Old Town (in a nutshell)
Legend has it that, in 1774, John Marsh, Jr., a trader from
Massachusetts, guided Jeremiah Colburn and Joshua Eayers to this
region, where they built log cabins in what was to become Orono.
After 3 years Marsh returned from Canada where he served as a
translator with Arnold’s army and received title from the Indians
to Arumsunkhungan Island, since known as Marsh Island. Marsh
settled down and married the daughter of Jeremiah Colburn and lived
in a large log cabin on the south side of the island now known as
the Webster section of Orono, The Island now includes UMO campus,
part of the Stillwater village and the Central part of Old Town. A
small tract encompassing both Old Town and Orono which we know as
Stillwater was originally organized in 1870 and called Colburntown
or Cobentown. In 1800 it was named Stillwater. Up until 1839 Old
Town, Orono and Stillwater was called the “Three Headed Town”. In
1840 Old Town was incorporated as a town distinct from Orono but
still included Stillwater. When Old Town became its own area it had
2345 of the inhabitants which was more than half of the population
and 2/3 of the land. In 1850 it was voted to build a town hall, it
wasn’t actually built for another 20 years, At a whopping cost of
12,000 dollars to erect the structure they decided to build it on
the corner of Middle St and Brunswick St, It was used until a new
one was built in 1957. On March 30, 1891 Old Town became a city and
was governed by an elected mayor and a board of aldermen until
January 5, 1946, when the council-manger form of government became
effective. All of this info came from a publishing called Old Town,
Maine The First 125 Years 1840 – 1965 It is believed that the first
locomotive used on this railroad was the “Tom Thumb” in 1829. The
“Tom Thumb” was plagued by engineering flaws and was
decommissioned. In 1831 another locomotive was used called “The
Best Friend of Charleston” which exploded in the same year when an
unthinking fireman rendered its safety valve inoperable. The
Railroad was originally called the Bangor, Piscataquis Canal and
Rail Road Company and was later called the Bangor, Old Town and
Milford Railroad when it became the property of General Sam Veazie.
Since then it has been called the Veazie Railroad. (Some events to
help mark this period in time: Andrew “Stonewall” Jackson defeated
the British in the Battle of New Orleans. He also defeated John
Quincy Adams to become the 7th President of the United States. The
USS Constitution was still active as the school ship for the
Annapolis Naval Academy.) General Sam Veazie was a self-made man,
who had several business interests such as 2 log booms in Old Town,
80 sawmills in various places between Old Town and Bangor, many
real estate properties, thousands of acres of timber lands, a bank
and a fleet of ships. When he believed he was being taxed too much
he petitioned the legislature and was awarded his own town which
was Ward 7 of Bangor, now called Veazie. General Veazie’s vision
was to bring the railroad to Mattawamkeag and then to Brownville.
That was never accomplished. However, with his own money he built a
three-sectioned covered bridge across the Penobscot River at
Ounegan Falls in Old Town and extended the tracks to Milford. In
later years, the Veazie Railroad ran 2 locomotives, one called the
Pioneer and the other called the Number 6 or Bit Smith (after one
of the early promoters of the line). The Robert Stephenson Company
at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England was the original builder of these
locomotives. The Pioneer was used for years but the Number 6 did
not continue after an early derailment. The tracks of the railroad
consisted of 6x6 timbers with a 3/8” iron band nailed to the top.
This design was later changed because the tracks had a habit of
coming loose and driving themselves through the passenger
compartment of the cars. These “snakeheads” as they were called
were changed shortly after to tracks called chair rails which
seemed to be much better, but then again changed to what are used
today called “T” rails. The train made 3 trips daily, departing
from Bangor at 7 am, 11:30am and 5:00 pm. On the return run it
departed from Old Town at 9:30am, 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm at a whopping
cost of 37 ½ cents one-way. The railroad cost 500,000 dollars to
build, about 40,000 dollars per mile. That was including roads,
equipment, stations, bridges and other stuff. In 1868 General
Veazie died and a short time later the railway was sold to the
European and North American Railroad. This line was then acquired
by the Maine Central Railroad and then was discontinued in 1869. At
the time of closing the rolling stock consisted of 1 baggage car, 2
18-ft. passenger cars, 9 14-ft. flat cars, 10 18-ft. flat cars, 1
30-ft. flat car, 1 32-ft. flat car and 9 10-ft. box cars.
All of this info came from a publication found at Coles Museum
called “Old Veazie Railroad 1836”. The book is compiled from notes
and sketches by Bob Cardin.
French Island
This plot of land is part of Treat & Webster Island, popularly
known as French Island. Remains of a steel factory lay nearby.
While this part of Old Town reinforces the city’s industrial past,
it also reveals interesting cultural and sociological events that
played out here. Just as the island’s name suggests, French Island
was home to French Canadian immigrants who followed the railroad
and thriving industrial developments to central Maine. Unfortunate
events from the 1830s through the 1850s may have influenced the
Franco immigrants to start a separate community here rather than
blend into Old Town. The contributors of “Nos Histoires de I’lle:
History and memories of French Island, Old Town, Maine” speculate
that the following events possibly lead to this occurrence: * A
cholera outbreak in the U.S. in 1830 was mistakenly associated with
French Canadian immigrants. This contributed to a prevalent
prejudice towards French Canadians in Maine. * A conflict erupted
between Maine and Canada in 1839 when the two areas could not agree
on the location of the U.S./Canada border. (This had predictable
consequences in terms of rights to the northern timber harvest.)
The conflict was called the Aroostook War, and Old Town actually
sent volunteer militia men north to help “settle” the disagreement.
This point of contention could have reinforced the existing bias
towards Franco Americans. * Feelings of prejudice manifested in the
1850s in the form of the Know Nothings. The Know Nothings made up a
political party designed to prevent immigrants (especially Catholic
immigrants) from entering North America and to prevent “foreigners”
from entering public office. Their activities ranged from political
to violent. In 1853, a group of Know Nothings in Ellsworth, Maine
tarred and feathered Old Town’s Catholic priest, Father John Bapst!
Taken together, these factors may have encouraged French Canadian
immigrants to seek safety together on French Island. While negative
activities might have shaped the French Island settlement, the
result was anything but. “Nos Histoires de I’lle” describes the
Island community as a place of artistic, athletic and commercial
development and as a strongly supportive neighborhood. In fact, the
book includes many interesting (and very funny!) first-hand stories
that make you feel just like your grandfather is telling you about
the good old days.
“Nos Histoired de I’lle” is available from the Old Town Public
Library
I would strongly recommend parking at the Old Town Boat launch by
the elks club. Use the trails to the left of the boat ramp as to
eliminate bushwacking and take notice of all the beaver
activity.