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

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GAZETTEER OF MAINE.

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!    rc-election; and in 1881 he was elected a member of Congress. Mr.

Waldron in 1872 started the “Lewiston Gazette,” which he pub-
^:    lished until his death in 1881. It is a new'sy and interesting sheet,

conservatively democratic in politics. It is now bi-weekly, being
issued Tuesday and Friday. Other papers and periodicals of the city
‘    are “ The Bates’ Student,” published monthly by the students of Bates

!    College; the “Maine Independent,” issued every Saturday, by Weeks

.    & Stetson, and devoted to literature and humor; the “ Maine Messen-

ger,” a religious sheet, published monthly, by N. C. Dinsmore; and
“ Le Messager,” published every Thursday, by L. J. Martel & Co.,

}    which is devoted to the interests of the French inhabitants of the

;    city.

!    The    land about the falls was originally quite rough, marked by deep

I    gullies,    and sandy knolls, with abundance of clay on the slopes, which

have supplied and are still supplying many bricks; but the band of
i    improvement has rapidly subdued the rudeness of nature ; and lawns,

I    and thriving shade trees fill most of the spaces between the dwellings

and other buildings, many of which are large and elegant. Among the
larger residences may be noted that of Hon. William P. Frye, member
■    of Congress sinee -1871, of Colonel J. M. Frye, J. L. H. Cobb, Esq.,

several on Bates and other streets. The Roman Catholics have two
,    churches in the city, one of them of superior beauty. The Congre-

gationalist society also has a fine edifice, previously referred to. The
Universalists have a fine church overlooking the park. The church of
^;    the Baptist society is an elegant building, and the Episcopal church

near by is a substantial edifice. The Methodists have two churches,    ^

<    one of wood, the other of brick; and the Free Baptists have also one

of brick and one of wood. The Society of Friends have a small but
neat and elegant little meeting-house on College street,
i    The    schools of Lewiston are noted for their excellence. They are

graded according to the best system, and the school buildings in the
rural as well as in the thickly settled parts are creditable to the city,

The number of public schoolhouses is thirty; and the value of the
school property belonging to the city is $178,000. The valuation of
the estates in Lewiston in 1870 was $8,813,629. In 1880 it was $9,930,-
407. The rate of taxation in 1880 was ‘0024 on the dollar. The popu-
lation at that date was 13,600. In 1880, it was $19,086. See Auburn.

Lexington is situated on the western side of Somerset
County, 25 miles north-west of Skowhegan, on the stage-line from that
place to Flagstaff. The town is bounded on the north by Highland
Plantation, east by Concord, south by Emden and New Portland,
and west by Kingfield in Franklin County. The area is about 28,000
acres. The surface generally is moderately uneven. The highest sum-    ^

mits are Gilman Pond Mountain in the south-west part, and Peaked
Hill on the eastern side, rising from West Range Mountain, a broad
elevation which covers the eastern border nearly the whole length of
the town, and continues into the townships north. Upon the southern
part of this elevation lies Spruce Pond. Butler Pond lies in the north-
west, Judkins Pond in the west, Indian Pond in the south-west, and
Gilman Pond in the south. Sandy Stream and Alder Brook are the
chief water-courses.

The town has two saw-mills manufacturing long and short lumber.