^\)t JTarmcr's illoutl)IjJ btsitov. 



79 



for ctihivation in the coiiiitiy. The Kennebprl? 

 valley vvilh its sevej-al branches is sfarcely inli;ii- 

 or to the beautiful valley of the dark flowinn 

 Connecticut: the hill lands near it are even njiich 

 less |ireci|iitons and rocky. There is not perhaps 

 a town any where that will cqinpare with the ten 

 mile township of Farininglon Ibriy miles north 

 of Angnsta on the Sandy river branch — where 

 every acre of upland is feasible and possesses 

 the same elements of fi^rtility with the best alln- 

 vion. 



B<!lovv Gardiner the land is more broken and 

 mnch less vahiable than it is above. Sidney and 

 Vassalboroiigh, the biehest on the river of the 

 six towns, are the easiest and best land. The 

 strikinj;- characteristic of the H.dlowell and An- 

 gust.-i soil is a heavy clay and marly loam : this 

 soil produces abimdanily with the stiinnlatin;; 

 manures when plun<;hed deep in the fall ami 

 pulverized by the fiosts of the succeeding win- 

 ter. 



These townships were a part of n grant orij;- 

 inally made on the Kennebeck to the Plymouth 

 company: the ancient proprietorship of this re- 

 gion, embrai-ing several otiier towns, has not yet 

 become extinct. Several wealthy families were 

 extensive ovviiers of the^e lands. The Vaiighan 

 family, blood connexiojis with the late British min- 

 ister to this country of the same name, owned to 

 the extent of one mile on the south line of Hal- 

 lowell west of the river over the whole distance to 

 the Winthrop pond. Both Hallowell and Augusta 

 on the west side are precipitous from the river 

 valley; and the westerly parts of these towns, 

 much of which is yet in tbrest, seem to have been 

 but recently settled and cleared. 



The State capilol stands at the south end of the 

 Augusta village on an endnence westerly of the 

 main street: fronting it the lot owned by the 

 State extends some hundred or more rods to the 

 river. This lot is cultivated and set out with 

 trees: in it is the cemetery in which the remains 

 of State ojficers and legislators dying at the seat 

 of government are deposited. The body of 

 Enoch Lincoln, a late most esteemed Governor 

 of Maine who dieil at Augusta while in office, 

 was here laid. This gentleman was of that dis- 

 lingiiished family at Worcester, whose father was 

 the lirst Afiorney General of the United Slates 

 under the appointment of Mr. Jefferson : an eld- 

 er brother, since that time, has been Governor of 

 Massachusetts and is now collector of the port 

 of Boston : two other brothers, although not as 

 high in office, were also men of the highest grade 

 of intellect. On all hands Enoch Lincoln is 

 spoken ol by those who knew him in the highest 

 terms ol' praise as a public man of great ability 

 and amiability. He (lied at the age of Ibrty years 

 on the 8lh of October 1829; thijleen years aller- 

 wards, in conseipience of the construction of-a 

 tomb at the place of burial, his body was" disin- 

 terred from the grave in which it was first depos- 

 ited : laid within an outside box, the mahognny 

 coffin lined « ilh sheet li-ad, tlie flesh U|)On the 

 bones was preserved of the consistency of wax. 

 Mr. Drew, who was present ere the vital warmth 

 had lelt the body at the lime of his death, was 

 present at the exhumation thirteen years after- 

 wards, and was able to recognize the familiar face 

 of the deceased Governor. In the basement of 

 the State house the body remained preparatory to 

 its deposite on the finishing of the tondi: Ihrougli 

 a glass in the cofiiu we were enabled to look on 

 the fiice of the man whom we had seen alive 

 some twenty years previous, but whose fiesli and 

 sinews were as strange to oiireoneeption as if he 

 bad risen li'oni the dead. 



The capitol of the State on the west side al- 

 most directly fronts the Insane Hosfiital and its 

 lieautiliil grounds on the east side: fmtherto the 

 left and nearer to the Augusta bridge is the 

 United States arsenal with its grounds extend- 

 ing from the river to the road. The lot of 

 cronnd, some thirty to fifty acres, belonging to 

 the United States, is snrronnded on the land side 

 by permanent iron fence set upon granite blocks, 

 w liicli must last tor ages. On the water side is 

 an extended wharf with stone abntmeins filled in 

 with saiul and gravel Tiie arsenal itself con- 

 tains many thousand stands of United States 

 aims with other materials of war. The public 

 buildings of the State and of the United States on 

 both sides of the river are all built of the grey 

 Hallowell granite. 



The minerals, collected and deposited at the 



State capitol by Doct. Jackson, the late State 

 Geologist, are a good beginning lor a inusenin of 

 great value. Here the scientilic may study the 

 soil of the different locations from the labi'ls 

 upon the diflrt-relit specimens. Other (tmiosities 

 may here be seen ; among them the corner stone 

 with its inscription laid at Fort Haliliix by Gov. 

 Shirley as early as 17.^-1, in VViuslow, on the 

 point of junction of the Kennebeck and Sebasli- 

 cook, opposite the town of VVaterville. 



A most valuabh; part of Hallowell is its per- 

 fect granite ledges situated from one to perhaps 

 three miles from the river in the higher grounds. 

 Blocks of this granite of almost any desired ex- 

 tent are split out and prepared like hewn timber. 

 This material has not only been used in the pub- 

 lic aiid-other buildings of the vicinity, hut has 

 been [irepared and transported to the several 

 cities in the south and west — to New Orleans, 

 Natchez, &c. Recently however, the more fanci- 

 ful, but less perfect Quiucy granite having been 

 preJjLM-red, or else the change and general depres- 

 sion of business, have closed the present u^se of 

 the Hallowell quarries. 



Comparatively it is only a few years since the 

 lands of the State of Maine were esteemed at 

 all valuable for agricultural purposes. We well 

 remember the time when the farming country in 

 the region of Augusta first broke upon the people 

 ol' Massachusetts as of any value lor cultivation. 

 Up 10 that time lumber upon the livers was the 

 great object of traffic ; Boston was principally 

 supplied with fuel cut down near the shores of 

 the sea and rivers. Cedar posts and rails shipped 

 from Maine supplied the scarcity of timber of 

 the liirmers in the fowns about Boston. Such an- 

 imal inroads were m.-ide upon the forests near 

 the navigable waters in Maine, that fears were 

 entertained tli.at the accustomed supply might 

 soon he exhauste'd. How remarkable is it that 

 since that time the discovery and use of anthra- 

 cite coal, with a greatly increased consumpliou 

 of fuel, has kept down the price to a nominal 

 value still less when the value of money has been 

 reduced! It is but just beginning to be discov- 

 ered that there is more easy and valuable land 

 l(M' cultivation within the limits of the State of 

 Maine as fixed by the late boundary treaty with 

 Great Britain than in all the other five New Eng- 

 land States. A wheat country, like that of wes- 

 tern New York known only until the construc- 

 tion of the Erie canal, 0|ieiis upon ns in the 

 Aroostook and St. John's valley; and a forest 

 covered with uncounted millions of timber fiom 

 the southwest to northeast remains to be conver- 

 ted into valuable cultivation. 



'J'lie fimiily of Wingate, among the first settlers 

 of New Hampshire two hundred years a^o, is 

 cnnsiiicuous among the fijrmers of Kennebeck. 

 Meeting them we at once discovered the fi'atures 

 and the peculiar longitude of the race as exhibi- 

 ted by the venerable Judge whom we saw upon 

 the bench in New Hampshire thirty-seven years 

 ayo, and who snrviveil more than a eeiitury of 

 years, dying only a year or two since. The late 

 Gov. Wiii,i;ate, of this liimily, we believe was 

 born in Hallowell, wh(--re his father settled in the 

 c.ipacity of a physician, upon a tract of l;md, now 

 ail excellent firm overlooking the compact village 

 upon the river. 



More recently others of the same name, mem- 

 bers of the Society of Friends, liavi.' settled in 

 the extreme west end of the town of Hallowell 

 along the shore of Winthrop pond which ex- 

 tends north and south alioiit twelve miles. Here 

 Ihe soil is as easy as the alluvion upon the river. 

 The farms are very neat: each well painted 

 lionse has its ample barns and out houses and its 

 orchard of abundant fruit trees. The society 

 here has in the midst its unpretending place of 

 public worship painted white, vvithoml steeple or 

 bell on other ornament. 



Our object ill traversiiiff the westerly part of 

 Hallowell was to visit the premises of Friend 

 J. Weeks Haines, whodeserves nim-e credit, eon- 

 siileriug his means, for entprjirise and public 

 s|iirit in iintroducing improvedi breeds of cattle, 

 siieep' and swine, than possibly any other New 

 England man. Mr. Haines had visited the re- 

 cent great Agricullural' Exhibition of New York 

 at Albany, where he b;id purchased of Mr. So- 

 thain a full bloojled Hereford bull calf nine 

 months old, which weighed alive (!00 pounds: 

 this creature had white head and I'eet with his 

 liody of a mahognny color: his hair was of the 



consistence of silk, and his delicate legs pre- 

 sented a view of the vinns .inil cords through tlic^ 

 skin ; also, a short horned Durham bull, which 

 he purchased of Air. Prentice of Albany, whose 

 weight at nine inoiilhs was 575 pounds: this 

 calf was named Leopard, being spotted and of 

 the color of that animal. In New Ymk he took 

 the first preminm of the two societies. 'J'he 

 pnrchaser was able to bring these two fine ani- 

 mals all the way frmn Albany to Hallowell, a 

 distance of about three hundred and fifty miles, 

 by steam cars and steam boats, in the space of 

 about two days. 



We did not find Friend Haines at home : he 

 had made a trade of a iiill blooded Durham bull 

 weighing 1^00 pounds at two years, and a heil'cr 

 three years old, p:irt Dnrhain and part llerelord- 

 sliire, of his own raising, to Hon. F. O. J. Sinitli 

 of Westbrook — these he sold at ihe price of ,sl25 ; 

 and he had started with these animals and a 

 brood of Berkshire piigs with their dam for the 

 agricultural exhlbitipii for the county of Cum- 

 berland to be held at the town of Gray two days 

 after. 



Mr. Hainesfirst made a pitch upon a forest fiirm 

 of 195 acres, purchased of the Vaiighan estate 

 eleven years ago, with little other resources than 

 his own hands. This laud is somewhat stony 

 and rough, but when well cultivated is very fer- 

 tile. It is high ground about half way between 

 the riveraiid the west line of Hallowell. On 

 this land, without maiinre, 400 bushels of pota- 

 toes were last year raised to the acre. The Diit- 

 toii corn was very large where Ihe land was nia- 

 iiiired, and had not been stricken by frost as late 

 as the 18lli October. This tinni lies nearly upon 

 a level declining a little to the south : the fielils 

 are natural to and abimdaiit in hay. Good 

 spring wheat grows npou it: the fields are well 

 divided and H;'nced off. 



This gentleman seems to carry his pas.Moii for 

 impifived breeds of animals beyond "hat S(mie 

 might believe to be his best interest : i:evertlie- 

 less he must have made something by his perse- 

 verance. At the Augusta fair he exhibited fmui 

 his own farm more than sixty animals, oxen, 

 cows, bulls, heifers, sheep and swine, ami was 

 siiccessftil in obtaining several premiums. Be- 

 sides those we have already mentioned, were his 

 yoke of oxen girling seven le'et two inches, part 

 short horn Durham, part Herefordshire, aiid^ 

 |iart of the Denton breeil. These oxen at the 

 liiirs of both Augusta and Headfield, on a trial 

 of strength, distanced every oilier \oke of cattle. 

 After hitching to a load as heavy as any other 

 single yoke of cattle could draw, filieen men 

 were added to il, and these oxen carried the 

 whole off. Mr. Haines had just sold at good 

 prices lour of the catile kind of his own raising 

 — ;imong them a full blooded Durham bull, to go 

 to Illinois: he had also sold three other cattle to 

 ;i Mr. Howard to gosonlh. 



air. Haines keeps lioin forty to sixty hogswilh 

 which he makes abundance of maiitire for his 

 land. Two Berkshire sous with their young 

 were as handsome as we can suppose black hogs 

 with (mrly tails to be. One of the sows two 

 years old had seven pigs five weeks old — the 

 other one year old had ten pigs three weeks 

 old. These pigs were of a jetty black color 

 with a small mixture of while. He had, also, 

 two other full blood Berkshire sows a'lil one 

 three (burths blood: likewise a full blood boar 

 two years old with an offspring almost exactly 

 resembling him six nionlhs old. For his broods 

 of full blooil Berkshire pigs, he finds a ready 

 sale at four weeks old attiiree dollars each. His 

 sheep, which came to our view, were of the 

 South Down and Dishley breed. \ 



After a very gratilying tour of nearly a whole 

 day among the liirms in the westerly part of 

 Hallowell ami Augusta, retiring tor the night to 

 the Augusta house, we were on our way belbre 

 light next morning for the Agricultural exhibi- 

 tion at Gray in Cumberland county, where the 

 exhibition, "in that most ancient part of the State, 

 so tiir as relates to Aiiriciiltinc, was certainly in- 

 ferior to those further in the interior. On our way in 

 the stage A'e passed ihefuin in Monmoiilh \\here 

 the late Gen. John Ch.-mdler, a native of N. llamj)- 

 sliire, made his first pitch several years alter he 

 retired from the revolutionary service. This 

 genilemau, who cleared his faun with his own 

 hands, was a General in the last war — a Senator 

 in Congress and several years Collector of Port- 



