgry diffzrent from today. Families struggling desperately for a living - depending wholly upon themselves for existence. Villages, towns dnd settlements sprung up here and there. Finally when all is peaceable and harmonious it is the way of life to have intruders and war hawkes enter upon the scene. People of these towns and settlzments were protected by and with- in ths malls of forts. An ekamelq of the valu ..'., of these forts 'H to settlers is that thgy afford protection from Indians. These with th ir cry of terror and deadly arrows were the pioneers dreaded danger. At present, Kaine has many of the original forts, which are still in existence - surrounded with mystery and romance. In order to prdsorve the forts from individual ownership and de- struction, the state has bought eight of these forts. ' Aa one visits and looks at Fort St. George or any other fort such as the picturesque scenes surrounding Tdgecomb - it is hard to realize these psactful buildings were once alive with busy pioneers dressed in daerskin and coon caps - shouldgring heavy guns. Always on the alert for the treacherous Indians.

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THE CRESCENT . MAINE HOUSES Often place that people feel that a small town is a they happened to be so unfortunate 7? dreary monotonous as to have been born and reared in. Actually, there are countless interesting ee and enjoy in a small place. Undoubtedly, never thought of the part houses play in the history of They can take their place beside things that towns take such as an important battle sight, an old Indian trail, things to S birthplace of some notable person. you have a locali pride in of the The most primitive type of house ever built by white people in America was the Plymouth Half House C1620-l65OJ. This small dwelling had a chimney on one end, oiled paper in one or twoi windows, a single door, and usually no floor. These were built of rough boards or logs, the chinks being filled with clay. Even the chimney was built of logs and lined with hard mud. From this type grew the New England Homestead ed the Cape Cod House. This was really anothe the end with the chimney of the Plymouth Half the chimney in the center C1650-17002. From C1700-l8OOD the Seventeenth Century existance. These had two and a half stories. often falsely call r room added to House thus making House came into Frequently around the country we see this type with lovely fan doorways. When the daughter of the house get married the old couple often built an it leaving the it was called, All of the extension on the back of the house and moved into large house for the newlyweds. The lean-to, as was added to all existing types of houses. se old houses had large chimneys and small window The very earliest windows had diagonal panes and were imported from England. Around Buxton and Gorham a person often sees the unequally divided windows with more panes of glass in the upper' section than the lowerg for example twelve over eight. There are many other combinations. Really old panes of glass can be distinguished by the waves which pass through it making it slightly muddy and often distorts objects when it is looked throught. The doors of these houses are very interesting too. Fan doorways and sidelights were very popular. Sea captains often made beautifully carved doorways while on their long adventurous voyages. Christian and double Christian doors were seen both inside and outside. The Christian door has four panels divided YY S. by a cross. The double Christian doors were believed to insure a double protection against witches. These are characterized by six panels divided by a cross with two arms. The lovely Georgian doors with their carved posts and scrolls across the top were most common in the south but are occasionally seen in the north. Frequently houses were built of brick. These were very sturdy often several layers of brick. The farmers often made their own bricks and spent several years in constructing their houses. ' Another very unusual type was the overhangg the upper story extended over the lower. A series of holes were built in the overlapping part in order to make it possible for the inmates to shoot down at hostile Indians who approached the door.

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THE CRESCENT 9 Many fierce and bloody battles surround all the Forts of Maine. Picture a small family struggling to live - being on the verge of success when suddenly attacked by Indians and killed. This is only one of the instances and reasons why Maine was in need - of fortifications. If all the romance, danger, death, disease, courage, and bewilderment could be told which took place within these forts it surely would portray an adventurous and courageous story. Life goes on with its struggles and tales - everyday new in- ventions are created - making this life of ours more easy, but the memory of the pioneers will live on. Rae Elaine Bartlett'45 'Our Maine Lighthouses At the time when clipper ships, and three masted schooners were in use carrying cargoes from little Maine towns to European cities and coming back again with a larger cargo for their people large rocks and shoals were the cause of many accidents. In the year l790, Massachusetts undertook to build a lighthouse to be ceded to Maine. It stood on Portland Head at the entrance of the Harbor. Originally, this lighthouse was composed of rubble stone and stood about thirty feet in heightg but in 1865 it was enlarged to eighty feet. The buildings at this station were so close to the military batteries that their structures suffered from air concussion during gun practice. Windows in the keeper's dwelling place were forced out and chimneys had to be inspected before the building of fires but finally a way was devised to avoid the damage, and now our lighthouses stand firm. As one approaches from Canada the first lighthouse is West Quoddy Head which stands on the eastern most point of land. In the one hundred and sixty miles from the light to Portland there are about eight large lighthouses, and ships, as they come to harbor, can often see two or more lights. These include Libby Islands, Moose Peak, Petit Manan, Mount Desert, Matinicus Rock, Lonhegan Island, Pemaouid Point, Sequin and Halfway Rock. Just to the southeastward of Portland are the Portland Lightship and Cape Elizabeth Lights, and going southwestward one comes upon Boon Island. Along two hundred miles of coast there are about twelve hundred and sixty-six aids which means an average of six to tho mile. They consist of ninety-nine lights, nine hundred and thirty-one buoys, and one hundred and forty-nine fog signals. The Petit Manan Lighthouse is about one hundred and nineteen feet high and is composed of granite. Mount Desert Light is on a rocky islet about twenty milos from the mainland and is the most exposed lighthouse on the Atlantic Coast. During suvfre storms the sea breaks ever the rock. The light is shown from a sturdy tower, that has a broad base and thick walls and stands fifty-eight feet in the air. The rock is frequented by many birds, especially gulls which lay their eggs there. Matinicus Rock is eighteen miles from the mainland and is almost as much exposed as Mount Desert. There is no form of vegetation on the rock and the nearest port is twenty five miles