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

;    LA    GRANGE.    309

tinguished guests were Talleyrand and Louis Philippe. General Knox
entered upon the development of his estate with energy. He com-
menced the manufacture of lime, erected mills, introduced new varieties
of fruits and vegetables, and improved breeds of cattle and sheep. His
extensive operations brought in many new settlers ; but his expensive
establishment drew heavily on his income, and an ardent temperament
sometimes involved him in unprofitable schemes, so that the great
estate was after his death found to be insolvent. He died suddenly in
Ifc    1805 ; and his remains now rest in the cemetery at Thomaston. In the

war of 1812, the chief interest centred in the privateering on the coast
and the importation of foreign goods in neutral vessels,—which having
run the British blockade were transported across the country to Boston
by ox-teams. In the war of the Rebellion, Knox County sustained her
credit for patriotism and bravery. Major General Hiram G. Berry,
who fell at Chancellorsville, was the most eminent among her sons in
this period of our history.

By the census of 1880, the amount of shipping owned in Knox
County was 84,931 tons, having a value of $1,660,584. The amount of
personal estate was $4,032,582; and of real estate $6,846,154. The
population in 1870 was 30,823; and 1880, 32,862.

Kossuth is situated on the north-western border of Washington
County ; and is bounded by Topsfield on the east, unnamed townships
on the north and south, and Carrol in Penobscot County on the west,
m    Baskahegan Lake lies at the north-east corner, receiving Pleasant

Stream, the principal water-course of Kossuth. This town was former-
ly No. 7, Range 2, north of the Bingham Purchase. It was incorporated
February 23, 1876. It is 66 miles from Machias, and 42 miles from
Calais, on the Topsfield and Lincoln road. The only manufactory at
present is one lumber mill ; but the population will soon require others.

Kossuth has two public schoolhouses, with a total school property
of $800 in value. The valuation of estates in 1870 was $26,645. In
1880 it was the same. The population in 1870 was 119, witli 27 voters.
In 1880 the number of voters remained the same, but in the preliminary
repor t, the population tv as massed with other places, and cannot there-
fore be given.

La Grange, in Penobscot County, lies in the southern angle
of the Penobscot and Piscataquis rivers, 28 miles north of Bangor. It
is bounded on the east by Howland and Edinburg, south by Argyle
and Alton, west by Bedford, in Penobscot County, and by Orneville in
Piscataquis County, and north by Medford in the same county. The
Bangor and Piscataquis railroad passes through the south-western part.
On this road, near the middle on the western side of the town, is La
Grange village. Hemlock Stream, the west branches of Dead River and
of Birch Stream, and Hoyt Brook are the principal water-courses. The
size of the township is about 9 miles in length, north and south, hy 6
east and west. The surface is moderately uneven, with one considera-
ble elevation called Brimstone Hill. The forests are thrifty, and con-
sist of all the various trees common to the region. The soil is fertile,
yielding excellent crops of hay, oats, wheat, corn and potatoes. The
underlying rock is slate in many places. Dead Birch and Hemlock