Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    New Gloucester
    New Gloucester
    New Gloucester
    Ebook166 pages52 minutes

    New Gloucester

    By Thomas P. Blake and New Gloucester Historical Society

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Named by the proprietors from Gloucester, Massachusetts, New Gloucester began as a frontier town, as it was the most inland settlement in Maine at the time. Incorporated in 1774, the town has been called home by such notables as mapmaker and author Moses Greenleaf, artist D. D. Coombs, original proprietor of the town of Foxcroft Joseph E. Foxcroft, traveling minister Ephraim Stinchfield, Abraham Lincoln's secretary of treasury William Pitt Fessenden, and abolitionist Samuel Fessenden. Shaker societies were set up in nine states, but the Sabbathday Lake Society, founded in 1783, is now the only active Shaker community remaining. With a long history of lumber mills and farms, New Gloucester is also home to Pineland Farms, the former site of the Maine Home for the Feeble-Minded, established in 1908, and now a renovated 19-building campus and 5,000-acre working farm.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 21, 2009
    ISBN9781439637616
    New Gloucester
    Author

    Thomas P. Blake

    Thomas P. Blake serves as curator for the New Gloucester Historical Society. He is the ninth consecutive generation of the Blake family to reside on Penney Road in New Gloucester. The historical society is very active in the New Gloucester community, hosting many annual events, and will celebrate its 75th anniversary in September 2009.

    Related to New Gloucester

    Related ebooks

    United States History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Looking Back 200 Years

      Mar 16, 2020

      Looking Back 200 Years
      4 min read

    • Article

      Front Words

      Dec 15, 2023

      Front Words
      4 min read

    • Article

      Celebrating Black History on Staten Island

      Apr 1, 2020

      Celebrating Black History on Staten Island
      2 min read

    • Article

      Out On The Town

      Sep 24, 2019

      Out On The Town
      3 min read

    • Article

      In Whom We Trust

      Jan 2, 2020

      ON January 12, 1895, The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty was registered with the Board of Trade. It was constituted to ‘promote the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements (includi

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Midas touch

      Jan 10, 2024

      The Midas touch
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Hill Country’s Lost Utopia

      Jul 1, 2023

      On the south banks of the Llano River, the Castell General Store hosts its bimonthly “Drinking with Jesus” church service. Even with dogged Sunday morning rain, around 70 people recently gathered in the back room, singing “Count Your Blessings” while

      5 min read

    • Article

      Equality On The Plains

      Oct 1, 2019

      Equality On The Plains
      4 min read

    • Article

      Playing At Chequers

      May 6, 2020

      Playing At Chequers
      7 min read

    • Article

      Frio Town, Texas

      Sep 24, 2019

      Frio Town, Texas
      3 min read

    • Article

      Bluegrass Journey

      Dec 12, 2023

      Bluegrass Journey
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Parson In October

      Sep 21, 2021

      A Parson In October
      2 min read

    • Article

      Washington Danced Here

      Jan 22, 2019

      Washington Danced Here
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for New Gloucester

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      New Gloucester - Thomas P. Blake

      way.

      INTRODUCTION

      In 1736, 60 men in Gloucester, Massachusetts, petitioned to the general court for a grant of land, a township six miles square, exclusive of water, in the eastern part of the Province of Maine where it could be spared. The petition was granted on July 5, 1737, with the provision that, within five years, each of the 60 lots be settled on with a house and six acres cleared and have a minister and meetinghouse for worship. The proprietors met on February 17, 1738, to draw lots and chose the name of New Gloucester. John Millet swamped a road from North Yarmouth in 1739, allowing a few of the proprietors to settle. With the start of the French and Indian War, a blockhouse was erected in 1753 and 1754, which provided a home, fort, and church for 12 families for six years. The Town of New Gloucester was incorporated in 1774 and immediately formed a militia to prepare for the war with England.

      New Gloucester has a rich religious history, starting with worship in the blockhouse. The first marriage solemnized in town was on December 27, 1759, between John Stinchfield Jr. and Mehitable Winship. In 1765, Rev. Samuel Foxcroft was ordained as the town minister and built his house, which still stands today. The town ended worshipping in the blockhouse and built a church/meetinghouse in 1772. The Baptist Society of New Gloucester was incorporated in 1803 and met for several years in the home of Rev. Ephraim Stinchfield, which still stands today on Penney Road. He was the town’s first native-born clergyman and grandson of one of the builders of the blockhouse. The Baptists eventually formed two groups—the Freewill Baptists built a church at White’s Corner in 1848, while the Calvinists built a church in Lower Village that now serves as a barn on Intervale Road.

      The first schoolhouse was built in the center of town in 1764. After incorporation in 1774, the town was divided into four districts and into eight districts by 1803. The districts were abolished in 1877 to allow 11 schoolhouses to be managed by a committee. This system continued until the construction of Memorial School in 1950. The high school was built in 1903 and was used until 1962 when the town consolidated with Gray to form School Administrative District (SAD) 15 and built Gray-New Gloucester High School in Gray. The old high school now serves as the town’s public library. The Opportunity Farm, a school for homeless boys, was incorporated on June 14, 1912, and became Opportunity Farm for Boys and Girls in 2001.

      Lower Village (also called Lower Corner or Lower Gloucester) was built around the blockhouse and first burial grounds. The present town hall was built in 1886, while the old library (now the meetinghouse) was built beside it in 1896.

      Upper Village (also called Upper Corner or Upper Gloucester) is home to the town’s one traffic light and has several businesses. The current Masonic hall was built in 1903, replacing the original hall built in 1853. A racetrack was built in 1890 near the Royal River and became home to the New Gloucester and Danville Agricultural Association’s annual fair.

      The Intervale served as the farming and shipping center of the town, even having its own post office until the 1950s. The Royal River still meanders through the meadows on its way to Yarmouth. The Grand Trunk Railway (formerly the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad) was placed through town in 1848, while the Maine Central Railroad was placed in 1870. These both had stations in town where the farmers shipped their crops to the cities. From 1914 to 1933, the Portland-Lewiston Interurban ran through town, providing luxurious passenger service. Now the Maine Turnpike goes through town, featuring one of the highway’s three toll barriers.

      The Shakers settled near Sabbathday Lake in 1782 in what was then called Thompson Pond Plantation. Shaker societies were set up in nine states, but the local one is now the only active Shaker community remaining. The dwelling house was constructed in 1794 and is one of 18 buildings on the community’s 1,800 acres of land.

      The Maine School for the Feeble-Minded was established in 1907, with the state purchasing 1,200 acres in New Gloucester, Gray, Pownal, and North Yarmouth. Most of the land and buildings are in New Gloucester. It later became Pineland Hospital and Training Center and closed in 1996. Pineland had over 40 buildings and 1,500 residents at its peak. It was purchased by the Libra Foundation and has been restored as a 19-building campus and 5,000-acre working farm.

      Several interesting and notable people have called New Gloucester their home. Joseph E. Foxcroft, son of the town’s first minister, Rev. Samuel Foxcroft, was original proprietor of the town of Foxcroft. New Gloucester served as a half-shire town with Portland from 1792 until 1805, with court being held in the old schoolhouse and jurors boarding at the Bell Tavern. Several lawyers lived and practiced here. U.S. representative Ezekiel Whitman practiced law in both Portland and New Gloucester. Pres. Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of treasury William Pitt Fessenden and his father, abolitionist Samuel Fessenden (who studied law with Daniel Webster), were from New Gloucester. Maine’s premier early mapmaker and author Moses Greenleaf grew up here on Peacock Hill and studied law here with Ezekiel Whitman.

      One

      THE BLOCKHOUSE

      This postcard depicts

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1