VEAZIE.    551

to the river, to allow of escape should hostile Indians effect an entrance
into the house. Other early settlers were Samuel and Asa Reddington,
both of whom had served in the war for independence. The latter had
been a member of the famous Washington Life-Guard. Most of the
early settlers were from the Cape Cod towns, and many were members
of the Society of Friends. Vassalboro was represented in the Provin-
cial Congress in 1775 by Remington Hobby, and in 1777 by Mr. A.
Love joy.

The surface of the town is beautifully diversified with hill and val-
ley, the highest eminences being Tabor and Cross hills. The soil is ex-
cellent, and the farmers generally are thrifty, and tbe town is wealthy
and prosperous. Much attention is given to the cultivation of fruits
and with marked success.

There are several mills in town. On the outlet of Three-mile Pond,
which discharges into Webber’s Pond are a saw, grist and excelsior
mill; on Seven-mile Brook, which connects Webber’s Pond with the
Kennebec, are two saw-mills, a paper-mill and a machine-shop. Ac-
cording to the Hydrographic survey of Maine, there are nineteen
powers in town. Thirteen of these are on the outlet of China Lake.
This sheet of water is 201 feet above the tide, has an area of 4,000
acres, and its drainage basin is about 39,520 acres in extent. The
stream from the lake is six and one-third miles long, in which distance
it has nine dams and falls 100 feet. Of these powers the first is occu-
pied by a grist-mill and woolen-mill, a saw-mill and shovel-handle fac-
tory; on the second is a grist-mill; on the third, a shingle-mill, and a
wood and iron machine-shop; the fifth is occupied by the Vassalboro
Mills Company in manufacturing woolen goods. This mill has twenty
sets of cards, with the associated machinery, and a wood and iron
machine-shop attached. The capital stock of the company in 1869 was
$450,000. On the seventh power is a factory for making knit goods
and another for shoe pegs. On the eleventh, there is saw-mill and a
threshing-mill. On the thirteenth, is a board, plank and lath-mill. A
line of the Maine Central railway extends through the entire length of
the town along the river.

The Oak Grove Seminary and Commercial College is a popular and
prosperous institution under the care of the Society of Friends. It is
situated in an attractive location a short distance north of Vassalboro
Corner.

The Congregationalists, Baptists, Free Baptists, Catholics, and
Friends, each have a society and church edifice in the town, and the
Methodists have three. Vassalboro has twenty-two schoolhouses,
valued at $10,500. The valuation of estates in 1870 was $1,130,348.
In 1880 it was $1,188,980. The population at the same date was
2,919. In 1880 it has increased to 2,621.

Veazie, in Penobscot County, is a small town, with its eastern
side resting on the Penobscot, and bounded by Bangor on the west,
and Orono on the north-east, and the river on the east and south. Its
area is 2,560 acres. There are no large streams within the town.
The Penobscot, which separates it from Eddington and Brewer, fur-
nishes the water-power. The village is situated on the river, at about
the middle of the eastern side. There is here a strong dam, upon
which are located two blocks of saw-mills. The “ Upper Block ” (so