Elden's Store

      The final historic site visit - at least for the purposes of my History of Maine course - was to a building from Buxton's commercial past. The Elden Store or Elden's Store sits on the corner of Haines Meadow Road and Long Plains Road (Route 22) in Buxton Center. There was nobody around the site, but plenty of cars going by on Rte 22. The building currently houses the Buxton Emergency Management Agency in the basement and the Buxton-Hollis Historical Society leases the second floor. The building is a beautiful brick Federal style structure. I was unable to enter, but hope to do so in the future. 
                   

     The Elden Store was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It dates from 1802, and is Buxton's oldest commercial building. In the 1800's, Buxton Center was the industrial area of the town; the Elden Store, built by Nathan Elden, was both a general store and a post office. The postal service was still in its infancy and post offices were often run by families. I found there were 1,114 offices in existence in 1802. Nathan Elden also owned and operated a grist mill and sawmills in the area.   

 

      Pictured to the right is the Elden Store, with the Wentworth Tavern to the left and Davis Shoe Shop to the right, circa 1860. The railroad ran near Route 22, and by this point the Elden Store had been purchased by Samuel Hanson (1852) and become part of his local industrial empire. His Hanson Coat Shop employed up to 1,200 home piece workers - the first telecommuters! - and the Elden Store was a center for manufacturing, packaging and distribution. The advent of railroads, the Civil War and the general prosperity of the times helped drive demand and supply.
                                                                                                                                                                                   
     After the boom times ended, the building was sold to the Town of Buxton in the early 1940's and was used for educational purposes for agriculture. It went to the School Administrative District #6, and then back to the town in the 1970's. The Buxton-Hollis Historical Society began to use the space then, and helped restore some of the exterior and interior features.

   



     Work continues on the building today thanks to a grant from Narragansett Number One Foundation. You can see the new doors, windows and beautiful signs, and an historical landscape design has been created by landscape architect Theresa Mattor - who happens to be a friend of mine! (I didn't even realize she was involved with the historical society until now). There is currently a fundraising campaign underway for plant material to bring the plan to life. 

     It is wonderful to see all of the work being done to preserve Maine's past, especially when so much of the varied industrial operations have completely vanished. For instance, I found that just down the road from the Elden Store there used to be the famous Wentworth-Bickford pottery on Haines Meadow Road from the 1790's to the 1870's - but who would know? You can see remnants of prosperity in the beautiful buildings and homes around Buxton, but once the railroads and mills declined or disappeared, the money went with it. Such was the case for much of Maine, but I'm hopeful for our future!
                                                                                      





                                                                                                                                                                   

Sources consulted include:
http://books.google.com/books?id=6_QMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA200&lpg=PA200&dq=who+built+elden+store+buxton&source=bl&ots=4f8BlDN3fI&sig=97MovzVIGd2E8PaJ2SfiUb_oL8U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8hWMUc74NLbj4APWwIDYCw&ved=0CFkQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=who%20built%20elden%20store%20buxton&f=false
http://www.buxtonhollishistorical.org/eldenstore.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=yOcgAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA7&dq=annual+report+of+the+postmaster+general+1802&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9BmMUc6rGZat4AOImIGgCg&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=1802&f=false
http://www.buxtonhollishistorical.org/images/buxton_bhhs_page_tour.pdf

Salmon Falls Library

      One of my favorite local places is the Salmon Falls Library, located just on the Hollis side of the Salmon Falls bridge on Route 202 - the actual address is 322 Old Alfred Road. It is in a beautiful location, right next to the Saco River, and next to the new Indian Cellar preserve. A perfect day would be to picnic by the river, do a bit of swimming, and then go hang out in the library. I visited when the library was open one evening. Like many small, local libraries, this one is primarily staffed by volunteers and has limited hours, so it can be tricky to time a visit. The library has a collection of over 10,000 printed items, in addition to audio and visual media. It has a wireless internet connection, and has over 4,000 visits a year. The director of the library is Mary Weyer, a lovely and helpful person who gave me some information regarding the history of the library.

     The library inside feels more like a comfortable, slightly shabby but elegant living room than a public institution. There are old-fashioned couches, wooden tables, a children's room with tiny chairs for the kids, elegant ceiling lights, and an air of time slowed down. Library cards are informal, a number hand-written on the back of a library business card. The place invites you in, and little kids can rummage through a toy box by the front desk and choose a stuffed animal to bring home.

     Before it was the Salmon Falls Library, the building was a tea room and a post office, according to Mary Weyer. According to my husband's family lore, my husband's grandmother was born in the building in 1891, so I am unsure of what other uses the building may have seen, and I was unable to find when it was built, but it is one of the oldest buildings in Hollis. The building was purchased by well-known local author Kate Douglas Wiggin, who said the building at the time was an "eyesore". She established a library there with 2,000 volumes in 1911. The second floor was the library, and the bottom floor was community space, which for at least part of the time was used for a children's summer vacation school. Kate Douglas Wiggin, in addition to writing children's books, was a lifelong supporter of children's education, including starting the first free kindergarten in the West in California.

     When she and her sister Nora Archibald Smith gave the building to the town of Hollis in 1934, she stipulated that it remain a library and a place for community and children's events. The library continues to hold public events, ranging from storytelling hours to shiitake mushroom workshops to summer reading programs to a monthly "Unplug with your Friends at the Salmon Falls Library" series. The library has a history of collaboration with both Buxton and Hollis groups and institutions, and it is a vital resource for the community.

     The library's mission is to bring "people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and build community." The library is supported by the towns of Buxton and Hollis, thirty unpaid volunteer librarians, a memorial fund for children's books, and the non-profit group Friends of Salmon Falls Library, organized in 1983. The library has a five member Board of Trustees appointed by the Town of Hollis.
     One side note regarding my visit - I had intended to take a photo of a bust of Ellis B. Usher, who was an influential citizen in the 1800's, and for whom my road is named. His brick house is right next to mine, and is owned by my landlords. Sadly, the plaster bust was accidentally broken only hours before I arrived! Poor Mr. Usher - this is all that remains of his likeness.

Sources consulted include:
http://www.librarytechnology.org/lwc-displaylibrary.pl?RC=19260
http://www.maine.gov/msl/libs/directories/displaypub.shtml?id=41056
https://www.facebook.com/SalmonFallsLibrary

McLellan House

     After a visit to the Academy Building, I continued on to another listing in the National Register of Historic Places at USM - the McLellan House. The McLellan House on School Street now houses the Center for Education Policy, Applied Research & Evaluation; as it was after hours, the building was closed. I roamed the exterior and tried to see if I could glimpse the Academy Building from there, since that site was originally part of this homestead, but the line of view was blocked by trees.



     The house is historically significant as it was the first brick building constructed in Cumberland County, completed in 1773. The house was built by Hugh McLellan, an immigrant from Ireland, for his family. It was built from bricks made on site with clay from Tommy's Brook, which ran through his land. The brick work looks extraordinarily well preserved after 240 years. I took a photo of just the bricks to highlight the craftsmanship.
It appears that the white part of the house was added on at a later date, and the barns and outbuildings shown in old pictures are long gone. I don't know the date of the image below, but it's likely contemporary to Hugh's time. Later images from the late 1800's show an addition built onto the left of the house.

     Hugh McLellan purchased two hundred acres in Narragansett No. 7 for ten pounds in 1739, before the town of Gorham was incorporated. He and his family lived in a log house and in the fort during the French and Indian War, but were able to complete their brick house in four years, 1769-1773. The house had been used at times for schooling before grammar schools were built, as houses often were. The family was also noted for their military service and were great supporters of the Revolution. Having made money in lumbering and farming, Hugh McLellan was also able to contribute most of the funds for the town to purchase a load of corn for the town's suffering soldiers during the Revolution. Hugh and his wife Elizabeth were the progenitors of the McLellans in Gorham, and they and their family were influential citizens. Their youngest son, Thomas McLellan, gave one acre of land for the Academy Building, and one of  the McLellan descendants, Hugh Davis McLellan, wrote "History of Gorham, ME" which was further edited and published by his daughter, Katharine Lewis, in 1902. The town and the university owes much to these first citizens of Gorham.

     The day after my visit, I went back during business hours so I could view the interior. Sharon, an administrative staff person, showed me around. I particularly noted the narrow stairways and the wonderfully detailed, recessed windows and sills. The building was acquired by Gorham State College in 1966 and was made into housing for women in the honors program. The dormitory was eventually opened to other students aged 20 years or older. Over time, the building usage changed again, housing Human Resources for a time, and now the Center for Education Policy, Applied Research & Evaluation, as stated earlier.  

 

Sources consulted include:
http://www.mainememory.net/artifact/15708/enlarge
http://books.google.com/books?id=c1tAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA242&dq=Gorham+Academy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B_qKUc-EO4qH0QG_5IDQDA&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=hugh%20mclellan%20house&f=false
http://usm.maine.edu/library/specialcollections/campus-descriptions-gorham
http://www.usm.maine.edu/arboretum/area-e

Gorham Academy Building

 

     At the end of a work day at the University of Southern Maine, I paid a visit to the Academy Building, which is located on the USM Gorham campus. Although it was finals week, the building was empty except for a lone painting instructor, whose name unfortunately escapes me - especially unfortunate, since he was so kind to me and my husband. 

     The outside of the Academy Building is grand, with pillars and porches, topped with a bell, the first bell in Gorham, hung in 1807. The front steps could use some work, but the building was in pretty good repair, judging from the outside. USM students usually see the more prosaic side, pictured below at left, where they enter to take art classes. The more imposing view is from the front, especially if one is looking up the hill from Route 114, Fort Hill Road.

     The wooden Georgian building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It was built in 1805 by Samuel Elder, a house joiner, who was later one of the first Trustees of Gorham Academy, which opened in 1806. Gorham Academy was originally meant for the instruction of boys in English, Greek, Latin, geography, astronomy, and other subjects, including moral instruction, so as to prepare them for college. There were grammar schools in existence, but Massachusetts felt there was a need for further instruction in these subjects, so students would not fall to the temptation of Satan (they would be saved by being able to read the old languages and Scripture), and to continue learning so that learning did not go to the grave with their forbears. Thirty three boys made up the first class, though girls were admitted the next session. Graduates often went on to attend Bowdoin or Exeter or other colleges, for which they were amply prepared by their attendance at Gorham Academy.

     The Academy Building was built on an acre of land granted by Thomas McLellan, who owned land adjacent (and whose house is the subject of the next post). Over the years as its usage changed, Gorham Academy was also known as Gorham Male Academy, Gorham Seminary, Gorham Female Seminary and Maine Female Seminary. It closed in 1877, but was later leased to the new state Normal School. The Normal School after a number of permutations would eventually become USM.  

     Now back to that kind art professor. He opened up the attic so we could explore the bones of the structure, which are gorgeous hand-hewn beams. Generations of art students have doodled and sketched and made their mark up there, as evidenced by one example below from 1937. The attic was even an integral part of an art installation in 2004 by visiting artist Jamie Snyder.

      The building has a long, fine history of educating young people. Currently it houses art classes, and the building is light and airy, with the smell of paint wafting through. Very few of the original features can be seen through all of the canvases, paints and detritus of artists at work, though I did see some bits of tin ceiling under the stairs. The building is not owned by USM, but is leased from the Gorham Academy Association.

Sources consulted include:  

http://www.mainememory.net/artifact/15702

http://books.google.com/books?id=jr8-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA164&lpg=PA164&dq=Samuel+Elder+Gorham&source=bl&ots=RQZl0W631H&sig=xg6YrZjLcEYJChwyDvwYu-jilBc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ffiKUYG1H83w0QGL-oDgCw&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Samuel%20Elder%20Gorham&f=false

http://books.google.com/books?id=W5zRCynDPk8C&pg=PA11&dq=Gorham+Academy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8AaLUajRK8fX0gHpm4DACQ&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Gorham%20Academy&f=false

https://www.usm.maine.edu/gallery/2004-gorham-attic-drawing-installation-jamie-snyder

Buxton Powder House

      Another one of those "I've been meaning to check this out" places I visited was the Buxton Powder House. I arrived on an early May evening, pulling the car just off the main road and onto the dirt track that led to the powder house. The Buxton Powder House is one of only three powder houses left standing in Maine, so this was a rare opportunity to see a piece of local history. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.


    
     The Buxton Powder House is located 250 yards off the west side of Route 22 in Buxton Center. The dirt track winds through the woods, though the powder house was originally situated in a field. I found an old photo of the powder house when it still had the weather vane and one could see it was in a field. Unfortunately I could not retrieve the photo, but it can be found in a book called "Buxton" by James D. Libby, and one can see a preview of the page online.
     The way was very tidy, with the lone exception of a Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee cup by the building. The building was small, made of brick, and altered a bit from the original specifications, which was for it to be “10' square, 1'1" thick and was to be made of the best bricks and lime and it had to have a good brick floor and shelves to store ammunition and kettles".

     The building was, surprisingly, unlocked, so I was able to enter past the very large and watchful spiders. The floor was wooden, and the ceiling, which was originally vaulted brick, was made of timbers. The building was constructed for $59.00 in 1813 by the lowest bidder, Theodore Elwell. The local militia kept munitions there, flints, balls, powder and more, so they could keep them accessible but safe in case they needed to protect the town. This was built during the War of 1812, when Maine was feeling the brunt of the British attacks in New England, so there was likely a real feeling of urgency to this project. Local shipping was shut down, the British and Americans were battling off the coast of Maine, and local Buxton men were mustering and being stationed at Saco in 1813. Building a powder house and storing munitions there was at least safer than storing them at the local committeeman's house down the road, as these were!

I was unable to find if the powder house was ever used after the munitions were moved to it in the spring of 1814, but an old poem from the Buxton centennial celebrations in 1872 refers to it as part of larger piece describing the town's history:

"How oft we went to muster, or hurried trembling by
The old brick powder-house that might blow us to the sky"
(Perhaps one of the hazards of going with the lowest bidder!)

 There was some vandalism to the sides of the entryway, where people had carved their initials into the wood. Yet other than that, the site felt at least marginally cared for, and a note on the Buxton Hollis Historical Society site says it "is in process of repair". The building also used to have two doors, but there is only one now. One can see it is not a large building, but it was certainly adequate for the times.

Sources consulted include: http://www.buxtonhollishistorical.org/images/buxton_bhhs_page_tour.pdf
http://books.google.com/books?id=uUUyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=buxton+powder+house&source=bl&ots=A8R-1_4U9F&sig=2ieD-ltJsdVBwuwGIgfPu1_rfgI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mz2IUbuwDqnq0wHhz4HQCA&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q=buxton%20powder%20house&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?id=AUN4DQcggHMC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false