MONSON, MAINE

HISTORY

1822 - 1997


1972 FOREWORD

The following data has been gathered and assembled with as much accuracy as 
possible.This history could not have been compiled without the many hours of help 
freely given by the citizens of Monson. The main sources of information for this 
book are listed at the back, for the convenience of the reader.

May this history bring pleasure to the readers now and in the future, but 
especially to those with memories of the past.

Jeanne Brown Reed, Althea Haggstrom French, Elizabeth Emanuelson Davis


1997 FOREWORD


It is with pride that we, the 175th Anniversary Committee, dedicate this book to 
the Citizens of Monson. Its purpose is to preserve virtually all of the events 
published in the Sesquicentennial edition of 1972 with minor corrections and the 
changes which have occurred over the last 25 years in the town.

May this book give the reader enjoyment, as well as a source of information, 
while learning about the History of Monson.

Althea Haggstrom French, Jeanne Brown Reed, Julie Sargent Anderson


175th ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE


Back Row: Richard Coburn, Annalee Korsman Libby, Jeanne"Gina" Reed, Dick Hunt. 
Middle Row: Cindy Ranta, Cindi Annis, Bernice "Bunny" Knight, Patricia Brown, 
Estella Bennett, Helen Grant, Julie Anderson, Mary Witmer. Front Row: Susan Ruby, 
Carolyn Amos, Althea French, Judy Lewis, Christine Sargent. Seated: Daryl Witmer. 
Committee members absent from photo: Janie Lander, Chris Hall, Bobbi-Jean Ryder, 
Rick Pembroke, Brenda Tetlow, John Wentworth, Carol Ward, Renie French, 
Mary-Ellen Pembroke, Clowes Brown, MaryAnn Bjork.

Co-Chairpersons: Daryl & Mary Witmer Treasurer: Bobbi-Jean Ryder 
Secretary/Publicity Co-Chairpersons: Janie Lander & Judy Lewis


BOARD OF SELECTMEN

L to R: Paul O. Suomi, Cynthia L. Annis, Alan Melia


TOWN MANAGER TOWN CLERK

Jeanne B. Reed Julie S. Anderson


HISTORY OF MONSON 1822 - 1997


EARLY HISTORY:

Monson was incorporated as a town by an act of State Legislature on February 8, 
1822. This territory was first in the possession of Massachusetts. On February 
27,1811, Massachusetts granted 11,520 acres to Hebron Academy and on June 17, 
1811, granted 11,520 acres to Monson Academy. In 1820, Maine became a State. 
April 22, 1822, was the setting of the first meeting to form a town government. 
The inhabitants of this town, in response to a warrant issued by Samuel Pingree, 
Esq., of Parkman, met at the house of Whitney, Hyde & Co., for the purpose of 
completing the organization as a town by the choice of the necessary officers. 
This they did by choosing Andrew Cushman, Moderator; Samuel Whitney, Town Clerk; 
Samuel Whitney, Andrew Cushman and Abel Goodell, Selectmen and Assessors; Lucius 
Hyde, Treasurer; Austin Newell, Constable and Collector; Abel Goodell, Lucius 
Hyde and Chauncey L. Colton, School Committee; and filling the other offices by 
the choice of good and true men. The number of voters in the town at the time of 
its organization was twenty-one, namely: Amos Atkinson, Wm. Blunt, Amasa Chapin, 
Calvin Cushman, Geo. Douty, Abel Goodell, Wm. A. Hyde, Lucius Hyde, Joseph 
Jackson, Austin Newell, Abel Packard, Shepherd Packard, Asa Piper, Horatio 
Sherman, Isaac Tyler, Samuel Whitney and Samuel Weymouth. The total population 
numbered ninety at that time. Monson continued to run on the Selectmen form of 
government until 1943, when they decided to elect a Town Manager to run the 
business of the town. The Town Manager also serves as Tax Collector, Road 
commissioner and Treasurer. The first to be elected for this office was Lyle 
Towne who held the position until 1955. To date Monson has had four town 
managers. The first settler in this town was Joseph Bearce, who came from Hebron 
in 1816. He had been here the previous year and felled a few trees. He commenced 
on lot numbered nine in the second range. During that summer, 1816, he cleared a 
field and built a small log house. This was the first house in town. It was 
situated a few rods north of the road now leading from our village to Blanchard, 
and near where the road formerly known as the "Dudley Road' leaves the Blanchard 
Road. In the spring of 1818 he married Nancy Ricker of Paris. In the autumn of 
the same year death claimed him for its victim. While Mr. Bearce lived in this 
town, the path from Abbot to the settlement diverged from the path leading to 
Million Acres, now Blanchard, and finding a pair of moose horns, Mr. B. placed 
them upon a post as a guide board. From that time on they served as a guide post 
for the many settlers traveling on these spotted trails. In 1882, William Weeks 
shot a moose and put its horns on the post. He painted Million Acres on one horn 
and Monson on the other horn. On Aug. 25, 1914, the Piscataquis Historical 
Society held a dedication ceremony replacing another set. Several pairs were 
stolen over the years and some were simply demolished from the elements. In June 
of 1955, still another pair was mounted on the iron post. This was the sixth set 
of moose horns dating from 1817 to 1955. On Oct. 29, 1961, the DAR Tisbury Manor 
Chapter placed a bronze marker at the "Moosehorns" to preserve the historic 
landmark. In 1816, Geo. Doughty from Gray, and Simeon Irish, from Hebron, 
commenced to fell trees in what has since been known as the "Witham 
Neighborhood". Mr. Irish built a small house that fall and moved into it in 1817. 
This was the first frame house in town, and was covered with shaved clapboards, 
without any boarding. It was situated on what was afterwards known as the Fogg 
place near J. B. Draper's the now abandoned Moosehorn to Blanchard Road. (The 
Draper Farm was destroyed by fire.) Mr. Doughty raised some crops on his land in 
1817, and built a log house, into which, with a wife and five children, he moved 
in March, 1818. These were the first children in town. Samuel Rowe and wife from 
Hebron came to Monson the same year. In the fall of 1818, James Stanchfield came 
from Albion, and in February 1819, moved with his family into the house built by 
Mr. Bearce. The house he built was the first house built in the east half of 
Monson, or on that part granted to Monson Academy, and the place where, for some 
length of time, the people were accustomed to meet for religious worship and for 
other purposes. This house was used for several years as a dwelling-house, 
meeting-house and school-house. It stood on the spot where Joseph Daine's 
buildings stood in 1872. (Located in the general area opposite the Finn Hall on 
Rt. 15.) In the spring of 1819, Joseph Jackson and wife, with a family of eight 
children, came from No. 7, now Abbot. He had been here the fall before and felled 
some trees on the place occupied by David B. Cotton in 1872 (now Woodlands about 
one-half mile north of the Moosehorns on Rt.15). Here he erected a log house and 
lived several years; after which he moved into the east half of the town, living 
on the farm occupied by H. C. Pullen in 1872 (occupied by Stanwood Pullen in 1972 
and now by his son John Pullen). The same season, Samuel Weymouth, Amos Atkinson 
and Abial Packard came with their families and commenced making homes for 
themselves. Mr. Packard bought Mr. Irish's house, and Mr. Atkinson located on the 
north side of Hebron Pond, this was the first settlement north of the pond . The 
first birth in the town was a child born to Simeon Irish and wife, in the summer 
of 1818. The second was in the family of Samuel Rowe, the next summer; and the 
third was a son of Amos Atkinson, in the autumn of 1819, while they were living 
so far from neighbors, on the north side of the pond. A. Atkinson's child died 
suddenly between the age of two and three months old. In the summer of 1818, the 
trustees of Monson Academy sent Abel Goodell to explore the township, thus to be 
able to recommend to others to come here to find or rather to make themselves 
homes. In the fall of 1819, Capt. Amasa Chapin traded with the trustees of the 
Academy for one mile square of land, in the east half of this town, taking the 
same in part pay for his farm in Monson, Mass. (His home was built on the present 
site of the former Edward Kugler's farm now owned by Robert O'Brien, N. Guilford 
Road.) In May, 1820, Capt. Samuel Whitney, Justin Colton and William A. Hyde, 
with their families, and Calvin Colton and Lucius Hyde, leaving their families 
behind until the next winter, and Royal Day, Austin Newell and Horatio Sherman, 
single men, seventeen in all, came from Monson, Mass., and commenced a 
settlement, where the village now stands and in the southeastern part of the 
town. They left Monson Mass. in April. They were about three weeks on the way, 
and spent the Sabbath, May 7th, at Capt. Chapin's in Abbot, where they left the 
women and children for a few days, coming here on Monday, May 8th. They stopped a 
few days in Mr. Stanchfield's house, and then went to Mr. Atkinson's where they 
found a home until they could clear away the forest sufficiently to build a 
house, which was soon ready for their reception. This house stood on the spot 
where H. G. Sherman's house stood in 1872 (now owned by Norman Berthiaume, former 
Louise Grover's, home) and was the first house in the village and the second 
framed house in town. It was the home of Capt. Whitney as long as he was a 
resident of this town, and for several years was a temporary home for quite a 
number of other families, they stopping here until they could construct some sort 
of house for themselves. In the winter and spring of 1822 and 1823, no less than 
five families found a home in this house at the same time. These were the 
families of Samuel Whitney, James Whiting, William A. Hyde, Lucius Hyde, and this 
in a house twenty-two feet by thirty and unfinished. In this house, the first 
birth in the east half of the town, and the first in the families from 
Massachusetts after their arrival here, occurred on the first day of January, 
1821. This was a daughter to William A. Hyde and wife. This child was known as 
Mrs. Catherine M. Giddings of Portland in 1872. In the summer of 1820, the dam 
was built across the outlet of the pond, thus flooding the little pond and 
rendering more valuable the water power. At this time, the water power, with one 
mile square of land (lot No. 10) was the property of Whitney, Hyde and Fay. In 
the summer and autumn of 1821, they erected a saw-mill and grist-mill. A second 
grist-mill was built by T. Davee, from Blanchard, in the year of 1841. Mr. Fay 
never came here to live and soon after sold out his interest to Frederic F. 
Gates, who with his family, came here in the spring of 1823 to make a home. Soon 
after this the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Whitney keeping the mills, Mr. 
Gates the northern and Mr. Lucius Hyde the southern part of their tract of land. 
In the spring of 1820, about three weeks after the first emigrants from Monson, 
Mass. arrived, Isaac Tyler came from New Gloucester and started to clear land. On 
March 10, 1822, he and his wife moved into his home. In February, 1822, Andrew 
Cushman and wife with a family of seven children, came from the Town of Oxford. 
Mr. C. had been here the previous year and felled trees. Mr. Cushman's was the 
fifteenth family in town. The same spring. Austin Newell brought his wife, who he 
had returned to Monson, Mass., to marry; and with them came Hiram Vinton. In the 
spring of 1822, there also came from Oxford County, Cyrus Packard, William Bowker 
and Cornelius Barrows. Zibeon Packard came about the same time. Abel Goodell who 
came in 1818 to explore the township, left Monson, Mass., in the spring of 1821. 
Leaving his family in Harmony, he came here and cleared his farm. The next winter 
he moved his family as far as Guilford, where they stayed one year. He was 
considered a resident in this town, voting and holding office in 1822, although 
his family did not arrive here until May, 1823. Although there appears to have 
been but twenty-one voters here in April, 1822, and only twenty-five votes cast 
for Governor in September of the same year, yet upon an old tax list of 1822 
there were names of thirty-two resident taxpayers. The names on that list, not 
already mentioned, are Nathaniel Bennett, Reuben Cushman, Samuel Tobin, George 
Hathaway and Isaac Stone. Hathaway and Stone were young men employed that season 
by Capt. Chapin. The others lived here with their families and probably came in 
1821 or the spring of 1822. In October, l822, James Whiting and family, five in 
all, came from Wrentham, Mass., and lived with Mr. Whitney and Mr. Atkinson, 
until Mr. Whiting could build a house, when they moved on to the place known as 
the Whiting farm (the former Bessie Doble's home on Water Street, house torn down 
in 1984) now the site of the Monson Memorial Park. In the spring of 1823, 
Alexander Greenwood, Esq., who had been employed by the trustees of Hebron 
Academy in 1811, to lot their portion of this township, and afterwards by Monson 
Academy to survey and lot the remainder of the town, moved from Hebron and 
settled on the land formerly known as the Watson farm and located beyond the R. 
Mathews' farm. (Note: the Watson Farm was owned by Andrew Sophrer of Dexter in 
1972, house burned in 1973) In the same summer Samuel Robinson, Zenas Scales 
,Abel Janes and Daniel Wallace came and settled in this town. In October of the 
same year Joseph Goodell and Dr. A. Davison came from Vermont. Mr. Goodell lived 
on the present site of Lloyd Kelley's home and orchards and Mr. Davison moved 
into Dea. Hyde's house, which had been built that summer. This house belonged to 
J.P. Haynes in 1872 and was the second house built in the village. Here Dr. 
Davison lived until 1825, in the summer he built the house which is the former 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Finley (now the residence of Richard Finley) on Center 
St. and moved into it in the autumn. Sometime during this year Samuel and Zebedee 
Thomas and John Packard settled in the west part of town. Daniel Briggs also came 
the same year. In 1824, William Connor, Simeon Davee, John Crafts, Solomon 
Cushman, John Morton and Oliver Eveleth, became residents of this town. In 1826, 
no less than nine men, most of them having families, moved into town. They were 
Capt. J. Mathews, R. K. Packard, Joseph Barrett, Roland Taylor, Warren Dudley, 
Joshua Buck, David Goodell, Benjamin Ward and John P. Packard. In 1827 came 
Joseph Booth, H. G. O. Harmon, George Dunham, William Goding and Abel Jewett. In 
1828, Abner Brown, William D. Hoar, Milton Hoar, Thomas Towns and Solomon Bray. 
Mr. Bray probably had the largest family ever living in this town, fourteen 
children, seven sons and seven daughters, all of whom lived to be men and women.


MONSON POST OFFICE:

In the year 1824 or 1825, the Post Office in this town was established. Before 
this, all the mail matter designated for this place stopped at Sangerville, and 
the inhabitants were obliged to go twelve miles to mail or to receive a letter or 
paper. Frederic F. Gates was the first post master and Hiram Doughty the first 
mail carrier. Mr. D. was succeeded, in a short time, by Benjamin Stanchfield, who 
every Saturday for two years, went on foot to Esq. Kelsey's in Guilford, 
returning in the same day, with the mail, and being obliged to cross the 
Piscataquis River twice each way - in the best manner he could for there was no 
bridge - in order to leave the mail at the Post Office in Abbot. For this service 
the government paid these men two shillings a trip, or a little more than one 
cent for each mile of travel. They usually had some errands to do for the 
inhabitants, for which they received some trifling compensation. As they 
approached the Post Office, and sometimes as they passed the houses, they sounded 
a trumpet before them to inform the people that the mail was coming, and that 
there was an opportunity for any one who wished to send errands. In 1827, the 
mail was carried by Deacon Fuller from Bangor to Monson, once a week; and in 1831 
mail arrived in Monson three times a week. After 1883 Monson had mail twice daily 
except on weekends. On February 6, 1960, the new metro system was introduced and 
mail arrives at 8 :00 A.M. and leaves at 5 :00 P.M. daily except Sundays. The 
Postmaster was chosen according to the political party in power to which he 
belonged. This no longer applies as it is a civil service position. The Post 
Office has been housed in several buildings in town: 1882, the former C. Bickford 
home, presently owned by C. Harrington of Abbot; 1889, former Monson Light and 
Power Co. Block; now owned by Bett Stevens 1910-1911 the former T. Moore Block; 
now owned by J & J Development; 1912 former Monson Variety Store; building torn 
down in 1986; 1940's moved to the T. Moore Block now owned by J. & J. 
Development. The former Monson Variety Store (owned by E. Jorgensen in 1972) and 
the former G. Vainio Building were purchased by Terris Moore and torn down in 
1986 to make room for the construction of the new post office building owned by 
William Holland of Shirley. The land was leased from T. Moore until purchased by 
Holland in 1995. Postmasters: Frederick F. Gates (1824), John H. Eveleth (1833), 
Oliver Eveleth (1834), James Bell (1840), Peabody H. Rice (1841), Alexander G. 
Houston (1845), Jonathan H. Pullen (1850), Alexander G. Houston (1853), Edwin R. 
Haynes (1864), Charles M. Coombs (1885), Albert W. Chapin (1887), Charles W. 
Folson (1889), Albert W. Chapin (1893), Roy M. Hescock (1905), Alner Gilbert 
(1913), Edward Johnson (1922), John Harvey Gilbert (1935), Harland E. Johnson 
(1949), Erma Johnson Small 1960, Dagmar Greenleaf (1973), Richard Hunt (1989) of 
Dexter is the present postmaster. Partial list of part time employees: Sarah 
Davidson, Neola Jacobson, Eloise Stevens, Dagmar Greenleaf, Glenda Brown Smith, 
Mary Witmer and Cindi Annis. (Note of Interest -The shed now attached to the 
present home of Paul Allen on Garage St. was built on Main St. after the fire of 
1911. It was used temporarily as a drug store and post office.)


FIRST ELECTRICITY IN MONSON:

On January 25, 1908, Monson had its first electricity. The power was generated 
right here in Monson by using water power from Lake Hebron. Later, when the water 
couldn't generate enough power for the Monson, Maine Slate Co. to run their 
machines, they purchased the power from Greenville which was generated at Wilson 
Pond. Monson Light and Power Co. was incorporated in December of 1907, with the 
Monson, Maine Slate Co. owning all the stock. In June of 1944 Francis Marshall 
bought all the stock of the Monson Light and Power Co. from the Slate Co. and 
bought the electricity wholesale from Central Maine Power Co. Then in June of 
1964, Central Maine Power took over the distribution facilities in the town.


FIRST TELEPHONES IN MONSON:

There are no records to confirm this statement, but it was said that the first 
telephones in Monson, were at the Monson, Maine Slate Co. Quarry and quarry 
offices, and that it just "grew like Topsy" from that time on. Mr. Fred Crane was 
superintendent of the Monson Slate Co. at that time, and he took over the 
telephone business and carried it on as a private enterprise as long as he lived, 
although it was never a paying proposition. The Southeast Monson Telephone Co., 
more commonly known as the "Farmers Line" was formed by the residents in the 
southeast part of Monson and was connected to the outside through Fred Crane's 
Co. The telephone business was sold in 1946 to the New England Telephone Co. 
which established a nice telephone office in Monson in the present Russell 
Carlson building (former Donald Keene block -1972 used as a barber shop) and 
employed several people at the time. On July 28, 1955, Monson went onto the dial 
system at 12:01 a.m. and from that time on operators were no longer needed. In 
1972, Monson could not dial direct as could many of the other cities and towns, 
but was in hopes of being able to do so in the near future. At the present time, 
Monson residents can now dial direct within the state using only the seven digit 
numbers; dial direct outside the state by dialing "1" and the state's area code. 
Emergency calls are received and dispatched by the Dover-Foxcroft Sheriff's 
office by dialing 911. Telephone service was provided by NYNEX (former New 
England Telephone) until Sept. 1997, now Bell Atlantic. Several long distance 
services are available as follows: AT&T, Sprint, Excel, MCI etc.


MONSON FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY:

January 16, 1909, seven citizens of Monson petitioned the State expressing their 
desire to be incorporated under the provisions of Chapter 57 of the Revised 
Statutes of 1903 and amendments and maintaining a free public library. February 
4, 1909, a certificate of organization of the Monson Free Public Library 
Association was filed in the office of the Secretary of State at Augusta, and 
said organization was duly notified. The first books purchased were books written 
by Stevenson, Harte, Dickens and history books, numbering 90 in all. By Feb. 6, 
1910, the library had 636 books. In 1947, the Woman's Club of Monson appointed a 
committee to work with one of the State Librarians discarding all outdated books. 
At this time, the library was completely redecorated and the books catalogued 
according to the Dewey Decimal System. It was located at this time in what is now 
the Monson's Historical Museum. On April 19, 1969, the library moved into its new 
home in the new municipal building in back of the town office. The complete 
interior facilities were donated by the Moosehead Mfg. Co. In 1972, the library 
contained approximately 5000 volumes with Miss Vivienne Bray serving as 
Librarian; Mrs. Van Wentworth and Mrs. Mary Williams, Assistant Librarians. Mary 
Williams served as Librarian between 1973-1978. Today the library houses nearly 
8000 volumes with Van Wentworth serving as Librarian since 1979. In the spring of 
1997, the library received a free computer through an AT&T special offer and it 
was connected to the Internet in September of this year.


MONSON SCHOOLS

The early settlers were very anxious for their children to be educated and the 
very first schools were held in private homes, this being before the town was 
incorporated. In 1823, a schoolhouse was erected near the center of the town. 
Traveling conditions being very difficult, it soon became necessary to have 
neighborhood schools. In 1827-28, a school was built in the Day District, and by 
1848, there were schools in various localities. There were eight rural school 
houses, those being: (1) Old Burma School - Located on Blanchard Road, abandoned 
1906. This building no longer stands. (2) New Burma School - Located on the 
Blanchard Road, opened in the spring of 1906. This building still stands and is 
privately owned and known as the Wagon Wheels camp. (3) New Long District School 
- Located on the Monson-Guilford road. Presently known as the Finn Hall and is 
still used by the Finnish Farmers Club. This one was still being used in 1907. 
(4) North Neighborhood School - Located by Drakes Corner, Elliottsville Road near 
the (former Esmond Richardson's) Richard & Carol Ward home. This building has 
tumbled down. (5) Vinton School House - Located at the corner of the Willimantic 
and S.E. Monson Roads. This building was moved to its present location across 
from Charles Strom's home in Southeast Monson in 1921. This is the original 
building and has never been used for anything but a schoolhouse. (6) Red School 
House - Located on N. Guilford Road below Day's Crossing and Southeast Monson 
Road. This building is now gone. (7) Barrows Falls School - Located between 
Blanchard and Barrows Falls. This building was in use in 1906-07, but is now 
gone. (8) Old Long District School - Located on the Route 15 near Ladd Brook 
below Belva Nelson's house. Building now gone. Monson Elementary School - The 
first grammar school building called "Old Schoolhouse" was built in 1867 and 
located between Monson Academy and the Church Cemetery. This building burned 
March 31, 1899. The new grammar school was rebuilt on the site of the present 
Elementary School. This school being centrally located made it possible to 
transport boys and girls to the village by bus. The District schools were closed 
by 1939. The Monson Elementary building was torn down and a new one built in 
1982. A new addition was added in 1994. Monson Academy owes its birth to private 
enterprise. There was a group of people who were determined that the boys and 
girls of this little hamlet should have all the advantages of the times. This 
group was made up of fifty-four citizens who were later named as "corporators". 
The corporators proved their eagerness for an institution of higher learning by 
subscribing $1,000.00 for the purpose of establishing an Academy for the 
education and improvement of youth. A committee of three petitioned the 
Legislature for its incorporation June 14,1847, and the act of incorporation was 
approved by Gov. John W. Dana, and can be found in Chapter 62 of the Acts of that 
year. The corporate name was "Stockholders of Monson Academy", each subscriber 
holding a number of shares corresponding to his subscription. The "corporators" 
met for organization at "Centre School House" in Monson on Sept. 4, 1847. Dr. 
Alpheus Davison was chosen chairman and Ephriam Flint, Clerk. On Sept. 18, 1847 
the following were chosen: Lucius Bradford, Pres.; Zenas Scales, V. Pres.; 
Ephriam Flint, Clerk and Aretus Chapin, Treas., with fifteen trustees. The 
building was erected by Joseph Lombard, for $935.51, the total cost including a 
heating system being $1,0l4.87. The building was dedicated Aug. 28, 1848. The 
Legislature granted the institution a half township, which was sold Dec. 2, 1852, 
for $3,000.00. For several years the sum constituted the entire endowment of the 
Academy. The original building was two stories high measuring 37 by 40 feet with 
the school on the ground floor and the hall above being used for a recreation 
room and for concerts, lectures and other public purposes. The Academy had a 
small, well-selected library. Monson Academy was incorporated on July 26, 1847. 
The first session of school was held in the fall of 1848 with 106 persons in 
attendance. March 1860, the Academy was burned to the ground. Reconstruction was 
started immediately and the framework of this structure measuring 37 by 56 feet 
was still uncovered when fire again selected Monson as its victim, destroying the 
greater part of the village. In spite of all obstacles the stalwart people of 
Monson finished building the Academy in 1860. The 1861 Legislature granted Monson 
Academy one fourth of a township in Aroostook County, which the trustees sold 
Jan. 24, 1864, to George K. Jewett of Bangor, for $2,000.00. The interior of the 
building was finished on the strength of this grant. The first session of school 
was held in the new Academy in 1861, and continued under the direction of the 
trustees until 1872, when the Academy united with the High School in exchange for 
a grant made by the town for this purpose. The Academy was then governed by the 
trustees and the school committee. On July 1, 1892, the first floor of the 
Academy was made into two school rooms and the high school was calcimined. On 
January 2, 1901, the Academy was made free for the students of Monson Village. On 
January 16, 1908, arrangements for a laboratory were made. March 16, 1922, 
$100.00 was spent for installing electric lights for the Academy. February 27, 
1924, $3,000.00 was spent remodeling the Academy. The Academy celebrated its one 
hundredth birthday in the summer of 1947. The same building was used with slight 
changes in remodeling the inside with up-to-date heating, lighting and plumbing 
facilities until 1968, when the Academy consolidated with School Administrative 
District No. 68. The Academy Building was remodeled to house the grades from 
Kindergarten thru the sixth grade. A few years later the sixth graders joined the 
seventh thru twelfth grades in traveling to Dover-Foxcroft by bus to attend 
Sedomocha Junior High School and Foxcroft Academy. The Monson Academy building 
was torn down in 1984. A gymnasium was one of Monson's big needs for a great many 
years. In 1940 & 1941, the Monson Community Hall fund was organized and a 
campaign was launched to raise $20,000. By August of 1941, $4,600.00 in cash and 
50,000 feet of lumber had been donated. The plan was to have a wooden building 
with a slate roof. When $10,000.00 was on hand the building would be started. 
Before the end of the year, World War II disrupted all the plans. A few donations 
continued to come in and the local organizations and school classes continued to 
make annual contributions. All organized campaigns were suspended for the next 
five years. A Monson Academy Alumni Association was organized in June of 1947. 
The first meeting for organization was held at the Masonic Hall June 13, 1947 
with Esther Pennington acting as Chairman of organization for the Alumni 
Association. At that meeting the following were chosen as officers: Pres. - 
Stanwood Pullen; V.-Pres. -Harland Johnson; Sec.- Eloise Stevens and Oswald Poole 
as Treasurer. Prior to this meeting the by-laws for the association were written 
by Millard Emanuelson as early as 1937. This group decided to back the Gym 
project. There was $16,000. in the treasury, and the Alumni Association hoped to 
double the amount. The project was known as the Monson Gym Fund from that time 
on. The steady rise in cost of materials and labor made the original type of 
building beyond reach. It was decided to have a pre-fabricated type of aluminum 
building. The sum of $22,437.50 was needed to have an outlined building with 
foundation, walls and insulation. The structure was started and once more an 
appeal was made for subscriptions. The response was generous, but there was only 
enough funds to carry on work for a few months. At the town meeting on March 11, 
1950, the town voted to borrow the sum of ten thousand dollars for the completion 
of the Monson Gym and the same to be paid back by the Alumni Association in ten 
notes, with each one being for a thousand dollars plus interest. The same year 
monthly committees were appointed to raise at least $100.00 a month. The 
enthusiasm with which these committees worked is a credit to any community. For 
five years there was a project every single month in this little town of less 
than one thousand persons and very seldom did a committee fail to raise the 
minimum, in many cases going way above the hundred dollar mark. In March, 1951, 
Monson had the honor of having the late Harland Ladd, then State Commissioner of 
Education, dedicate the new Gym. The last note on the Gym was paid June 13, 1955, 
and the note burned with fitting ceremony at the Alumni Banquet June 24, 1955. At 
one time, the seventh and eighth grades sold refreshments at recess time under 
the supervision of the late Pete Gattrell, to earn money to add to the sum of two 
thousand dollars to buy stage curtains, chairs, bleachers. showers and other 
necessities. Since the formation of the Monson Academy Alumni Association, the 
organization sponsored the annual "Sports Banquet" until consolidation with 
S.A.D. No.68. However, it still continues to hold its Alumni Banquet's in the 
Monson Gym each year on the third Saturday of July. The Association awards 
scholarships each year to Monson students attending Foxcroft Academy. The Monson 
students who graduate from Foxcroft Academy automatically become members of the 
Monson Academy Alumni Association.


DISTRICT SCHOOLS


North Neighborhood School Vinton District School (Building Gone) (Privately 
owned)


Old Burma School New Burma School (Building Gone) (Privately owned)


Long District School Red School House (Present Finnish Farmers Hall) (Building 
Gone)


MONSON SCHOOLS & GYMNASIUM


1972- Monson Schools & Gym Monson Academy and Old Grammar School (Old Photo)


1997 - Elementary School, Gymnasium & Bandstand


MONSON'S CHURCHES


Congregational Church Rev. Douglas P. Brayton Main St. - (Old Photo) 1972


Baptist Church - Pleasant Street Baptist Church - Pleasant Street Before 
Renovations (Old Photo) After Renovations (Old Photo)


Pastor Daryl Witmer Monson Community Church - Main Street 1997


Community Church Parsonage Center Street (Former Baptist Parsonage)


Swedish Lutheran Church 1997 - Good Samaritan Mission Wilkins Street Wilkins 
Street


Swedish Methodist Church Water Street Burned - Feb. 16, 1982


Rev. Mark Arbisi Monson United Church of Christ North Guilford Road - 1997


Monson United Church of Christ Parsonage - North Guilford Rd. 1997


MONSON'S CHURCHES

In May, 1820, a colony came from Monson, Mass. These were men of character and 
influence, men who had provided well for their families and who were determined 
to maintain the same high standard in this new sparsely-settled town. On their 
first Sunday after their arrival, they had a meeting for religious worship in the 
house built by Mr. Bearce. As far as anyone can trace, this was the first service 
held in Monson for the purpose of worship with the exception of two funerals. 
Arrangements were made to have religious services for the first Sunday in June at 
Mr. Abiel Packard's house, being more centrally located for Monson people and for 
the families who had settled at Million Acres, now Blanchard. The next Sabbath, 
they met again at the same place and also organized a Sabbath School. Services 
were held here for the rest of the summer. For the next two years all worship 
services were held in the home of James Stanchfield. By this time a schoolhouse 
had been built in the center of the town, and public worship was held there until 
a church building could be erected.

MONSON CONGREGATIONAL AND BAPTIST CHURCHES: In August, 1821, Rev. John Sawyer 
visited Monson, and a Congregational Church was formed consisting of seven 
members. It was not until Nov. 1824, that Rev. Lot Ryder came to be the regular 
minister and was ordained in the barn of Capt. S. Whitney. In 1831, the first 
church building north of Bangor was erected and was dedicated as a Congregational 
Church. This church, which was framed by R. K. Packard, and was the first 
building framed by the square rule, was destroyed by fire in 1860, and rebuilt 
the following year. The Rev. Anson Hubbard was minister at the time. August 10, 
1827, marked the founding of the Baptist Church in Monson, with 14 members. The 
Baptist meeting house was erected in 1845, during the ministry of the first 
regular minister, Rev. Lebbens Kingman. Slating of the roof of Baptist Church was 
completed on August 23, 1884. During the pastorate of the Rev. Joseph Grossa, 
(1918-1924) the church was remodeled, being raised two feet with a concrete 
sub-foundation and a back upper foundation. A furnace, the gift of Mrs. Brown 
Steward, was installed in the basement and the old-fashioned pews were replaced 
by new ones. The old windows were replaced by lovely stained glass memorial 
windows. A vestibule was built onto the front of the building with one large 
entrance. The belfry and steeple were raised and the church was redecorated 
inside and out. The Baptist and Congregational Church began holding united 
services in 1933. Church was held in the summer for six months in the Baptist 
Church, and in the Congregational Church in the winter of the remaining six 
months, with the Rev. Martin Sorenson officiating. On June 26, 1957, by a vote of 
8-7, a decision was made to move the Baptist Church from its location on Pleasant 
(Church) Street and physically join it to the Congregational church building, 
thus forming the Monson Community Church. In May, 1958, a building fund campaign 
was launched to finance the joining of the two churches. By late November of that 
year the new foundation for the Baptist Church at the Congregational Church site 
on Main Street was completed. The church, minus its steeple, was on skids ready 
to be moved. Donations and sales during the year had made this possible. The 
actual move, however, was delayed by circumstances until August 14, 1959. On that 
historic day the two churches finally merged their buildings into one well 
designed structure on Main Street (now Greenville Road). The Rev. Donald F. 
Blanchette was pastor at the time. The church members who helped to make the 
merger possible were: George (Bill) Wentworth, Record Pullen, Mrs. John Durham, 
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Knight, Mrs. Clifton Weymouth, Miss Vivienne Bray, Mrs. Arvid 
Anderson and Mr. and Mrs. Sherwood Johnson. One year later, to the day, on August 
14, 1960, the new sanctuary was dedicated. Rev. William R. Huber was minister at 
the time of this dedication. The lights in the steeple were given in memory of 
Samuel Pennington by Mrs. Esther Pennington. On August 20, 1961, Dr. Charles 
Gilky dedicated the pulpit in the sanctuary in memory of Dr. Shailer Mathews. In 
the summer of 1960, plans were made to make the Congregational Church Building 
into an Educational Building with three classrooms, a lounge, and restroom 
downstairs with an auditorium upstairs. $1,000.00 was left to the church by Mrs. 
Sarah Huff. This money was the "starter" for the Educational Building. The 
Committee borrowed $3,000.00 from the Guilford Trust Company and the carpenter, 
Mr. Clarence Case, started the work. In March of 1961, the Educational Building 
was dedicated, and the United Circle donated the lounge chairs to the church. 
Water and rest room facilities were installed in 1962. In 1963, the final payment 
on the $3,000.00 note was made. In the fall of 1966, the Monson Community Church 
joined with the Sangerville and Abbot Churches and formed the S.A.M. Larger 
Parish. Before this the Churches could not afford to hire a full time minister 
and relied on inexperienced students who could only stay for short periods of 
time. After forming, they were able to hire Rev. Douglas Brayton as full time 
minister devoting his time equally between the three churches. The S.A.M. stands 
for Sangerville, Abbot and Monson. 1971 brought the completion of the kitchen and 
dining room area, giving the various church and town organizations a place to 
hold their activities. In June of 1975, the Monson Community Church voted to call 
Daryl E. Witmer as pastor who began his ministry in Monson in September of 1975. 
He was subsequently ordained by the S.A.M. Larger Parish and a Vicinage Council, 
in the Monson Church, on April 28, 1979. His strong evangelical emphasis 
represented a significant shift in the theological direction of the Monson 
Community Church. By the early 1980's affliliation with the UCC was essentially 
discontinued. During Rev. Witmer's pastorate, the three Monson Community Church 
constituencies (Congregational, Baptist, and Community) were consolidated into 
one membership. Rev. Witmer's pastoral ministry in Monson (1975-present) is, to 
date, the longest in Monson church history. In the fall of 1976, the Monson 
Community Church steeple was hit by lightening, rebuilt by Moosehead 
Manufacturing and replaced by crane. On January 7, 1982, the Monson Community 
Church was officially incorporated with the State of Maine. In August of 1986, 
the Congregational Society of Monson voted to disband, deeding all property to 
the Monson Community Church. March 10, 1989, the American Baptist Convention of 
Maine (ABCOM) deeds the old Baptist Parsonage to the Monson Baptist Society, and 
all official ties with ABCOM were terminated. The Educational wing was 
refurbished in the early 1990's. A church newsletter, The Compass, was mailed to 
all town residents on a quarterly basis, and a community luncheon was hosted at 
the church for many years. May of 1991, the Abbot church calls a full-time pastor 
and the yoke with Monson is dissolved. September 29, 1996, the Baptist Church and 
Society of Monson votes to transfer all property (land and buildings) to the 
Monson Community Church, but not to disband. The Congregational Parsonage was 
located between the homes presently owned by Charles Brown and Dagmar Greenleaf 
on South Main St. In 1972 this building was owned by D. Luce. The present owner 
is Evelyn Buzzell. It was known as the Monson Chapel of the Harvey Funeral Home 
until the Spring of 1997.


SWEDISH LUTHERAN CHURCH: It was about 1874-1875, that the Swedish people began 
coming to Monson, most of them working in the slate quarries. The Swedish people 
did not understand the language of this country, and wanting to worship God in 
their own tongue, they built a Swedish Mission Church in 1890. Some of the 
members of this church were Lutheran, which is the State Church of Sweden, and 
some held other beliefs. There was a break in the organization, and in 1892 the 
Swedish Methodist Church was built. (See below for update on Swedish Methodist 
Church) From that time on the Swedish Mission Church was known as the Swedish 
Lutheran Church. Both Churches had Swedish ministers and conducted their services 
in their native tongue. There were services in these churches for many years. The 
Saturday night Church suppers which were held in the members homes were very 
popular. The Swedish Lutheran Church on Wilkins Street was sold to the American 
Legion in 1946 and converted into a Legion Hall. On Dec. 8, 1970, the American 
Legion sold the hall. While under private ownership it was used as a private 
residence, a hostel for Appalachian Trail Hikers (known as the Old Church), 
Areopagus II America and since 1996 a Good Samaritan Mission. AREOPAGUS II 
AMERICA: AIIA was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1991. Executive 
Director and Founder - Daryl E. Witmer. GOOD SAMARITAN MISSION: Located in the 
old Swedish Lutheran Church building on the corner of Hebron Street and Wilkins 
Street. Organized as a non-profit corporation in 1991. The ministry is in part, 
patterned after the well-known Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, Illinois. 
Superintendent Joe and Mona Pensiero. Services offered are as follows: Chapel 
Sanctuary & Resource Center Food Pantry/Clothes Closet Emergency overnight 
shelter and transportation Film Ministry Visitation Ministry Practical and 
Biblical Counsel Chapel Service and hot meal - Sundays at 3 pm

SWEDISH METHODIST CHURCH: The Swedish Methodist Church was sold in May of 1947, 
to the New England District Council of the Assembly of God Churches. The pastor 
at the time was Velora Boyer. The church is located on Water Street, and in 1972 
was known as the Open-Door Full Gospel Church. The Church was destroyed by fire 
in February, 1982. The town purchased the church lot in 1986 from the Charleston 
Faith School of Theology. It now is the site of the town's skating rink and 
Memorial Park.

UNIVERSALIST HISTORY: There were a few Universalist people in town in 1884. A 
parish was organized, and a few services were held. A Ladies Circle was 
organized, and a fund raised which was turned over to the Universalist State 
Convention, held in trust for Universalist work in Monson.

MONSON UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST: The Monson United Church of Christ on the No. 
Guilford Road, known as "the church on the hill", was founded in July 1982. 
Fifteen people, three UCC ministers, and Neil Seifert, a Seminary student, and 
his wife Sally, met for the first time at the Municipal Building. This small 
group was officially recognized in October, and were allowed to meet in the 
multi-purpose room in the new elementary school for eighteen months. In May, 
1983, the church as incorporated as a local independent church, elected officers, 
Deacons, and Elders, and wrote a constitution and by-laws. During the summer, one 
of the Deacons donated a parcel of land, and construction of the present church 
was started. By December of 1984, it was possible to hold services in the 
basement. Over 200 people attended a formal dedication in August of 1995. Neil 
Seifert graduated from the Seminary in 1986, and moved on to Pennsylvania, and a 
number of interim pastors filled the pulpit. Ed Stigen, a student at the 
Seminary, was called in February, 1987. In September of that year, the rest of 
the property, consisting of a house, barn, and 17 acres came on the market and 
was purchased by the Monson UCC for a parsonage. Five months of repair and 
remodeling by volunteers made the house livable and the Stigen Family moved in. 
Monson UCC and Brownville UCC yoked in order to share the expenses of a full time 
pastor. March of 1992 found the newly ordained Ed Stigen and his family moving 
back to Wisconsin, and the yoke was broken. Robert Morris, another Seminary 
student, took over the pulpit in July of 1992, and moved on to ordination and the 
Hampden UCC in July of 1994. Another student was installed in the pulpit in 
August of 1994, but William Moss was unable to secure his license in a timely 
fashion, and was asked to terminate his association with the Monson UCC. From 
February to October, 1995, the Reverend Ed Jones served as interim minister. The 
church called Mark Arbisi, a senior at the Seminary, to be pastor in November, 
1995. Mr. Arbisi was ordained in April 1997 at the Monson UCC. The church works 
regularly with FEMA in the area, maintains a food cupboard, sponsors a five year 
old African boy, donates to state and national mission projects. The Monson UCC 
keeps its doors open to all Gods' children, welcomes everyone through those 
doors, and hopes that all will find that for which they seek.

CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS PAST & PRESENT Monson Community Church 1972 In-active 1972 
Active Stella Grace Philathea Youth Fellowship Baptist Circle United Circle 
Congregational Circle Margaret-Lister Philathea Entre Nous Club Swedish Mission 
Circles Note: 1997 - All organizations listed above are now inactive

Monson United Church of Christ 1997 - Active Church Organizations Monson UCC 
Guild

SPECIAL NOTE: A special 36-page Monson Church History Sunday booklet was compiled 
and published by the Monson Community Church in conjunction with Monson's 175th 
anniversary celebration. It included various addresses, articles, updates, and 
photos of many Monson ministers through the years.

MONSON MINISTERS

Monson Congregational pastors: Lot Ryder, 1824-25; Anson Hubbard, 1827-34; John 
Baker 1835-39; Horatio Ilsley, 1840-55; R. W. Emerson, 1856-58; H. S. Loring, 
1862-67; A. H. Tyler, 1870-77; G. W. Jones, 1878-80; J. B. Haines, 1880-82; 
William G. Mann, 1882-87; R. W. Emerson, 1893; H. A. Freeman, 1893-96; G. B. 
Hescock, 1898-1902; Raymond A. Fowles, 1903-04; Charles Bodewell, 1904-05; Henry 
W. Conley, 1905-07; William Taylor, 1908-09; R. Barrow, 1910-12; Deyo, 1912-14; 
Thomas Day, 1914-1920; E. V. R. Hood, 1920-21; Thomas Cornish, 1921-24; McRea, 
1924-25; William Nicholas, 1925-31 and W. E. Davies, 1931-33.

Monson Baptist pastors: Lebbens Kingman, 1842-45; Lucius Bradford, 1845-51; 
Dudley P. Bailey, 1852-70; William S. Knowlton 1872-75; Fred F. Bickwell, 
1876-78; Edwin C. Long, 1879-83; F. R. Locke, 1885-86; Alfred Chipman, 1886-87; 
Charles Whitcomb, 1887-89; F. R. Locke, 1889-91; Samuel Pendleton, 1892-93; 
Stephen Fletcher, 1893-96; Henry Raymond, 1897-99; Henry C. Speed, 1899-1905; 
Ephraim S. Drew, 1905-08; T. Ernest Ham, 1909-15; George Chambers, 1917-18; 
Joseph Grossa, 1918-24; H. S. Philpot, 1925-26 and E. A. Rockwell, 1928-32.

Monson pastors serving Congregational & Baptist churches with combined services: 
W. Martin Sorensen, 1934-38; Anson Williams, 1939-41; Emil Ahokas, 1941-43; Ruth 
Jackson, 1943-48; Gard L. Rowe, 1948-51; Karl Lund, 1952-54 and Harold L. 
Sheppard, 1954-58

Monson Community Church pastors: Donald F. Blanchette, 1958-60; William R. Huber, 
1960-63; Everett Waite, 1963-65; George R. Castillo, 1966-67; Douglas P. Brayton, 
1967-1975; Gene W. Laramy, Summer of 1968 and Daryl E. Witmer, 1975-present (97)

Swedish Free Mission & Swedish Lutheran pastors: Rev. Ockbloom, Rev. Darvid 
Anderson, Rev. Peterson, Rev. Hogberg, Rev. Anders Anderson, Rev. Ahlberg, Rev. 
Zeterholm, Rev. Hagland and Rev. C.P. Edlund (-1913) left to work in Portland

Swedish Methodist pastors: Rev. Svanti Moody, Rev. Harold Boivie, Rev. Hartiwig, 
Rev. Emil Rydstrom, Rev. Peter Frost, Rev. Hagberg, Rev. Nelson, Rev. Otto 
Anderson, Rev. Holmberg and Rev. Salleen.

Open Door Full Gospel & Water Street Pentecostal Church pastors: George Flower, 
1945; Albert Boyer, 1947; John Palmer, 1953-59; Rev. Wilson, Millard Dickinson, 
1962-63; Jean Carter & Alice Lucas. 1971-73 and Kathy Gardiner & Celia Rodriguez, 
19??-1983

Monson United Church of Christ pastors: Neil Siefert, July, 1982 - Spring, 1986; 
Ed Stigen, February, 1987 - March, 1992; Robert Morris, July, 1992 - July, 1994; 
Bill Moss, August, 1994 December, 1994; Ed Jones, February, 1995 - Oct 1995; Mark 
Arbisi, November, 1995 - present (97).


BUSINESS HISTORY

The first store in town was opened in 1825, belonging to Oliver Eveleth. Later 
that same year Solomon Cushman opened a store. They remained the only two traders 
until 1830, when T. S. Pullen from Winthrop came to Monson and started his own 
trade. From that time on Monson's businesses have continued to grow. After the 
fire of 1860, Mr. Aretas Chapin, son of one of the early settlers, constructed a 
hotel holding fast to all the principles of Temperance. This hotel was burned in 
1882. In 1886, Monson had a Refrigerator and Butter Box Factory on the second 
floor of the Grist Mill on Water Street. The wooden boxes were lined with slate, 
the theory being that slate kept out heat and retained the cold. The project was 
not a success.

SLATE QUARRIES:

The summer of 1870 is a date that changed the pattern of living for the 
inhabitants of Monson. As William Giffith Jones was driving his horse along and 
gazing at the countryside, suddenly he saw slate. Mr. Jones, having come from 
Wales, knew slate and its commercial value. Bill bought the land from a hotel 
keeper and started the development of the first slate quarry in Monson within a 
few days. The first slate quarry was called the "Eureka" which means, "we have 
found it". Thus started the industry that was to be the main source of livelihood 
for Monson's inhabitants for many years to come. The next quarry to be opened was 
called "Hebron Pond". This was operated by a Mr. Chapin. A year afterwards it was 
sold to Henry Carter and the quarry was afterwards called "Carter Quarry". In 
1872, the "Norris Quarry" opened and was operated by Mr. Norris. He was the first 
man to install steam power. The buildings burned in 1877. 1873 - Fred Jackson 
founded the Cove Quarry in which the machinery of the Norris Quarry was 
installed. Also that same year the "Dirigo" was opened and operated by Dexter and 
Portland companies. 1874 - Forest Quarry opened and operated by Salem parties. 
1877 - Oakland Quarry opened and operated by John Tripp. The Monson-Maine Quarry 
was in operation in 1880 by Allen Williams and abandoned in 1943. 1882 - Kineo 
Quarry - operated by outside parties. 1882 - Burmah Quarry. 1870-1875 - 
Underground Quarry - operated Charles Folsom. 1895 - "West Monson" - operated by 
W. M. Jones 1902 - Mathews Quarry- operated by Mr. Mathews 1906 - Portland-Monson 
Quarry. 1910 - "Farm Quarry" and Wilkins Quarry. 1919 - "Eighteen Quarry" - 
abandoned around 1922 There were many quarries opened besides the ones already 
mentioned. These quarries received their names either from the people who owned 
or commenced operation of same or from the section of town where a new pit was 
opened for mining. There are two veins of slate which run from east and west and 
extend two miles or more through the Town of Monson or perhaps further. One vein 
is nine feet wide, the other vein is thirteen feet wide, both descend into the 
earth to an unknown depth. The Quarries had many ups and downs. In 1922, there 
were three in operation - PortlandMonson, Monson-Maine Slate and the General 
Slate Co.'s. Eventually, the Portland-Monson Slate Co. owned almost all of the 
pits or quarries located on the nine foot vein. Its mills and office are located 
on the east side of the No. Guilford Road. Quarries located on the West side of 
North Guilford Road: Hillside Quarry and mills, Cora Roberts pit, Shaft with 
tunnel (no name) Quarry located on the West side of Route 15 towards Abbot: West 
Monson Quarry Quarries located off the Degerstrom Road: Burmah Quarry & Wilkins 
Quarry Quarries located on the East side of N. Guilford Road: No. 1 (opened by 
Fred Wilkins); No. 2; No. 3; No. 4. Quarries located on Right side of Willimantic 
Road: Farm Quarry (No. 1) and mills Quarries located on Left side of Willimantic 
Road: No. 2 (Shaft, tunnel & Mill Building); No. 3 (with shaft & tunnels); No. 4 
(with shaft & tunnels). The Coleman Family, having the largest shares of stock, 
ran the Portland-Monson Slate Co. until April 1, 1965, when it changed hands. 
It's now privately owned by the Tatko family. Monson slate is considered the 
finest in the world and is particularly famous for its color being black. Monson 
slate is shipped all over the United States and into many foreign countries. A 
couple of the more noted places it can be found is on the flooring of the new 
Monson Town Office. Along with the black slate from Monson, there is a mixture of 
green and red squares from New York and Vermont quarries. The floor of the 
Northeast Bank of Guilford, Maine, also has added the beauty of Monson slate to 
its floors. Monson slate was used as the memorial stones marking the resting 
places of the slain President John F. Kennedy and his two children at the 
Arlington National Cemetery. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' headstone was also made 
by the company in August, 1994. St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City has a 
slate roof made from Monson slate. Portland-Monson Slate Co. changed its name to 
Sheldon Slate Products Co., Inc. on January 1, 1994. The company has two plants, 
one located in Monson, Maine, the other in Middle Granville, New York. John Tatko 
III is the general manager of the Monson plant which employs a small crew. A 
different method of mining the slate began in 1989, called open pit mining. Open 
mining is being used in the old West Monson pit on the Burmah Quarry Co. vein. A 
road is built down into the pit where the slate is removed and hauled to the 
surface by truck. Many of the abandoned open pits owned by the company in Monson 
have been filled with the slate from the rubbish piles. The slate from these 
abandoned old slate rubbish piles is being used in the base of roads. Today new 
technology is being used by the Monson plant to produce specialty items made from 
the Vermont green slate, New York red slate and the Monson black slate. The 
company has two computers which control the machines used in cutting the slate 
from which slate products are finished. All the items made from Monson black 
slate are finished at the Monson plant as well as many of the slate products from 
the New York plant. The following is a list of the speciality items produced: 
electrical circuit panels, slate sinks, counter tops, monuments, structural slate 
and various custom projects. Monson-Maine Slate Co.- located at the end of Chapin 
Ave. became the sole owner of the following pits or quarries located on the 
thirteen foot wide vein: West side of Rt 15-Greenville Road to Pleasant Street: 
Norris Quarry, Eastern Quarry, Dirigo Quarry, Hebron Quarry and Cove Quarry. East 
side of Greenville Rd - Rt. 15: Underground Quarry, Pine Tree Quarry, Eureka 
Quarry, Kineo Quarry, Monson Pond Quarry, Oakland Quarry, and Forest Quarry. 
South of Monson-Maine Slate Quarry Mills (now Moosehead Mfg.): Phillips Quarry or 
#17 and Eighteen Quarry. Monson Maine Slate Co. closed in 1943. On August 9, 
1944, an Auction was held under the management of Henry S. Anthony & Co. 
(Auctioneers) of Lowell, Mass. with Samuel A. Anderson, Auctioneer of Guilford, 
Maine. 375 Lots of Machinery and Equipment, Saw Mill with Water Power and 1350 
acres of Timberland were sold. The mills were sold to Moosehead Mfg. Co. in 1947. 
In March, 1983, Monson Maine Slate Co. (subsidiary of the Fletcher Co. of 
Massachusetts) sold the Kineo quarry to the Town of Monson. The town had used the 
abandoned pit for a rubbish dump since the 1940's. The rubbish (landfill) was 
covered and closed in Oct. 1995 and a fence surrounding the pit installed in 
1996. Carl Vainio (Kennedy Slate Co.) purchased the remaining Monson Maine Slate 
Co. land and quarries in May of 1988. Kennedy Slate Co. now sells the slag slate 
from the piles of waste slate for rip rap, road beds, patio and walk ways. Other 
Quarries located in Monson and the area: Located off the Blanchard Road: -Lowell 
Quarry -(opened on the P.M.S. Co. Vein) operated by Monson-Maine Slate -National 
Slate Co. - Blanchard Road -Matthews Quarry with Boarding House - 2 pits Located 
off the Blanchard-Shirley Road: -Moosehead Quarry and a Quarry (name unknown) 
operated by M.M.S. Co. -State of Maine Quarry - Note: Down below this pit was a 
building used to grind the rubbish slate into a product to be used in paint. The 
finished product was shipped on the B&A Train. Located in Willimantic: Leighton 
Quarry operated by Monson-Maine Slate Co. In the 1940's.

MONSON RAILROAD: In the early days transportation was by foot, horseback or a 
team of oxen. Later came the stage from Bangor to Greenville. In 1871, the 
railroad company of Bangor hired a man to survey a road from Guilford to 
Greenville. The road he surveyed would have run between the saw mill and the 
G.A.R. Hall (now Monson's Historical Museum), and through Henry Grover's orchard 
(the former Louise Grover property) now owned by N. Berthiaume. But soon the 
people found out that the Railroad Company had sent a surveyor to survey a road 
following the Piscataquis River from Guilford to Greenville via Blanchard. With 
this misfortune the townspeople later felt that they needed some means of 
transportation. In June, 1883, our little narrow gauge railroad, which was six 
miles long running from Monson to Monson Jtc., came into existence. The 
equipment, which was original or close to it, consisted of two engines, one 
combination car, 28 flat and box cars, one snowplow and one spreader. It was 
commonly known and called the "Two-by-six", being two feet wide by six miles 
long. It can be found in some reference books that the Monson Railroad was 8.16 
miles long when it's only 6.16 miles from Monson to Monson Jct.. However, it was 
necessary to add the extra two miles of tracks going through to Eighteen Quarry 
which was beyond Monson-Maine Quarry. The Monson Railroad was first organized as 
the Monson Railroad Company in 1882 and made its first run in 1883. In 1908 it 
was sold to Monson Maine Slate Co. Francis Marshall purchased the station, land 
and office located on Water Street in 1945. The Monson Maine Slate Co. Railroad 
wasn't official dissolved until 1975. The first two engines number 1 and 2, 
0-4-4-T were Hinckleys and were built in 1882. The next two engines were numbered 
3 and 4. No. 3 0-4-4-T was built by the Vulcan Iron Works in 1912 as was No. 4 
0-4-4-T which was built in 1918. The latter two were nearly identical except that 
No. 3 had one stirrup to lift you up into the cab whereas No. 4 had a double 
step. The railroad's primary purpose was to haul slate from the quarry to Monson 
Jct. It also carried passengers, mail and freight. The "Peanut Roaster", as we 
fondly called the little train, never turned around. She always backed the whole 
six miles from Monson Jct. to Monson Station. The narrow gauge railroad was 
chartered in 1882, built in 1883 and abandoned in 1945. The Railroad Station 
building on Water Street is presently owned and being restored by Cliff Olson. 
Bus service was in existence in 1944 and ceased functioning in 1958, operated by 
Hasey's Bus Lines.

"REDVILLE" Remembered by Kenneth Simmons

The Monson Maine Slate Co. owned six company houses located at the end of Forest 
Ave. These homes were built in a row from south to north and were painted red. 
These homes were occupied by workers of Monson Maine Slate Co. The last residents 
to live in "Redville" were: First house: John Johnson , his daughter Edith and 
son Arthur Second house: John and Jesse Nelson & Family Third house: Fred and 
Lizzie Simmons & Family Fourth house: Walter Robinson & Family (also had been 
occupied by John Ponkala) Fifth house: Burned Sixth house: William and Nina 
Mackie & Family In 1943, the Simmons family were the only ones left, the rest of 
the houses stood empty. In the same year, the Simmons family moved to town and 
into the present Phyllis Ruksznis house on Garage Street. Sherwood Johnson tore 
down the majority of the deserted buildings. Others who also lived in the houses 
of "Redville" were Martha Tuomi Viik and Frank W. Nelson.


MOOSEHEAD MFG. COMPANY:

After the closing of the Monson, Maine Slate Co. in 1943, a Board of Trade was 
formed by the merchants for the purpose of interesting an industry to locate in 
town. In 1945, the Moosehead Woodcrafter's plant in Greenville was destroyed by 
fire. It was rumored that they did not plan to rebuild in Greenville. The Board 
of Trade then met with the officials of the Moosehead Woodcrafters and they 
agreed to locate in Monson for $50,000. The Board of Trade called a meeting of 
all interested citizens and it was decided to finance this venture by selling 
shares of stock. The quarry buildings were purchased, remodeled, and work was 
begun at once. The Woodcrafters made a wooden chair with a seat and a back of 
webbing. The Woodcrafters operated about a year and a half and failed, leaving 
Monson shareholders with nothing but worthless pieces of paper. The spirit of the 
founders of Monson showed in this generation, and a Creditors Committee was 
formed. The stockholders raised twenty thousand dollars more and the plant 
operated for another six months, but could not keep going. The situation was 
really looking black when John Durham of Belfast, Maine, became interested in the 
project. Mr. Durham had formerly been employed by Diamond Match Co. for a number 
of years and as he says, his job was "putting sick factories onto their feet 
again". The Board of Trade appealed to the stockholders and ten thousand dollars 
was offered to John and Tolford Durham to take over this "sick plant". The 
Durhams invested heavily in the plant and put long, hard days trying to 
straighten out a very bad situation beginning in 1947. John Durham had to learn 
the furniture business from the bottom up. It was "nip and tuck" for the first 
three years; then things began to look brighter. In 1954, the Moosehead 
Manufacturing Company was able to pay a dividend to their stockholders. On 
October 29, 1959, Moosehead Mfg. purchased an abandoned woolen mill in 
Dover-Foxcroft to extend the production of their beautiful furniture and opened 
for business in late 1960. Both plants, in 1972, had roughly 200 employees. In 
1997, the company employs 230 people. In 1972, the company had sales offices in 
New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco with showrooms in New York 
and North Carolina. In 1997, the company no longer has sales offices, only 
independent representatives. The only showroom is located in North Carolina. 
Tables and chairs were the Monson plant's major production in 1972, while the 
DoverFoxcroft plant manufactured upholstered and bedroom furniture. Upholstered 
furniture sales ended in early 1990's. Today, tables, chairs and other dining 
pieces dominate Monson's production. The company also offers about 250 different 
items in a variety of finishes and styles throughout the United States with a 
presence in 41 states. September 30, 1973, fire destroyed the saw mill at the 
Moosehead Mfg. Company and was later rebuilt. In 1997, celebrating its 50th 
Anniversary, Moosehead Mfg. Company continues its family owned orientation with 
2nd and 3rd generation management. The company's principal raw material remains 
hard maple logs harvested from Maine's nearby forests and continues to be a 
strong value added industry serving local communities.


1972 MONSON BUSINESSES WITH THEIR EARLY HISTORY AND FORMER OWNERS UPDATED - 1997

KENNEDY SLATE CO. BLDG (The former - MILTON BARTLETT'S GULF STATION) The land and 
buildings owned by French & Curtis - they bought the land from Arthur Bessey in 
1956. The first manager - John Ruksznis followed by Ronald Clukey, Maurice Davis, 
Frank Templeton and in 1967, it was opened by its present operator- Milton 
Bartlett. In 1979 it was owned and operated by George Gorey. In 1997, the 
property is owned by Mike Davis & Carl Vainio.

MOOSEHEAD TRAIL ANTIQUE SHOP - (The former -YANKEE TRADER) The building was built 
for Daniel Champion in 1935 by Percy Smith and was known as Champion's Filling 
Station. It was later acquired by Arthur and Edna C. Haggstrom and in 1971 sold 
to Alanson Robbins. Owned by Roger Page in 1976 and known as Page's General 
Store. Presently owned by Bernard Crabtree who is currently remodeling the 
building to open an antique shop.

MONSON GARAGE - The bottom story of the John Ruksznis home was previously located 
on Main St. between (the former A. Haggstrom and D. Williams houses) G. Tabor and 
B. Holmbom houses. At that time the building which was know as the Monson Garage 
in 1972 was a barn built in the early 1880's and situated in back of this house. 
After it was moved it was used as a livery stable by P. W. Knight and then as a 
leased garage. Former business owners were: Archie Greenleaf and Stanley Stevens; 
Archie Greenleaf; Daniel Champion; Will Champion (operated by Leslie Robinson); 
Edward Dutra; Lloyd Butterfield; and Hal Stanchfield. In 1972, John Ruksznis 
owned and operated Monson Garage and had been in business for 26 years. Ruksznis 
moved his business to a new garage built on the north side of his home and sold 
the barn building and lot in 1991 to the Monson Fire Department. On October 12, 
1995, the garage was demolished.

O'SHEA BUILDING (The former STORER'S HOME CARE CENTER) This was a hardware store 
owned by Billy Eldridge and later by Luther Colbath. It was then bought by John 
Strom, then by Sam Ulman and used as a meat store. The American Legion bought it 
from Ulman and they in turn sold it to Ira Bishop. Next Arnold Grant owned it and 
he sold out to Berwin Storer (Owner in 1972). Storer sold to L. Goodwin. 
Presently owned by Elinor O'Shea. The building is vacant. (Note: The Civil 
Defense had a lookout tower built on top of this building during World War II to 
report airplanes that passed the area.)

MONSON GENERAL STORE (the former J & J GENERAL STORE) Attorney John Sprague's 
house stood here before the 1910 fire. It was rebuilt by Arthur Brown and made 
into a general store. It was then taken over by Clarence Brown. The block was 
sold to the following people in the proper sequence: Ethel & Arvid Holmquist, 
Paul Hoyle, Laurice Goodwin, Joseph & James Quartararo, C. Leavitt and James 
Quartararo, R. Chamberlian, R. Pierce and then purchased by the present owner 
Bettinan Stevens in 1977. Stevens lives in the upstairs apartment.

MONSON HARDWARE BUILDING ( The former MONSON LIGHT AND POWER BUILDING) In 1889, 
C. W. Folsom had a drug store on one side of the building, and a Post Office was 
on the other side. Roy Hescock had the drugstore - Post Office when the building 
burned in the 1910 fire. In 1912, it was rebuilt by Alner Gilbert. Since that 
time it has been used as a Variety Store, A&P Store, Grocery Store and Post 
Office with apartments upstairs. In 1972, it was owned by Francis G. Marshall and 
used as an office and storage. Rents upstairs - vacant. Since 1972 owners 
include: Berwin Storer; Joanne Gourley who renovated the three second floor 
apartments and changed the name to the Monson Hardware Store. Gourley sold to 
Charles Patterson in 1979. In 1988, it was sold to James Winslow. Bettinan 
Stevens purchased the building from Winslow in 1995 and presently rents the 
street floor as a craft store. All three upstairs apartments are rented.

DONNA VAINIO REAL ESTATE BLDG. (The former - POOLE'S MARKET) Former owners - 
Ladd, W. A. Bray, Arthur Bray, Nadeau. Oswald Poole bought it from Nadeau. It has 
always been a grocery store. It was damaged by fire in 1955 when Nadeau owned it. 
Rent in back was gutted by the fire and was removed. Rent upstairs - vacant. 
Since 1972, owners include: L. Schaff; N. Moore. In 1997, the building is owned 
by Mike Davis and houses Donna Vainio's Real Estate Office on the street floor. 
Apt upstairs is vacant.

MASONIC BLOCK - Burned in 1911. Arthur Brown had a store on the street level and 
a house owned by him was located out back of the Masonic Hall. A stable was 
underneath which also burned. Rebuilt. The first floor housed two businesses. One 
side was a hardware store with the following proprietors: Bill Eldridge, George 
Pullen, and Gordon Hall. The other side has been used as a restaurant, office, 
variety store and dress shop. Second floor - Banquet room, Dentist and Doctor's 
offices, Barber and Beauty shops and club rooms. Third floor - the main hall was 
used for dances and by the Masons, Odd Fellows, Rebekahs, and Star. The Monson 
Academy Winter Carnival Balls' were held in the Masonic Bldg. until the Gym was 
built.

The building was damaged by fire July 12, 1969. In 1972, the owner of the 
building was Edward Adams and was vacant.. Since 1972, owners include H. 
Fountain, M. Korsman. In 1997, three investors, known as GDS, own the building. 
Building is vacant.

FORMER MONSON VARIETY STORE - The fire of 1911 started in this building. At this 
time Sam Hughes had a clothing store and barber shop housed here. The rent 
upstairs was occupied by Storer Flint who died in the fire. A bowling alley was 
in operation in the basement. The building was rebuilt by Henry Grover for Edward 
Johnson and was used as a grocery store then a Post Office. Rent upstairs 
remodeled. Purchased by Evold Jorgensen about 1944-45. In 1972, owned and 
operated by Madeline Jorgensen. Since 1972, owners include: C. Leavitt Jr., T. 
Moore. Building was torn down in October 1985 to make room for the new Post 
Office building.

FORMER GALEN VAINIO BUILDING - This building was burned in the 1911 fire. 
Rebuilt. Former owners were Jesse Rogers and Harry Daw. Daw operated a grocery 
store and the Daw family occupied the 2nd floor apartment. After Daw died the 
grocery store was operated by Harry Hughes followed by Stanley Austin Robinson. 
Mrs. Daw sold the building to Galen Vainio in December 1969. Terris Moore bought 
the building in October 1985. The building was torn down and is now the site of 
the new Post Office building.

J&J DEVELOPMENT BLDG (The former - TERRIS MOORE BLOCK) Roy Hescock building 
housed a drugstore and Post Office which burned in 1911. R. Hescock rebuilt on 
the same site which housed a drug store and a Barber Shop with two apartments on 
the second floor. Hescock then sold it to Aubrey Williams who ran a drugstore 
with a Post Office in operation on the other side. In 1972, the building was 
owned by Terris Moore, who lived in the upstairs apartment. In 1992, building was 
purchased by J.& J. Development. Building presently houses the Appalachian 
Station Restaurant, two upstairs apartments, one back apartment still used by 
Mrs. Terris (Katrina) Moore and a craft shop where the old Post Office was 
located.

FORMER BLUE GOOSE - Owned and operated by Joe Davison as a funeral parlor. Burned 
in 1911 and rebuilt. It was then used as a feed store by Guy Hammond. Danny 
Guilds operated an antique shop called the Blue Goose. In 1972, it was owned by 
Edward Adams and used for storage. In 1996, Charles Adams sold to Marie Davis of 
Massachusetts. Mrs. Davis is presently remodeling the building. Plans are for 
three seasonal apartments with an Antique Shop in the front on the street level.


RUSSELL CARLSON BUILDING -(The former - DONALD KEENE BUILDING) Built after 1897 
fire. Owned by Orrin Rice and used as a barber shop and dwelling. Sold to D. 
Keene who had a barber shop and bakery. In 1972, Dr. Isaac Nelson's office and an 
apartment was located on the first floor; rental apartment upstairs was vacant. 
(Note: the telephone office was once housed here when operators were employed.) 
Since 1972, owners include: L. Goodwin & R. Edwards. Russell Carlson is the 
present owner with two rented apartments.

MONSON LAUNDRAMAT - This building belonged to Coombs & Johnson between 1883 and 
1885. The building burned in 1897. Henry Grover owned it about 60 years ago and 
used it as a Country Store. H. Grover's son, Merton Grover, ran a bakery and 
later opened a saloon. Louise Grover sold to Humphrey in 1963. Humphrey in turn 
sold to Laurice Goodwin. Rent upstairs. Since 1972, owners include: W. Maheux 
(1978), Rhodin (1985) & R. Brann. The Laundramat is presently owned by Joyce 
Babcock who resides in the upstairs apartment.

WEYMOUTH BUILDING - (The former - KNIGHTS STORE) - 1888 bought by P. W. Knight 
from C. S. Pullen & Co. and was known as P. W. Knight & Sons (Amos & Henry). It 
was always used as a Dry Goods and Clothing Store. Rent upstairs was occupied by 
Katherine Knight in 1972 and the store was closed. In 1987, K. Knight sold the 
building to Peter & Dorothy Weymouth. Weymouth presently has one rent upstairs 
and has remodeled the street floor into three separate store spaces. The Top Hat 
Beauty Salon is presently located in the center store area.

DAR BUILDING/MONSON MUSEUM -(The former - TOWN HALL & GAR BUILDING) - First 
building built after the Civil War. Destroyed in the fire of December 28, 1888. 
Rebuilt. The annex built in the 1930's by W.P.A. men. The GAR turned the building 
over to the Town of Monson in the early 1940's. When the town owned it they 
housed the Town Office, Fire Dept. and Public Library on the first floor. Second 
floor - was used for many activities. In 1972, the town deeded the building to 
the Tisbury Manor Chapter DAR and it presently houses Monson's Historical Museum. 
(Note: In 1889 the town meeting hall was located in [Tarr] Spencer's Hall.) The 
hose tower, attached to the northeast side of the building, was repaired and 
painted through the efforts of the DAR. Fund raisers were held by the Monson 
Preservation Society throughout 1996 to pay for painting the building. In 1997, 
the building still houses the Museum on the second floor. The DAR and the 
TowneHolmbom Legion Post hold their monthly meetings in the downstairs room that 
formerly housed the town office.

SAL'S COUNTRY STORE & JOEY'O'S CAR WASH - (The former - WAYMOUTH'S GARAGE) 
Located on the Greenville Road. Built by Dennis Weeks for Arthur Day in the late 
1920's. Arthur Day owned and operated a garage until 1942. Closed from 1942-45. 
Reopened by A. Day who operated a garage for a short time before selling to Earl 
Waymouth in the late 1940's. Business closed by Waymouth in 1971. In 1987, 
purchased by R. Wallace: known as R & R Service Center; Feb. 1990, purchased by 
M. Ouellette. Presently owned and operated by Sal & Doug O'Donnell. Garage 
section is leased by H. Bouder, known as Harry's Garage.

J. DAWKINS BUILDING -(The former DAIGLE & DAIGLE HARDWARE STORE) Built by Patrick 
and Jerry Daigle. Opened in the summer of 1970. Hardware and lumber goods. 
Located on Rt. 15. Business closed in March 1988. Pray's Auto - used car business 
- operated out of the building until July 1991. Presently owned by John Dawkins 
and used as an auto body shop.

MONSON UTILITIES DISTRICT (Former MONSON SPRING WATER CO.) - The Monson Spring 
Water Co. was originally started as a source of water by A. W. Chapin for his own 
use who was then the owner of the building what is known as- Brown's Nursing Home 
( now owned by Maine Properties). In 1897, Alvin Gray, with three others, formed 
a company and brought the spring water from the hill into the village. Will Bray 
bought the water company from Percy Smith on Dec. 4, 1925. W. Bray then sold to 
Maude Bray on Oct. 8, 1945. M. Bray in turn sold it to Elwin & Marguerite French 
on Oct. 25, 1948. On April 8, 1955, E. French sold his half to Esmond Richardson. 
E. Richardson & M. French sold to Thaxter Jones on June 20, 1962. In July of 
1968, townspeople voted at a special town meeting to purchase the Water Company 
for $6,000. On Oct. 1, 1968, the Town of Monson took over the Water Co. from 
Thaxter Jones. The town owns the company at the present time. In 1979, a new six 
inch primary main pipeline was installed from the reservoir to Valentine Turner's 
home along South Main Street. A new well was drilled on Homer Hill with a line 
leading down the hill to the former Agnes Holmbom's home (now James Brown) on 
Main Street. Total estimated cost of the project was $135,000.00. Chlorine pumps 
were installed at both locations by 1993. SEWER DISTRICT - In 1973, the Monson 
Utilities District was formed and approved by the State Legislature. An 
engineered design for a town wide sewerage system was completed in 1973. However, 
construction costs prohibited the system from ever being built. In 1984, a Small 
Community Grant from the Department of Environmental Protection allowed the town 
to connect the Main Street business', discharging directly into Lake Hebron, the 
opportunity to install a "limited" sewerage disposal system. From 1984-1990, 
three homes on Center St., all homes on Main Street and the homes along lower 
Pleasant, Wilkins and Hebron Street were connected. Two large leach fields, one 
is located off Water Street and one in the school ballfield, were constructed to 
serve these homes.

C. V. (TAD) TURNER, INC. - Forest products and general trucking, bulldozing, 
shovel, back-hoe, crane work, and excavating. Located on the William Hughes Farm 
on the Willimantic Road. In 1997 the corporation is in-active.


1972 ACTIVE BUSINESS'

INSURANCE: Francis G. Marshal - Hartford Insurance Co. and Monson Light and Power 
Co. Robert E. Lander - General Insurance Stanley A. Robinson - insurance and real 
estate broker FOREST PRODUCTS: Merton Carr - woods operator Bjork Bros. - William 
and Harlan - woods operators Robert Brown - pulp buyer Wayne Reed - pulp and logs 
Hollis Nelson - woods operator Lloyd G. Kelley - building camp roads and backhoe 
work Kelley Bros. - apple orchards C.V. Turner - forest products and contractor

BEAUTICIANS: Me Me's Beauty Salon - Amelia Daigle, prop. Jo L's Toppe Knott Shop 
- Joyce Lander, prop.

MISCELLANEOUS: Phyllis Ruksznis - bakery Raymond Anderson - painter (buildings) 
Berwin Storer - painter (buildings) Dennis Casey - "Wildwood Camp Ground" Monson 
Pond Herbert Bishop - snowmobile dealer - Bishop's Great Outdoors Joyce Kelley - 
antiques Brown's Nursing Home - Raymond Bishop, prop. French's Boarding Home - 
Marguerite French Robert L. Greenleaf - electrician Robert Leavitt - electric 
motors Olive Hammond - seamstress Leon Piela - carpenter Lawrence Hammond - 
bookkeeper William Erickson - crawlers (bait) Earl Waymouth - live bait Ed and 
Audrey Higgins - live bait Kendrick Benton - photographer Gerry Weymouth - artist 
and teacher Elinor Brayton - artist Mrs. Elizabeth Seitz - The Shell Studio 
Coffee Shoppe Kahvila - Helen Johnson, prop. Bessie Doble - antiques Patrick & 
Jerry Daigle - carpenters Edna Haggstrom - knits and crochets articles for sale 
Harry Lindie - radio repair F. Elwin French - repair shop and makes novelties

TWO ACTIVE FARMS: John Sandberg - Southeast Monson Forrest Stevens - ( Old 
Steward Farm) Southeast Monson


1997 ACTIVE BUSINESS' Althea French, Tole painting on Slate Appalachian Station 
Restaurant - Cindy Turner, Prop. Barry-Scott Hall - Scenic Photography Busy 
Buddies Daycare - Sherry Bjork, Prop. Donna Vainio Real Estate - Donna Vainio 
Prop. Ed Tully - Wooden Novelty Items G.A. Reed, Logging - Gordon "Mike" Reed, 
Prop. Hat's Off Beauty Salon - Shawna Knight, Prop. Hair Designs - Daylinda 
(Stone) Storer, Prop. Harry's Garage - Harry Bouder, Prop. Henry Erickson - 
Wooden Novelty Items Joey O's Carwash - Sal & Doug O'Donnell, Prop. Leary's Soils 
Works - Joseph & Corinne Leary, Prop. Kennedy Slate Mine Forestry - Carl Vainio, 
Prop. Kevin Storer - Carpentry Lake Hebron Heights - Senior Citizen Complex - 
Alice & Al Theriault, Prop. L. G. Kelley & Sons, Inc. - Lloyd G. Kelley, Prop. 
North Country Seafood - Ron Nickerson, Prop. Monson 24-Hour Towing - Doug 
Villone, Prop. Monson General Store - Bett Stevens, Prop. Monson Kennels - Doug & 
Judy Villone, Prop. Monson Laundromat - Joyce Babcock, Prop. Moosehead Mfg. Co. - 
Wayne Huff, President Pie Lady Lodging - Sydney Pratt, Prop. Robinson's Mobil 
Mart - Cherry Applebee, Mgr. Sal's Country Store - Sal & Doug O'Donnell, Prop. 
Sargent's Sun Tanning Salon - Christine Sargent, Prop. Shaw's Boarding Home - 
Patricia & Keith Shaw, Prop. Shear Magic - Cindi Annis, Prop. Sheldon Slate 
Products Co., Inc. - John Tatko, Gen. Mgr. Stewart Smith - Masonry and Gen. 
Carpentry Suomi Plumbing - Paul Suomi, Prop. T.H.A. Logging - Thomas Adkins, 
Prop. Wildwood Shores Campground - Monson Pond - Larry Lewis Prop.


Editor: Use the photo's from page 45 in 1972 History Book


HEBRON POND QUARRY (Abandoned)


KINEO QUARRY (Abandoned) Building now Used as Town Sand Shed


Editor: Use photo's from page 46 in 1972 History Book


PORTLAND-MONSON SLATE CO. 1910-12


SHELDON SLATE PRODUCTS CO., INC. Formerly: Portland-Monson Slate Co. (1972 Photo)


Editor: Use photo's on Page 47 of 1972 History Book


MONSON, MAINE SLATE CO. (Old Photo)


MOOSEHEAD MANUFACTURING COMPANY - (1972 Photo) Formerly the Monson, Maine Slate 
Co.


Editor: Use photo of "Table & Chairs" from page 48 in 1972 History Book


1972 - MAPLE TABLE & CHAIR SET


Products manufactured by MOOSEHEAD MANUFACTURING COMPANY


1997 - KINEO BEDROOM COLLECTION OF SOLID ASH


Editor: Use Photo of Kennedy Marker from Page 48 of 1972 Book


President Kennedy's marker made by Portland-Monson Slate


PRESIDENT J. F. KENNEDY, JACQUELINE KENNEDY AND CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL STONES 
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY


Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' marker made by: Sheldon Slate Products Co. - 1994


M.R.R. No. 3 Engine at Monson Station on Water Street


M.R.R. No. 4 Engine - Engineers: Albion Johnson & Elwin French


Monson R.R. Engine at Monson Jct. Station in Abbot, ME


Monson Narrow Gauge Railroad Station Water Street - Monson, ME


CHAMPION'S FILLING STATION - 1972 YANKEE TRADER Built in 1935


MOOSEHEAD TRAIL ANTIQUES Bernard Crabtree - Owner (1997 Photo) (Former Yankee 
Trader and Page's General Store)


MONSON GARAGE IN 1923 Arthur Haggstrom and Archie Greenleaf 1972 Owner - J. 
Ruksznis Demolished in 1995


1997 Garage Street - Site of former Monson Garage located in vacant lot between 
the two buildings.


MAIN STREET LOOKING SOUTH (Old Photo) R - L: Masonic Block, G. Vainio's, 
Restaurant and Post Office, E. Adams, Former A. Anderson's, D. Keene, Laundramat, 
and Knight's.


MAIN STREET LOOKING NORTH (Old Photo)


MAIN STREET LOOKING SOUTH (Old Photo)


1972 - POOLE'S MARKET DONNA VAINIO'S REAL ESTATE (1997 Photo)


G.A.R. Hall - taken before Former American Legion Hall Annex built in 1930. With 
Civil Defense Tower. Taken in early 1940's. 1972-Storer's Home Care Center. 1997- 
Vacant


G.A.R. Hall, then Town Hall, Present DAR Building.


1972 - MAIN STREET LOOKING NORTH


1972- MAIN STREET LOOKING SOUTH


MONSON MUNICIPAL BUILDING

On February 14, 1968, the town approved an earlier proposal of building a new 
municipal building to house Monson Town Office, Library, Fire Department, highway 
Dept. and Youth Activities room. Ground was broken in April of 1968 for the new 
building which was designed by Dan Edgerton at the site of the former Willer 
House. The cost of the new building was $39,200.00. On June 16, 1969, open house 
was held dedicating the new building to the town. An addition was added on the 
north side in 1989.


FIRE DEPARTMENT HISTORY

Prior to the organization of the Monson volunteer Fire Department, the town had 
no fire fighting equipment and depended on the help of the townspeople. In 1877, 
Alvin Gray, who was the selectman, bought an engine, and an old hand tub and some 
hose for $400 which the town appropriated for that use. At that time, much was 
said against the purchase until the fire of 1897 which burned the buildings from 
the canal to Knight's Store. This section was rebuilt as follows from Knight's 
store to the canal - Grover's now the Laundromat owned by Laurice Goodwin (1972) 
J. Babcock (1997); Orrin Rice - known as the Donald Keene block (1972) now R. 
Carlson; E. McIver - last known as Arvid Anderson's Store which was demolished in 
1966; J. Davison -former Edward Adams (1972), now M. Davis (1997) and used for 
storage. The first fire apparatus is in a museum in Meredith, New Hampshire. The 
Monson Fire Department was organized in 1937, with Dennis Weeks as Chief, and 
sixteen members who were Arthur Day, Merton Grover, Clair Sargent, Stanley 
Stevens, Cliff Simpson, Henry Knight, Erick Erickson, Arthur Haggstrom, Fred 
Berry, Anselm Swanson, Paul Jackson, Guy Hammond, Thomas Mountain, Elwin French, 
Robert Benton and Eugene Bickford. The first fire house was in the old GAR Hall 
known as the old Town Hall on Main Street and remained there until 1968 when the 
new Municipal Building was built. In 1937, the first motor driven fire engine was 
purchased which is still being used today. The department presently has two fire 
engines, two tank trucks and an Army Surplus truck. An alarm system was installed 
on the top of the old town hall building. Prior to this the church bells were 
used as a means of an alarm. On May 3, 1946, Arthur Haggstrom became Fire Chief, 
a post he held for 15 years, until March 28, 1961. John Ruksznis became Chief and 
held the position for seventeen years, until his retirement in January 1978. In 
1972, the fire department consisted of 20 men who attend regular meetings and 
training sessions. In 1997, the department has 21 Volunteer firemen and four 
Junior firemen. In 1974, the fire department joined the National Fire Protection 
Association (N.F.P.A.), Piscataquis Firefighters Association, made the first "Tot 
Finder" identification stickers available to the Monson Residents and joined the 
Maine State Federation of Firefighters. In 1976, the Monson Firemen represented 
Monson, Maine by entering the 1937 Antique Ford at the Monson, Massachusetts 
Celebration Parade and once again, in September of 1987. The Monson Municipal 
Fire Department was incorporated on August 27, 1977. Incorporation papers were 
drawn up by Judge Millard Emanuelson. The following members signed the 
incorporation papers: John A. Ruksznis, Pres.; Paul B. Allen, Kennard P. Allen, 
Treasurer; George E. Rongner, Dwain A. Allen, Robert L. Greenleaf, Scott Lander, 
and Brian Turner. In 1985, the Fire Chief was elected by its department ending 
the election of the chief at the Annual Town Meetings. In 1992, the Hot Shots 
were organized. Duties are to assist the Maine Forest Service with forest fire 
suppression. PAST AND PRESENT FIRE CHIEFS: Dennis Weeks, 1937-1946; Arthur 
Haggstrom, 1946-1961; John Ruksznis, 1961-1978; Collin Bickford, 1979-1988; Rick 
Pembroke, 1988-1994; Jerry Hibbard, 1994-1995; Terry Gaudet, 1995-1997; Robert 
Wilson, 1997-present. Paul Allen, Assistant Chief - 17 years (1961-1978) Note: 
John Ruksznis, a 51 year veteran firefighter passed away in 1997. He was honored 
with an official firefighters funeral being carried on the 1937 Ford Pumper to 
the cemetery. Eulogy was presented by Past Fire Chief Rick Pembroke. 1997 - TOP 
VETERAN FIREFIGHTERS ON MONSON ACTIVE ROSTER: Paul Allen - 47 years; Brian 
Turner, 25 years; Rick Pembroke, 20 years; Jerry Hibbard, 18 years; Darrell 
Erickson and Roy Sargent, 16 years. Town Fire Warden: Rick Pembroke - 1988 to 
present 1997- Equipment used by the Fire Dept. include: 1990 F.M.C. Pumper; 1968 
Howe 750/750 Pumper; 1989 Ford 2300 gallon Tanker; and a 198? Rescue/Utility Van. 
Sept. 1997- Acquired 1989 Ford to replace tank truck. Civic Projects & Annual 
Fund Raisers: - Fire Prevention through the schools, Scholarship fund, and Girls 
State sponsor until 1997. - Firemen's Auction and grass burning. - Annual 
Firemen's supper, Santa Claus for the Children, Decorating Main Street at 
Christmas time and many other civic projects. FIRE EQUIPMENT: In August of 1975 - 
the department purchased the "Diamond T" pumper from the Town of Guilford During 
February, 1983 - the Fire Dept. replaced the following equipment: "Diamond T" 
with a 1964 International Pumper; 1955 Ford Tanker with a 1975 International 2300 
gallon tanker and purchased a new alarm system with pagers for each firefighter. 
April 24, 1984 - replaced International Utility truck with 1978 cube BDX Rescue 
Van. January 27, 1989 - took delivery of a 1990 F.M.C. 1000/1000 Pumper. First 
new apparatus in town since 1968. This new truck was dedicated to John Ruksznis 
and Paul Allen in March of 1990. August, 1990-Restored old hose cart found at 
Moosehead Mfg. Company. Dedicated to Ed Tully. September 1991 - Monson's 1937 
Pumper and restored Hose Cart took first place at the Maine State Firefighters 
Convention. RESCUE CALLS: October 18, 1979, the department was called to the 
Portland-Monson Slate Co. to help with the rescue of a man pinned in the mine. 
The victim later died of internal complications. September of 1980, the firemen 
were called to help rescue Baxter Stone who had fallen +/200 feet into the Kineo 
dump pit. He was rescued with only minor cuts and bruises. May 23, 1982, the 
department was involved in the recovery of two drowning fatalities at Doe Pond. 
July 30, 1983, the department rescued an Appalachian Trail hiker on Barren 
Mountain in Blanchard Plt. August 11, 1985, the firemen were involved in a 
drowning fatality at Early's Camp on Sebec Lake in Willimantic. September 24-27, 
1986 - The department was involved in the rescue search of Kay Johnson. Mrs. 
Johnson was never found. September 5, 1989 - The department was called to fatal 
vehicle accident on the North Guilford Road. October 28, 1989 - The department 
responded to a airplane crash in Willimantic. No fatalities. June 14, 1994 - The 
department was involved in the rescue of an Appalachian Trail hiker on Barren 
Mountain, Blanchard Plt. Victim was airlifted to hospital with broken leg. 
August, 1994 - Firemen involved in the rescue of Appalachian Trail hiker at 
Leeman Brook shelter. Heart attack victim was airlifted from Rabbit Pond after 
all night ordeal. In addition, to the rescue calls, the Monson Volunteer firemen 
are asked to do controlled burns of many structures that are unsafe or abandoned 
at the request of the owners..


EARLY HISTORY - MAJOR FIRES IN MONSON

Monson has been the victim of many fires over the years. In May, 1824, a fire 
which started on what is now the common, where the forest was being cleared away, 
threatened to destroy what buildings there were in the vicinity. All the help 
that could be found worked hard for a day and night to save the mills, two houses 
and one or two outbuildings then standing where the village is now. Then another 
fire struck the town in the autumn of 1825. This fire swept across a large 
portion of this state destroying great tracts of timber land. Many of the 
buildings were in danger, but through strenuous efforts, none were destroyed. 
Again in the spring of 1831, the village was threatened once more.


Editor: Insert Photo of Monson Village in 1858


MONSON VILLAGE IN 1858 MONSON IN 1859 (Description of Village before the GREAT 
FIRE) Taken from newspaper article dated Wednesday, January 12, 1887

Ever since our childhood we have often heard of what Monson was before the great 
fire, May 28th, 1860, which consumed nearly all the business part of the village. 
Old residents frequently refer to the former appearance and thrift of the town. 
Since then a generation have grown up, who will be pleased and instructed to know 
just what the condition and size of the village was in ye olden times. Through 
the kindness of the family of Rev. R.W. Emerson, in loaning us a photograph, we 
are able to give a cut of the village as it was in about 1859. The picture was 
taken from a point on the hill, now covered with a forest growth, near the 
present residence of John C. Tripp. It was then a cultivated field. The southeast 
and No. 8 roads are in the foreground. Where the buildings of C. C. Gilbert now 
stand was the old copper shop, transformed into a residence and occupied by John 
McDermott. After the fire, it was moved onto the Cole Store lot, occupied 
variously until nearly destroyed by fire in Jan. 1884, when it was purchased by 
C.W. Rogers, and made into his present two story residence. Next were a set of 
buildings then occupied by James Arnold. This house after the fire was moved onto 
the Eveleth store lot, fitted up and occupied by A.G. Houston as a store, and 
afterwards occupied by Edwin R. Haynes until it was destroyed by fire in 1872, 
and in its place is the present building owned by Mr. Haynes and occupied by him 
and A.F. Jackson, & Co. The barn was moved to the Eveleth stable lot and formed a 
part of what, in recent years, has been known as the Frye stable, now the Sibley 
block occupied by W.A. Macomber's saloon, C. C. Hall & Co., druggists, W.T. 
Macomber, barber, E.D. Sibley's harness shop and residence and C H. Butler, 
shoemaker. On the west side of the main street the buildings, going north, were 
as follows: Residence of James Hills now the residence of J.P. Haynes Esq; the 
cottage house now owned by Joseph McClure; the large two story residence of Hiram 
Folsom, afterwards the Chapin Hotel, burned in 1882; the store of Samuel Tubbs, 
now the residence of W. S. Knight; the large tavern stand of Nelson Savage, where 
the store of C. S. Pullen & Co. is; the blacksmith shop of James Tarr, in the 
place of residence and store of E. M. Johnston; the carriage shop of Dea. Wm. 
Tenney; shoemaker's shop of Thos. Macomber, now the office of J. F. Sprague Esq.; 
the Cole Store; harness shop of Alden Crooker; where the Masonic block now is, 
the store and store house of J. H. Pullen; dwelling house of S.A. Macomber; law 
office of J. H. Rice; the Oliver Eveleth barn; on the corner of the street where 
the store of A. S. Garland now is, the Dea. Ward house. On the east side of the 
street northward the buildings were: Residence of J. P. Haynes, now occupied by 
S. C. Davis, the Elias Doughty residence then occupied by Nathan Knight; 
residences of Horace Pullen and Dr. S.A. Patten and shoe shop of John Chick. 
North of the bridge, the large set of farm buildings of A. Chapin, Esq., the 
Oliver Eveleth store occupied by A. G. Houston, the residence of Oliver Eveleth; 
the Eveleth House, Solomon Chandler, proprietor; the Congregational Church and 
the Academy on their present sites. The old Academy building was burned in March 
1860 and the present building begun at once and completed in 1861. The present 
grist mill then existed and was owned by A. Chapin, Esq. and the tannery and 
clover seed mill of Horace Pullen were in active operation. Mr. J. P. Haynes 
owned the saw mill east of the residence of Jas. K. Whiting where C. W. Morrill 
now lives. Including Water St., Chapin and Forest Avenues, were only the 
residences of Isaac Phillip's where Stephen Douglas lives and Roland Taylor where 
Leonard Stone resides and the Phillip's saw mill. On the Lake Road beyond the 
Dea. Ward house were the Dr. Jordan residence, near the present Eastern slate 
quarry; the Bowman Varney house, destroyed by fire in 1876 and the home of Dr. 
Davison. On the south side of the street to the Baptist Church were the cabinet 
shop of E.T. Andrews, the dwelling house now owned by Benj. Palmer, the residence 
of Thos. Macomber and the stand of Horace Flanders; on the north side: the house 
of A.K. Jackson where the residence of Leonard Crafts is, the Abner Brown house 
then occupied by Rev. D.P. Bailey, the Baptist church and the house now occupied 
by J. H. Pullen then owned by L. P. Bray. On what is now known as Centre street 
were the residences of H. H. Pullen, P. H. Rice, J. H. Rice, Esq., and Jas. 
Stanchfield, where Mrs. Lucy Taylor, Hon. L. C. Flint, A. F. Jackson and L. J. 
Hillman now live. On the Abbot road were the Congregational parsonage, the 
residence of Dea. Wm. Tenney, the Lawyer Bell house and the residence of James 
Tarr. The parsonage is now the home of A.S. Garland and the Dea. Tenney place, of 
Rev. R. W. Emerson. The Bell house was afterwards purchased by Dr. Patten, who 
sold it to the Monson Hotel Company in 1882, and it was moved to its present 
location near Tarr's Hall to make room for the Lake Hebron Hotel. A careful look 
at the grounds in front of the hotel reveals the outlines of the old cellar. The 
village then contained about thirty dwelling houses, three stores, two hotels, 
two churches, the academy, one blacksmith, one carriage, one cabinet and one 
harness shop, one law office and three shoe shops. Now there are over 135 
dwelling houses, 13 stores, a fine hotel, two churches, the academy, two 
blacksmith shops, one harness shop, one shoemaker, one cabinet shop, one tin 
shop, two law offices, two doctors' offices, Tarr's hall, Masonic hall, engine 
house, two livery stables, one photograph saloon, two barber shops, a butter box 
factory, grist mill, two saw mills, steam saw mill for sawing birch, an the 
buildings and machinery of nine slates quarries, and a railroad station. One fact 
illustrates the change in methods of doing business. Then three shoemakers were 
able to live here, as most of the shoes were hand made, and they made many boots 
and moccasins for the lumbermen. Now there is barely work enough for one man. The 
fire broke out about noon on Sunday in the stable of the Savage Hotel and burned 
everything on that side of the street to the residence of Rev. D. P. Bailey, 
except the present law office of J. F. Sprague, Esq., and on the north east side, 
everything above the bridge. The home of J. H. Rice was also destroyed. The day 
was very warm and pleasant and everything very dry, just in the right condition 
to feed a fire rapidly. It was years before the town recovered from the blow. 
Through the discover of slate and the establishment of the quarries, it has now 
far outgrown its former self, and bids fair to be still larger in the future.


THE GREAT FIRE (Taken from the 1914 Pharetra)

It is quite a look backward over the nearly fifty-four years since the great fire 
in Monson. Within this period Monson has been visited by a number of serious 
conflagrations but none of them has destroyed so large a proportion of the 
buildings as that on May 27, 1860, which swept away most of the village. Few who 
were then of adult age are now living, and those who were then children are well 
along in years. Prior to 1860, Monson enjoyed a remarkable exemption from serious 
fires. The town in common with others suffered from the great forest fires of 
1825, but from 1818 to 1860, according to Reverend Charles Davison's 
semi-centennial address, only four dwelling houses had been destroyed by fire; 
namely, that of Samuel Rowe in the winter of 1818-19, that of Calvin Colton in 
the spring of 1823, that of George Doughty in 1836 and that of Alexander 
Greenwood Houston in November, 1852. For seven years after this last fire the 
sound of the fire bell had not been heard. Its silence was first broken March 31, 
1860, when the Academy burned, to be followed by a greater conflagration not 
quite two months later. In May, 1860, the weather had been for several weeks warm 
and dry. There were no slated roofs in Monson then and the shingles on the roofs 
were dry as tinder. Sunday, May 27, was a calm and pleasant day with a light 
south wind. Shortly after the close of the morning services the Sabbath stillness 
was broken by the wild cry of "Fire" and the ringing of the bell in the 
Congregational Church. Looking across the little pond from the window of my 
father's house, then standing on the site now occupied by I. P. Wing's residence 
(In 1972 - home of Edwin Holmbom's; now K. VanHyning), I saw the flames pouring 
from the roof of the stable connected with Nelson Savage's hotel called the 
"Mansion House", the hotel being on the site now occupied by Peleg W. Knight's 
store (1997- owned by Peter Weymouth), and the stable a little south and in the 
rear. In the few minutes required to reach the spot, the flames had spread to the 
hotel and the inmates were throwing, out of doors and windows, beds, bedding and 
furniture in frantic effort to save something from the wreck. The heat generated 
an active air current and the flames with a wild roar devoured everything they 
touched in an incredibly short time. The burning shingles were swept high in the 
air and were carried by the now accelerated south wind northward, immediately 
setting fire to any roof on which they dropped. The flames mocked the puny 
efforts to stay their onward rush with water pails and buckets - the only 
fire-fighting apparatus in the village. It was a spectacle at once grand and 
awful to see almost the entire village in flames at once. The fire began about 
one P.M. or a little earlier and by three P. M. the work of destruction was 
substantially complete. When the sun set on that eventful day, little was left in 
the central part of the village but a mass of smoking ruins. Except a small shop 
next north of the canal, every building on the west side of Main Street from the 
Mansion Hotel north was destroyed. This included Tarr's and Knight's blacksmith 
shops. Tenney's wheelwright shop, J. H. Pullen's store and home of Deacon Ward on 
the lot afterwards of A. S. Garland ( 1972- Gordon Hall's home; 1997 - W. 
Stevens). The fire also destroyed a cabinet shop of Elias T. Andrews and dwelling 
of Albion Jackson, both on Pleasant Street the latter on the site of Mrs. Hattie 
Crafts' residence (1972- Esther Pennington's home; 1997- D. Morrell) . Only a 
change of wind prevented the flames, from sweeping up Church Street. On the east 
side of Main Street every building north of the canal to and including the 
Congregational Church was burned, including Aretas Chapin's extensive farm 
buildings, Oliver Eveleth's store (1972 - Erma Small's home; 1997 - J. Hansen) 
and dwelling occupied by A. G. Houston (former DAR Chapter House) and the hotel 
called the "Monson House" (located in the general area of the former Berwin 
Storer's home; 1997- A. Lowell) then kept by Solomon J. Chandler. (Note: Aretas 
Chapin's farm was about where the former Louise Grover's home stood in 1972, now 
owned by N. Berthiaume.) In the midst of the excitement a dwelling house on 
Central Street formerly occupied by Honorable J. H. Rice on the lot afterwards of 
A. F. Jackson (now owned by S. Knight and formerly owned by Ansel LaPointe), 
caught fire from the flying embers and was speedily burned to the ground. In the 
space of two hours, about forty buildings were totally destroyed with a large 
portion of their contents. So rapidly did the flames spread that there was little 
opportunity to save anything. The buildings destroyed included one church, two 
hotels, three of the four stores, six dwellings besides shops, one law office, 
barns and outbuildings. The business part of the village was practically wiped 
out. Some of the sufferers were stripped of substantially all their earthly 
possessions. Some had no insurance and others while less unfortunate never 
recovered from their losses. To crown all, certain disreputable characters from 
outside added plunder to the troubles of the sufferers. The total losses were 
estimated at $22,750 and insurance only $9,600. At the scale of prices prevailing 
this meant much more than the same figures would represent today and gives a very 
imperfect idea of the magnitude of the misfortune which for the moment 
overwhelmed the little village. The heaviest losers were Nelson Savage, $1,300; 
J. H. Pullen, $2,800; Congregational Society, $1,200; with no insurance; Solomon 
J. Chandler, $3,000; Oliver Eveleth, $2,200; and Aretas Chapin, $3,000. The 
figures are those given in the Observer at the time, and those losses except in 
the case of the church were partially covered by insurance. The business men 
sought such accommodations as they could find. The post office was for some time 
kept in the rear wing of Horace Flanders' house (the former Tolford Durham's home 
now owned by John & Melinda Wentworth). Some who had been in business at Monson 
sought other fields of activity. It was many years before the village regained 
its former prosperity. The cause of the fire was never certainly known. One rumor 
attributed it to certain (half) intoxicated persons smoking in the hay loft of 
Nelson Savage's stable. Others believed that the fire was deliberately set by an 
offender who had been arrested in Monson shortly before and who threatened 
vengeance upon the town. No attempt was made however (perhaps from lack of 
evidence) to bring the culprit, if such he was, to justice. Incidentally the fire 
resulted in one important benefit in ridding Monson (let us hope forever) from 
hotels in which intoxicating liquor was kept for sale. Shortly after the fire 
Aretas Chapin opened a hotel (built on the site of the former Bartlett's Gulf 
Station- now Kennedy Slate Co.) which until it burned on March 25, 1882, 
maintained a consistent and honorable record as a temperance hotel, and this 
excellent record has, I believe been maintained by hotels since opened in Monson. 
Dudley P. Bailey


The alarm of fire rang at 4 a. m. on Friday the 28th of December of 1888. The 
engine house with the G.A.R hall above, the building owned by Hillman Bros. and 
used as a furniture and tailor's shop, and Mr. Boynton's fine new buildings, 
store and dwelling with barn adjoining and a dry house filled with lumber 
belonging to the Monson Refrigerator Co. were swept away in an hour's time. It 
was the most disastrous fire since 1860. The town lost the road machine for which 
it paid $225.00 just two years before. The buildings burnt nearly together and 
almost everything in them was destroyed. The hearse was saved. (Note: This is the 
fire which burned from Water Street to the residence of Alvin Gray's (the former 
A. Haggstrom's home, now owned by G. Tabor). This event was taken from the 
private journal of Miss Sadie Emerson, daughter of the Rev. Emerson, and loaned 
by her grandson, Vernon Wilson. January 12, 1897, everything was burned from the 
canal to P. W. Knight's store (now Peter Weymouth). Later in 1899 the old hotel 
stable (situated where the former Bartlett's Gulf Station stood - now Kennedy 
Slate Co.) burned. Then on January 6, 1910, the Lake Hebron Hotel which opened in 
1882 was consumed by fire. In the winter of 1910 (Dec. 27) fire destroyed all the 
buildings from the Bray Block ( the former Poole's Market; now Donna Vainio Real 
Estate Office) to the corner of Pleasant and Main Street. Fire broke out on the 
night of Nov. 8, 1911, in the business section and swept everything from the 
Spencer Block (former A. Anderson Block - now a vacant lot) to W. A. Bray's Store 
(now D. Vainio's Real Estate Office) including the Masonic Hall. During the night 
of Nov. 3, 1919, there was a bad fire in one of the Railroad buildings, which 
destroyed all the engines belonging to the road, leaving us now without any rail 
service. (Taken from Alvin Gray's diary.) (Note: damaged engines, No. 3 and 4, 
repaired by D. Weeks.) On Nov. 5,1939, there was a fire at Clarence Brown's store 
(the former J & J General Store now Monson General Store) which damaged the 
interior. If one should ask some of the older citizens in Monson what the longest 
night they've ever had, they might recall the fire on December 17, 1942, when the 
fire started in the crating room of the Portland-Monson Slate Co. From 8:30 to 10 
p. m., they fought hard to save the building which they did quite successfully. 
Then one hour later, fire was discovered in the big mill which lasted until 8 
o'clock the next morning. A fire always ends up as a loss for someone, but 
perhaps one of the most tragic losses was on March 2,1950, when Elwood Smith, his 
six children and his mother Harriet Smith were burned to death. His wife was 
badly burned and hospitalized. Their house was situated between what was A. 
Swanson's (1997- L. Rumery) and A. Small's (1997- S. Lander) on South Main 
Street. The Smith house was the oldest house in town in 1950. It was once located 
on the site of the former Brown's Nursing Home now owned by Maine Properties and 
stands vacant. On Feb. 7, 1955, Poole's Market, then owned by Nadeau, was damaged 
inside by fire. The interior of the Masonic Hall which housed Pullen's Hardware 
and Robinson Insurance Agency on the first floor was damaged by fire on July 12, 
1969.


ORGANIZATIONS AMERICAN LEGION POST No. 116 AND AUXILIARY Towne-Holmbom Post No. 
116

The Monson American Legion was started on March 1, 1921 with 16 charter members: 
Ira F. Bishop, August Peterson, Byron A. Kallgren, Frank Larson, William Lindie, 
Thomas Mountain, Lawrence Johnson, Paul Nelson, Elmer Lindie, Erick Holmquist, 
Robert Bigger, Byron W. Harmon, Elam Olson, Albert Degerstrom, Howell Hughes and 
Erick Erickson. Ira Bishop was the first commander, and in later years, served as 
County Commander. The Auxiliary was instituted on Dec. 12, 1922, with 38 charter 
members: Lizzie Towne, Mary Davis, Mary Larson, Edith Carlson, Lottie Grant, 
Margaret Bigger, Elizabeth LeClair, Elizabeth Bodge, Margaret Steward, Myrtle 
Homer, Florence Hughes, Addie Wing, Pearl Dore, Ruth Larson, Edith Brown, Nettie 
Kallgren, Margaret Bishop, Margaret LeClair, Isabella Brown, Amy Kronholm, Hilma 
Holmquist, Marjorie Hughes, Sadie Grover, Audrey Flint, Jennie Lindahl, Ida 
Roberts, Esther Johnson Pennington, Madeline LeClair, Marion Billings, Rubena 
Johnson Fenlason. Blanche Hescock, Whilhelmina Stanchfield, Estelle Lindie, 
Harriet Flint, Hattie Larson, Judith Natycks Venott, Alice Jackson, Laurice 
Harmon. The Monson Post was named in honor of Oral A. Towne, who was killed in 
action July 22, 1918 in Bois, LeFere, France. On September 24, 1951, the American 
Legion of Monson voted to change the name to Towne-Holmbom Post No. 116 in honor 
of Oral A. Towne and Lawrence Holmbom. The latter died in England during World 
War II. For many years, both the Monson American Legion and the Auxiliary held 
their meetings in what was the Storer's Home Care Center - now E. O'Shea 
building. They held many food sales and card parties to raise money and provide 
relaxation for their members. In 1925, they erected the flag pole that once stood 
in the square. In 1946 the American legion bought the Swedish Lutheran Church and 
held their meetings and activities there until Dec. 8, 1970, when they sold the 
hall and became inactive. Previous to this they held their fairs, suppers, and 
dances at this location. Each year they held a Field Day in by Monson Pond which 
consisted of baseball games, skeet shooting, swim races, potato bag races, etc. 
They also sold hot dogs at this annual event. Each year, past and present, the 
American Legion and Auxiliary have participated in the Memorial Day exercises. 
The Towne-Holmbom American Legion Auxiliary Post No. 116 is still active with 
Clowes Brown of Elliottsville serving as Commander. Meetings are held in the 
D.A.R. building. The Towne-Holmbom Auxiliary Unit No. 116 gave up its charter 
January 22, 1987. The Auxiliary was issued a new charter on April 4, 1996 with 
twelve charter members being: Joyce (Haggstrom) Allen, Julie (Sargent) Anderson, 
Beth Bohrer, Patricia (Hubbard) Brown, Louise Coburn, Cynthia Hunt, Nancy 
(Douglass) Kelley, Sandra Kronholm, Rose Nelson, Cindy (Breton) Ranta, Jeanne 
(Brown) Reed and Phyllis (Drinkwater) Ruksznis. Cindy Ranta served as its first 
President.


DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Tisbury Manor Chapter, DAR

The Tisbury Manor Chapter, DAR was organized Nov. 5, 1952, with 19 charter 
members: Elena J. Quillian, Genevieve J. Beckwith, Gwendolyn M. Allen, Beatrix J. 
Bray, Stella P. Hughes, Edith D. Jackson, Grace J. Jackson, Faye D. Mithee, 
Agrandece R. Pullen, Priscilla C. Robinson, Hazel P. Warran, Josephine S. 
Emanuelson, Eloise S. Stevens, Ada B. Wyman, Ivy P. Leighton. Bernice J. Young, 
June J. McDonnell, Melvina D. Jacobson and Marie S. Pullen. The first event of 
the Monson DAR, was placing a marker on the grave in the church cemetery of Lydia 
Oldham Jackson, widow of Revolutionary patriot Barnabas Jackson, on Aug. 29, 
1954. They also placed a slate marker on the grave site of Alexander Greenwood, 
surveyor of the Town of Monson and surrounding areas, in the church cemetery on 
June 30, 1961. A small museum in the Old Town Hall (G. A. R. Hall) was 
established on Aug. 21, 1955. Plans are being made to re-establish in this 
building this year it having been at the Chapter's Gray House since 1959. (Note: 
The Museum opened officially on June 24, 1972.) The Monson chapter also sponsored 
the J. A. C. Clubs, DAR Good Citizen Girls and the American History Essay 
Contests in the Monson Schools until it's consolidation into S. A. D. No. 68. In 
1959, they acquired the title to the Gray House which was bequeathed to the 
Chapter by Genevieve Jackson Beckwith and maintained it until 1972 when the Town 
of Monson deeded the Old Town Hall building to them for the museum. A Museum Aide 
is hired (funded by the Summer Youth Employment Program) during the summer months 
making it possible for the Museum to be open to the public during June, July and 
August.

JUANITA GRANGE NO. 396 On August 29, 1902 a group of residents met at the G.A.R. 
Hall at 10 am to organize a Grange in the town of Monson. Charter members were J 
.S. Prescott, Hannah B. Prescot, Charles A. Jackson, Florence M. Jackson, Asa 
Steward, Almon Vinton, Melissa A. Steward, Will C. Prescott, M.A. Clough, Carrie 
M. Clough, J.D. Draper, Eliza Draper, Agnes Steward, Edward M. Homer, Sybil 
Smith, Solomon S. Cole, Gardner Hilton, May Hilton and Eben Bray. The Grange, 
during this time period, was very important to the area communities as a social 
gathering as well as binding farm families in a common goal of enhancing the 
quality of life for their families. Granges served as a forum for all types of 
information concerning farming methods and household tasks. It was also among the 
first organizations that extended equality to women. July 4, 1905 found the 
Grange members holding a regional picnic at Indian Point with Granges from 
Greenville, Shirley, Blanchard, Willimantic, North Guilford, Guilford Center and 
Abbot participating. At one time Juanita Grange in Monson had over 100 members 
with many interesting programs and events taking place throughout the years. 
However, as the times changed, the Grange became less important in the community 
until 1954 when the few remaining members were forced to give up their charter, 
thus ending an important chapter in the life of the farming families of Monson. 
Worthy Master of Juanita Grange were: William Prescott 1903, George Brown 
1904-1906, R.J. Jones 1906-1907, Charles E. Jackson, 1908, S. L. Greeley 1909, 
Carroll Brown 1910-1911, W.W. Crooker 1912, Percy Smith 1913-1915, Earle Jackson 
1916, F. H. Chandler 1917, Percy Smith 1918, George Brown 1919, W. R. Hughes 
1921, Byran Kallgren 1922, Percy Smith 1923, Hattie Bragdon 1924, Edward Homer 
1925-1926, George Brown 1927, E. R. Orr 1928, E. A. McInes 1929-1932, George 
Brown 1933, Carrie Patten 1934, Madeline Richardson 1935, Carrie Patten 1935, 
Chris Dutton 1936, Merle Wyman 1937-1938, Anselm Swanson 1939-1940, Lizzie 
Simmons 1941-1945, Merle Wyman 1946-1950, Richard Hussey 1951, and Katherine 
Russell 1952-1954.

1972 - OTHER *PAST AND PRESENT ORGANIZATIONS

American Sunshine Club *Gerry Relief Corp. No. 43 *Monson Doric Lodge No. 149 J. 
E. Club *Men's Club *Sons of Veterans Woman's Club *Onaway Lodge No. 106 I.O.O.F. 
*North Star Rebekah No. 38 *Woodman's Lodge *Loon Club *P. of H. Juanita Grange 
*Euclid Chapter No. 58 O.E.S. W C T U Finnish Farmers Club *G.A.R. Gerry Post No. 
5 *Farm Bureau (both men and women) Formed in 1919

YOUTH GROUPS: Boy Scouts - Troop No. 119 Girl Scouts Youth Recreation Club 4-H 
Club (Started about 1927)


MONSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

A meeting was held on Nov. 3, 1972 at the municipal building for the purpose of 
forming a Historical Society. Eloise Stevens, Treasurer of the Tisbury Manor 
Chapter, DAR of Monson opened the meeting. The residents at the meeting agreed to 
form an organization under the name of Monson Historical Society. First slate of 
officers and trustees were: (2 year term) President, Philip Knight; V-Pres., 
George Rongner; Sec. & Clerk, Althea French; Treasurer, Elizabeth Davis. 
Trustees: (3 year terms) Milton Bartlett, Eloise Stevens & Dorothy Holmbom; (1 
year term) Paul Allen and Robert Lander. The Monson Historical Society by-laws 
and incorporation papers were drawn up by Judge Millard Emanuelson. The Society 
was incorporated on February 22, 1973 with 57 charter members. January 18, 1973 - 
The remaining "History of Monson" books, printed in 1972, and the minted 
commerative coins were given to the society from the Sesquicentennial Committee 
to sell. On Feb. 8, 1973, the special Sesquicentennial Committee's savings 
account ($602.11) was given to the Monson Historical Society. On Sept. 20, 1973, 
the Society received a grant to restore a Snow-Roller which was located in 
Willimantic, owned by Paul Patterson and given to the Monson Historical Society. 
The snowroller was move to Monson on Oct. 3, 1973 by society members - Paul 
Allen, Robert Lander, Philip Knight and Rodney Allen with the use of the town 
equipment. A few weeks later it was moved to Dover-Foxcroft where restoration was 
done in Harold Ruksznis' blacksmith shop and completed in January 1974. The 
roller was returned to Monson and painted gray by Robert Lander. On February 8, 
1975, the Society sponsored the first Snow-Roller Day. The roller was drawn by a 
team of horses driven by Fritz Elliot of Blanchard. There were several outdoor 
events during the day followed by a supper and dance. Snow-Roller Day has been 
held several times in the last 25 years by other town organizations. Note: There 
are only four snow rollers left in Maine. Snow rollers rolled the snow in the 
roadways to make traveling easier for the horse drawn sleighs and sleds. List of 
activities or projects which the Society has been or is involved with follows: A 
collection of old Piscataquis Observers dating from 1909 to 1960's given by the 
family of Earle Jackson have been compiled. Located in the Monson Museum. The 
Monson Annual Town Reports - dating from 1888, were put into bound volumes and 
donated to the Monson Public Library. A complete collection of the Monson Academy 
yearbook - Pharetra (1895-1969) were put into bound volumes. They are located in 
the Monson Public Library. The Society has had one of the Town's old record books 
restored. A record of the former holders of the Boston Post Gold-headed was 
compiled after 1972. The responsibility of the cane was given to the Historical 
Society by the town. After careful research, the cane is presented by the Town 
Manager to Monson's oldest eligible citizen. In 1975, the Society purchased from 
Mr. & Mrs. Edward Adams several items originally owned by Monson Railroad. 
Included in the purchase was a Monson Railroad Station stove, desk, wall cabinet, 
ticket rack, time table holder, mirror, water cooler and books containing Monson 
Railroad records. The Society, in 1983, was involved in celebrating "Peanut 
Roaster Day". Many items, such as old photo's, record books, historical papers, 
family history's, have been donated to the Society. In 1989, the Society paid to 
repair the roof on the Monson Museum building. In Sept. 1992, the society erected 
a new sign at the Savage Mills site which was made by Ed Tully. August, 1993, a 
meeting of the Monson Historical Society was held at the home of AnnaLee Libby in 
Blanchard where members and guests enjoyed a video on the life and the black and 
white photo's of photographer Berenice Abbot. Memorial contributions in memory of 
Merwin and Vernon Wilson were received in 1994. The society voted to place these 
contributions in a special account to finance the return of a MRR engine. In 
1995, Richard Marshall donated reproduction copies of The Monson Railroad and Its 
Proposed Extension and Monson "The Switzerland" of Maine to the Society in memory 
of his parents - Francis & Mabel Marshall. The money realized from the sale of 
the books was placed in a special fund to be used to finance the return of the 
MRR Engine. Also in 1995, the Society oversaw the project of replacing a new set 
of Moosehorns which were mounted on the iron pole by Paul Vainio at the Moosehorn 
site in Abbot. Members of the Society are cataloging the data from the stones in 
the Monson Cemeteries for the Maine Old Cemetery Assoc. (MOCA). In 1996, the 
Society commenced publishing a Newsletter which is sent to the members three 
times a year. A 1996 postcard calendar was compiled which featured old photos and 
history data and sold to raise money. In 1997, the Society was involved in 
obtaining rails, railroad ties, gravel and labor, to lay a track down at the 
Monson Railroad Station on Water Street in preparation for the return of Monson 
Engine #3 on June 28th - Monson's 175th Anniversary day of celebration. The 
Society sponsored a bus trip to Willowbrook at Newfield, Maine to visit a 
restored village. Also, in 1997, Postcards with old photos of Monson, old maps 
and notepaper have been printed for sale. Over the past 25 years, Zelma Stevens, 
a charter member of the Monson Historical Society, has been collecting newspaper 
clippings of events about Monson and compiling same into a scrapbook. 1997 
Society Officers are: Pres.- Estella Bennett, V .Pres. - Helen Grant, Sec. - 
Brenda Tetlow, Treas. - Althea French. Trustees: Philip Knight, Paul Allen, and 
Scott Knight for a 3 year term; Jeanne "Gina" Reed and Julie Anderson for a 1 
year term. Meetings are held once a month. The Society, at the present time, has 
147 members.


1997 - PRESENT ORGANIZATIONS

Monson Historical Society Brownie Girl Scouts Tisbury Manor Chapter DAR Cub Scout 
Troop American Legion Post No. 116 Finnish Farmers Club American Legion Auxiliary 
Fire Dept. Auxiliary Hot Shots Monson UCC Guild Swedish Organization - Started 
1990 Monson Academy Alumni Association Narrow Gauge Riders Snowmobile Club 
Parent/Teachers Organization (PTO) Monson Preservation Society


MONSON CITIZENS DEDICATE HONOR ROLL (Taken from the Piscataquis Observer dated 
Aug. 3, 1944) Written by Earle Jackson

Sunday, July 30th, 1944, will go down among the outstanding days in the history 
of the Town of Monson. The occasion was the unveiling, presentation and 
acceptance of the Honor Roll erected to honor those in the armed forces in World 
War I and World War II from this town. The site of the Honor Roll is on the 
vacant lot owned by Doric Lodge, F. & A. M. between Masonic Hall and the 
Post-Office. Early in the day a group of townspeople took it upon themselves to 
give Main Street, through the business section a good cleaning. The Street looked 
spic and span. The residence of W. Harry Hughes being directly across the street 
and opposite the Honor Roll, made a fine place to carry out the prepared program. 
The veranda at the Hughes residence was prettily decorated with baskets of 
flowers and served as a platform for those taking part in the ceremonies. A 
loudspeaker system was installed so all could hear throughout the business 
section. Long before the hour set for the dedication exercises, two o'clock, P. 
M., people began to gather and autos took available parking space. Arthur L. Bray 
very efficiently presided. Monson band was assembled on the spacious lawn in 
front of the Hughes home. Very soon after 2 o'clock, Mr. Bray announced the 
opening of the program, a selection by the band. Prayer was offered by Rev. 
Joseph Griffiths, pastor of the Methodist Church in Guilford. The Honor Roll was 
unveiled and God Bless America sung by the all male chorus Fred M. Hescock, Paul 
A. Jackson, Guy O. Hammond, George P. Pullen, W. W. Pullen, Robert I. Roberts of 
Dover-Foxcroft, and audience. Mr. Bray next read the names on the Honor Roll and 
as the Gold Star Names were read, five in number, three in World War I and two in 
World War II, beautiful baskets of flowers were placed in front of the Honor Roll 
by five girls - Lucinda Forbus, Janet Bjork, Carolyn DeSano, Evelyn Simmons and 
Doris Nelson in memory of the boys who have made the supreme sacrifice. This was 
followed by the playing of the Star Spangled Banner by the band. Mr. Bray 
introduced the guest speaker of the afternoon, Captain Brower L. Pernet of the 
Air Force, Dow Field, Bangor, Maine. Captain Pernet expressed his great pleasure 
at being present at this occasion and complimented the people of Monson for their 
deep interest in erecting such a beautiful Honor Roll. After another selection by 
the band, Chief Dennis C. Weeks of the Monson Fire Department, sponsors of the 
Honor Roll, presented it to the town and it was accepted by Lyle C. Towne, 
chairman of the board of selectmen of the Town of Monson. The band played several 
more selections and Rev. Griffiths pronounced the benediction.

THE HONOR ROLL

The plot of ground where the honor roll stands had been previously leveled and 
seeded and is now covered with green grass. Iron posts set in cement support the 
tablet which is seven feet wide and eight feet high. The frame is of wood painted 
white, on either side a raised victory V adorns the top with U. S. A. 
perpendicularly arranged below and the letters also raised, these emblems being 
painted in gold color. The panels enclosed in the frame are of slate, the top 
bears the inscription - Monson Honor Roll - on a field that has been 
sand-blasted. The main panel is of slate 48 x 60 inches, in the upper section the 
names of World War I veterans, 58 in number appear and in the lower section those 
of World War II, 109 at the present time. The names are in bronze and fastened to 
the slate background. Plate glass covers the entire main panel. Much credit is 
due to the members of the Monson Fire Dept. for their untiring effort and hours 
of work to complete this beautiful Honor Roll. In the spring of 1984, the Honor 
Roll was repaired and moved to its present location in front of the Municipal 
Building. In 1987, James Huff, with the help from other Boy Scouts earning their 
Eagle Scout Badge, added the "wings" and names honoring the Korean and Vietnam 
Veterans. The existing Honor Roll was dismantled in 1996 and replaced with a new 
structure in 1997 by the Towne-Holmbom Legion Post #116. The new structure has 
the original slate top panel on which is engraved, "Monson Honor Roll" from the 
first honor roll erected on July 30, 1944. The slate background has been replaced 
with one made of wood on which have been placed the new name brass plates of WWI, 
WWII, Korean and Vietnam veterans. Plate glass covers the entire panel. The 
original brass eagle and balls have been placed on top of the new structure.


SURRENDER OF JAPAN CELEBRATED IN MONSON (Taken from the Piscataquis Observer, 
Aug. 23, 1945, Written by Earle Jackson)

Elaborate programs carried out Tues. and Wed. nights-The citizens of this quiet 
little town, nestled among the beautiful hills and mountains of Piscataquis 
County, were on the alert Tues. evening, August 14th, as they have been for the 
past 4 or 5 years, for the welcome news all have been longing to hear - the end 
of the war. Early evening broadcasts announced that at 7 o'clock important news 
would be given out and it is safe to say that every radio was tuned in to get 
that announcement. It came as scheduled and the townspeople let loose the joy in 
their hearts in their own individual ways. The fire siren blew for a full 15 
minutes, it sounded sweet to the ear, much sweeter than in the dead hour of night 
for a fire. Automobile horns took up the refrain throughout the town and in the 
distance the powerful Portland-Monson Slate Co. whistle echoed back. The peal of 
the church bells added to the noise. Monson band quickly assembled in front of 
the town hall and dispensed stirring music until darkness covered their music. An 
impromptu parade of happy mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts, as well as 
many children, grabbing anything they could make a noise upon, paraded back and 
forth on Main Street and the band played on. At times the whistles, horns and 
noise of the paraders nearly drowned out the band. Later during the evening 
several cannon shots reminded the inhabitants that the war was ended. The 
American Legion opened their hall and free dancing was enjoyed for several hours, 
music furnished by Frank Hughes, Alvin Cowan, Orman Kronholm and Archie Johnson. 
For several days previous, this momentous moment had been anticipated and a group 
of business men had gathered to quickly formulate a plan for celebrating the glad 
news, if and when it came. The final arrangements were left with George P. 
Pullen, president of the local board of trade, and prominent hardware dealer and 
Eugene E. Bickford, the local efficient electrician. Wednesday, August 15th was 
Monson's big day and the history of the town will record it as a most 
outstanding. An overcast sky dashed the hopes of early risers but in the early 
forenoon this burned away and the remainder of the day was most beautiful. A 
church service opened the day's program at 8:30 o'clock conducted by Rev. Ruth 
Jackson, pastor of the United Church and held in the Baptist Church which was 
filled with p