Gazetteer of the State of Maine With Numerous Illustrations, by Geo. J. Varney

BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY B. B. RUSSELL, 57 CORNHILL. 1882. Public domain image from

Bluehill, Paris, Dover, Mount Agamenticus, on the east branch of the
Penobscot, Hodgdon, Linneus, Waite, Matagmnon lake, and numer-
ous other places.

Arsenic is found in arsenical and iron pyrites at Bluehill, Fairfield,
Greenwood at Owl’s Head in Thomaston, on Bond’s Mountain in
Newfield, on Titcomb’s Hill in Farmington, and other towns.

Gold is found native on Sandy River and its branches, chiefly in the
alluvium. It is apparent that the metal must exist in situ in the rocks
in the northern part of Franklin county and in the western portion of
Somerset. Free gold has also been found in small quantities in Bailey-
ville and Baring, on the New Brunswick line, in Washington County
also in Cherryfield, Columbia and Harrington, in the same county.
Some of the silver ores found at Bluehill and Hampden are auriferous.

Iron pyrites occur in valuable beds in Brooksville, Hancock Coun-
ty, Jewell’s Island, Casco Bay, Troy, Anson, Farmington, New Limer-
ick, and other localities.

Granite and gneiss—more or less excellent—-are found in every region
of the State. Freestone is obtained from the Devonian sandstones,—
Perry and Machiasport being its chief localities in the southern part
of the State. Mica schist is found of good quality for flagging stones
at Phipsburg, Winthrop, Acton, Lebanon, and other towns. Of roof
ing slate, a grand belt is found, extending from the Kennebec river at
Caratunk nearly to the Penobscot river, a distance of 80 pules. Other
deposits of this material exist in the northern and southern portions of
the State, but the only quarries which have been worked profitably
are in the belt above-mentioned.

Some of the limestones of the Thomaston belt are fine enough to
be termed marbles; but the use of this stone for making lime is found
to yield a surer return than marble quarrying. Union, Sidney, and
other places south, yield dolomitic and Lower Helderburg marbles;
while bowlders of very fine statuary marble have been found on the
east branch of the Penobscot.

Serpentine and steatite are found in Deer Isle, Harps well Neck,
Orr’s Island, and Vassalborough. Water lime or cement may be
made from the upper Silurian limestones found about Lubec and Pem-
broke, and westward in various localities to Machias.

Of soils, we have all varieties from pure sand to richest loam.
Sandy and gravelly loams are the most common, while clayey loam is
frequent, and the intervales of Upper Kennebec, Penobscot and St.
John (particularly the latter) abound in rich vegetable loams.

RAILROADS AND TELEGRAPHS.

The first railroad in the State for the running of carriages by steam
power was the Bangor and Oldtown, or Veazie’s Railroad, built in 1836.
In the same year a charter was issued for the Portland, Saco and
Portsmouth road; which, however, was not opened for business until
1842.

According to the last report of the railroad commissioners (for
1879), we now have 31 railroads (several being branches operated
by the larger roads) within the State, whose total length of road
is upward of 1,000 miles, which is about 1 mile of railroad to each 33