CITIKS, AMERICAN. (BANGOR.) 



105 



its entrance into Penobscot Bay, and 60 miles 

 from theorem. By railroad it is 78 miles from 

 Augusta, 1158 from Portland, 246 from Boston, 

 and a little more than 200 from St. John, N. I:., 

 with which place and with Halifax and other 

 Canadian cities there is connection by 3 trains 

 daily. P.y the census of 1890 it is the third city 

 in population in the State, having increased to 

 19,103 from 16,856 in 1880. Latitude 44 45' 

 N., longitude 68 W. The first settlement, 

 known as Keiiduskeag Plantation, from the 

 small stream of that name which here flows into 

 the Penobscot, was made in 1770, on the ancient 

 camping ground of the Tarratincs. one of the 

 most famous and intelligent of the Indian tribes 

 of northern New England. The pioneers, who 

 came from Massachusetts, had no title to the 

 soil, and after the Revolution, in which the small 

 hamlet suffered severely while the British held 

 control of the river, the General Court of Massa- 

 chusetts provided (in 1801) that each settler prior 

 to 1784 for $5, and each settler between 1784 and 

 1798 for $100, should have a deed of 100 acres. 

 In 1791 it was incorporated as a town of 169 in- 

 habitants under its present name, and in 1834 as 

 a city with a population of about 8,000. It is 

 connected with Brewer on the opposite bank of 

 the river by steam ferry and a bridge 1,300 feet 

 long. The harbor, exceptionally fine for a river 

 port, has a deep-water frontage of 3 miles. The 

 number of vessels of all classes registered, en- 

 rolled, and licensed in 1891 was 135, with a total 

 tonnage of 20.569 tons. The imports for the 

 year were $1,256,371, and the exports $219.315. 

 Steamship lines connect with Boston, New York, 

 Bar Harbor and the river towns, and there is a 

 line of steam tugs. The first iron steamship 

 built in America (in 1845) ran between Bangor 

 and Boston, and one of the first railroads in the 

 country was built from the city to Oldtown, 12 

 miles distant, in 1836. The Maine Central Rail- 

 road radiates in five directions from the city, the 

 European and North American to the New Bruns- 

 wick border, the Maine Shore line to Bar Har- 

 bor and other resorts on Mount Desert Island, 

 and the Bangor and Piscataquis to the foot of 

 Moosehead Lake. Surveys of the Bangor and 

 Aroostook, incorporated in 1891, are under way. 

 The assessed valuation of property in 1888-'89 

 was $9,955,102, and the bonded debt $680,000, 

 $500,000 of which were for water works. These 

 are of the Holly system, and were erected in 1876. 

 The supply is drawn from the river, a dam being 

 built across just above the city, which affords 

 water power for mills also. Six reciprocating 

 pumps and 1 rotary have a drawing capacity of 

 10,000,000 gallons daily, with reserve force for 

 fire emergency. In addition to the 25 miles of 

 street mains, there are 5 miles in Brewer also 

 supplied from the pumping station. The paid 

 fire department has the Gamewell system of 

 alarm. In addition to excellent natural drain- 

 age, 20 miles of sewers had been constructed in 

 1888, and the city had 130 miles of streets oj>ened 

 and surveyed. The paving of the principal busi- 

 ness streets with square granite blocks was be- 

 gun the same year. Seven miles of electric street 

 railway are in operation, the road having been 

 chartered in 1887 and opened in 1889. It con- 

 nects the city with Brewer. Gas and electric 

 lighting are employed. Five national banks 



have an aggregate capital of $900,000 ; there are 

 2 savings banks with deposits aggregating $3,- 

 600,000, 3 private banks, 3 local insurance com- 

 panies, and a building and loan association. 

 The Board of Trade, organized in 1872, has a 

 membership of 200. Two daily and 3 weekly 

 newspapers and a literary monthly are pub- 

 lished. In 1888-'89 the public schools of Bangor 

 numbered 68, including 13 suburban (ungraded), 

 in 36 schoolhouses. The value of school property 

 was placed at $125,000 ; 91 teachers were em- 

 ployed, and the total attendance was 3,040. The 

 expenditures for school purposes were $41,198. 

 Private and parochial schools had an attendance 

 of 300, and the high school an enrollment of 128. 

 Bangor Theological Seminary (Congregational) 

 has been in operation since 1817; the value of 

 grounds and buildings is $65.000 ; the number 

 of students varies from 40 to 60. The library 

 contains 16,000 volumes. The religious societies 

 and places of worship number 18, of 10 different 

 denominations. A legacy to the city of $100,000 

 has been applied to the maintenance of a public 

 library containing 25,000 volumes, and other 

 funds are held in trust for various institutions, 

 including a Children's Home, homes for aged and 

 indigent women, and a Mechanics' Association. 

 The city has a fine opera house, and the Eastern 

 Maine State Pair Association has its grounds 

 and driving parks on an eminence 1 mile from 

 the business center, overlooking the city and the 

 harbor. The granite customhouse cost $201,- 

 755. The industries of Bangor include 300 

 manufacturing establishments, employing about 

 2,500 hands, and turning out a product valued 

 at more than $8,000,000. Next to Chicago it is 

 the largest lumber market in the United States, 

 and the city supplies not only the large mills in 

 its immediate vicinity but also logging camps of 

 from 2,500 to 3,000 men and 2,000 horses during 

 the winter months in the woods, and on the 

 drives in spring and early summer. The annual 

 shipments reach 200.000JOOO feet, and from 1832 

 to 1888 the amount surveyed was estimated at 

 8,537,628,202 feet. Four steam and 1 water saw 

 mill and 3 large steam planing mills lie on the 

 water front, and another mill on the Kendnskeag 

 in the center of th 3 city ; the majority, however, 

 are without the limits. The product of 1887 in 

 long and short manufacturea lumber was $2.- 

 304,000, and of boxes and box boards $210.000. 

 This item is of considerable importance, 1,500,000 

 packing boxes of pine and spruce being the 

 record of 1887, while 700.000 orange and lemon 

 boxes, valued at $50,000, were shipped in shocks 

 to the Mediterranean, and 365,000 to Florida and 

 the West Indies, and 125,000 onion and tomato 

 boxes to Bermuda. The molding and planing- 

 mill products of 4 mills reached $250,000, and 

 the cooperages turned out 80,000 fish barrels, 

 supplied to fishing villages of Massachusetts. 

 Spool wood, last blocks, and excelsior were manu- 

 factured to the amount of $216,000, 5,500,000 

 feet of spool bars having been shipped to Scot- 

 land. There is 1 furniture and 1 sash, door, and 

 blind factory, and 1 establishment making brush 

 handles and backs. The ship timl>er realized 

 $100,000. Wood and sawdust for pulp was 

 shipped to the amount of $55,000. Lumber- 

 men s driving tools are the product of 3 firms, 

 and there are 1 saw, 2 edge-tool factories, and 2 



