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    Buxton
    Buxton
    Buxton
    Ebook178 pages57 minutes

    Buxton

    By James D. Libby Ph.D.

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    About this ebook

    Buxton sits along the eastern side of the Saco River in northern York County. The Saco was instrumental in the town s establishment, as early settlers moved up the river from the towns of Biddeford and Saco and settled on the river s bank at Salmon Falls. Buxton s inhabitants powered their mills from the river and other local tributaries, and the town s early villages were located near these mills. Buxton presents vintage postcards of the riverside villages of Salmon Falls, Union Falls, Bar Mills, West Buxton, and Bonny Eagle, along with inland centers, including Groveville, Buxton Center, Lower Corner, Duck Pond, and other hamlets. Postcard images of Buxton from the year 1895 forward provide valuable insight into the life and times of the citizens of this onetime industrial center.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateMar 23, 2009
    ISBN9781439621462
    Buxton
    Author

    James D. Libby Ph.D.

    James D. Libby, Ph.D., is an associate professor and chairman of the business division at Thomas College in Waterville. A published author, he is a former state senator and state representative for York County towns, including Buxton.

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      Book preview

      Buxton - James D. Libby Ph.D.

      Hollis.

      INTRODUCTION

      Buxton, formerly Narragansett No. 1, is a strikingly beautiful rural suburb of Portland that is quickly gaining popularity as a comfortable, quiet, and low-tax alternative to city life. Located just 20–25 minutes outside Portland, this northern York County town has seen its population double since 1970 according to the U.S. Census. Buxton’s rich history is well documented in varied publications, including Alice C. Cousins and Olive W. Hannaford’s Recollections of Old Buxton, Maine; Charles F. Sargent’s Buxton, Maine 1920; William F. Goodwin’s Narragansett No. 1, Joel M. Marshall’s Buxton Centennial; and many town celebratory publications, newspaper articles, and genealogies, to name but a few. Despite the variety of historical resources, there is little doubt that the documentation of Buxton’s beauty through publication of its pictures is rather meager. Although many works share a few photographic highlights, there is a great deal of room for authors to shed light on the past through photographs of historical significance and in doing so help to preserve an understanding of the life and times of Buxton.

      This publication’s aim is to take an in-depth look at the historical photographs provided via America’s fascination with postcards, along the way making connections with that which has been recorded as well as stories untold. Although earlier pictures of the town are available through stereoscopes, family archives, and other resources, this book only contains pictures taken and used as postcards. The oldest photographs are from around 1899, and the newest from the 1960s. Most fall between 1900 and 1925. Postcards are an excellent means of documenting parts of history, and what better vehicle to assist with this goal than the acclaimed Postcard History Series of the internationally known Arcadia Publishing. It is in the context of connecting literature with photography that we begin our journey.

      There are many villages in Buxton, and all have their own unique geography, people, customs, and man-made structures to consider. The Buxton of today bears only a tiny resemblance to its pronounced heritage of job creation that centered on the Saco River as a gateway to the production of goods and services and their export. The combination of the river with two railway stations propelled Buxton, if for only a brief moment in time, into the spotlight as a major contributor to Maine’s economic well-being. Productive farms, orchards, molasses manufacturers, a coat shop, a canning company, and other employers located away from and near the river-based industries provided Buxton with an impressive one-two economic punch. Several villages examined here played key roles in the strong economy, with Bar Mills and West Buxton leading the charge.

      Bar Mills and West Buxton are now two quiet villages located along the banks of the Saco River. However, what today serves as sleepy bedroom communities to the likes of Portland, South Portland, and Westbrook were once two busy and robust river-based economies, serving as a provider of jobs for the southern Maine region and products for the world. Their plight was shaped by the unpredictable and, at times, violent nature of the Saco River. As evidence are submitted the rise and fall of other riverfront villages in Buxton, namely Union Falls and Salmon Falls. Each saw their beginnings and presumed unlimited potential hinged on the generation of mill power by the Saco River, only to be wiped off the face of 19th-century business directories by two forces: freshets and the northerly location of the Saco River train station in Bar Mills. Later hydroelectric power generation destined for other locales would serve as the final nail in the coffin for Bar Mills, West Buxton, and the village of Bonny Eagle. Other villages examined in this book apart from those already mentioned are the inland settlements of Lower Corner (Tory Hill), Duck Pond, Buxton Depot (Treadwell Gate), Buxton Center (Elden’s Corner), and Groveville (Spruce Swamp). Few postcards exist of other villages in town, particularly the relatively large village of Chicopee.

      Bar Mills was once called the Barr, after a rock formation spanning the Saco River and limiting river traffic during the early settlement years of the 18th century. West Buxton was better known as Moderation or Moderation Falls for its easy-flowing fall over a rock formation, later a 14-foot fall over an old log dam. Together their histories will lead our examination of Buxton through the crucible of the golden age of postcards. The postcard heyday is generally defined as a period between 1895 and 1950. This era coincides with the fall of the great Saco River woolen, grist, pulp, and lumber mills, among others, and here the story is told of the trials and tribulations of river dwellers facing a still-rugged existence even during the early 20th century.

      One conclusion can clearly be drawn from these historical artifacts. From 1850 to 1920, Buxton lost nearly half its population. Simply put, the harnessing of power along the Saco River was both a driving force behind the vigorous growth of these villages and the final and overwhelming cause for their downsizing, based primarily on the export of electricity to other areas for their own economic development. In much the same way that today’s blue-collar American blames the loss of telecommunications jobs to far-away countries via the flexibility of the electronic information superhighway, so too went the jobs on the Saco to the hydroelectric superhighway. While the river of old brought opportunity, excitement, and purpose to a community, today’s modern dams serve our energy needs while leaving the riverfront village as a quiet shell of its former self.

      Let’s step back and take a look at what used to be. You may be amazed by the level of activity and the size and scope of the economy.

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