Guilford, Maine

By: Cindy Woodworth

MEMORIES REMAIN - BUILDINGS OF THE PAST

GUILFORD TOWN HALL

Here is the Guilford Town Hall as it was originally built, circa 1890. This is only a photographic memory to most of us today. The Town Hall was used as a movie theatre, a play house, a school, and as a multiple purpose hall. An addition was added later to the back of the building. The Guilford Town Hall was built on land donated by the Martin family. This beautiful building was lost to a fire in 1928.

We have yet to find any photograph of the interior of this building. This creates an ongoing search to find the missing pieces. This building was never rebuilt. While many towns today have the opportunities to refurbish their old buildings and bring them back to life, the old town hall remains only in the photos and written history. Behind this area where the town hall was located, is the current location of the Guilford Town Office and Fire Station.

M. & J. HUDSON STORE

The general store of M. & J. Hudson, the Post Office and the Odd Fellows Hall were located in this building. In the late 1800s, it was located at the intersection of Main Street and Hudson Avenue, at the head of Bank Square, and faced north. It was built in 1879 and the Post Office wing was added in 1893. Another wing was added to the other side shortly before the building burned in 1902. New contstruction began and the dedication of the new brick building was held in 1904.

The magnificent brick building shown to the left, in 1916, replaced the wooden structure, and was the location of the French & Elliott Company, the Masonic Hall and the Odd Fellows Hall. The left wing was later the office of the Walter Blake Insurance Company. This building has been the home of a grocery store since 1903. In 1962 Cliff & Naomi Worthen opened Worthen's Market. This beautiful building was razed in 2000 to make way for the Rite Aid store which currently stands at this location.

FRANKLIN HOUSE, TURNER HOUSE, BRAEBURN HOTEL AND EDES BUILDING

The original building was built in 1834 and known as the Franklin House, built by W. W. Harris; all improvements, including porches, were added by Howard and Betsey Turner, then known as the Turner House. It was located on the corner of Water Street and North Main Street. It was a stop for the stagecoach and, in addition to the dining room and traveler's rooms, it had a large horse stable. It was lost to fire in 1903, but part of the building was salvaged and relocated. The part of the building that remained is today operating as a laundromat.

The Braeburn Hotel was built on the site of the Turner House. During its early years, it was considered the ultimate in accommodations. The dining room, kitchen, Jackson's Clothing Store, Ross Drug Store, the United States Post Office, and Mrs. Ayers Millinery Shop were located on the first floor. The second floor was divided into rental rooms for travelers. It was operated, over the years, by Percy Stacy, by N. N. Scales, and later by Laurice Goodwin, who converted the hotel into small apartments.

The Braeburn Hotel was built in 1907 at the site of the Turner House and former Franklin House. The Turner House was partially lost to fire in the year 1903. One hundred years later, in 2003, the Braeburn Hotel was completely lost to fire. The original piece of the Franklin House was once again saved. This part of the building is still operating today owned by Chastenay Property Management. Notice the J. K. Edes Building is shown at the right in all the photos. The Edes Building was razed in the year 2009. The corner lot currently remains empty.

GUILFORD REGISTER BUILDING

The Guilford Register newspaper office building also had space for the Guilford Steam Laundry and D.H. Whiting & Sons Company. In this photo, the town of Guilford was preparing for the Guilford Centennial Celebration in 1916. Copies of the Guilford Register newspapers have been preserved on microfilm and the original newspapers are kept at the Guilford Historical Society for anyone interested to come and research the history of Guilford and surrounding areas.

SCALES BLOCK AND BANK SQUARE

This photograph shows the beginning of the Scales establishments in 1880s. The first building was the large wooden structure and two smaller buildings closer to the Piscataquis River were later replaced. The Scales building that still exists today, a brick structure, sits next to the riverbank at the bridge on Main Street. The entrance to the covered bridge is on the right of this photo.

Bank Square - South Main Street on the right showing Spearing Furniture Store and Undertaking Parlor, Scales Block and Covered Bridge. Spearing Furniture later became the location of Crockett's Bakery and Koritsky's Clothing Store in the 1950s. To the left is Elm Street businesses. Notice the Methodist Church in the background.

This is a Winter scene of Bank Square and the Elm Street business district in the 1950s. Included is the Koritsky's Store, Crockett's Bakery, The Gold Nuggett Restaurant, Treworgy's and the Mobil Station.
In the photo below, Abe Morris, Manager of Koritsky's Department Store, on the left and Gordon Crockett, right, are inside Crockett's Bakery on Elm Street in the mid 1950s. Koritsky's and Crockett's were in the same building on Elm Street, before the devastating fire of 1969.

HENRY HUDSON HOME AND OFFICE

This was the home of Attorney Henry Hudson. His office is the building on the left. Both were located on Hudson Avenue. In the rear, between the two buildings, is a large carriage barn. This was later the home of Attorney John P. White. The office building shown on the left was later relocated across the street and is still operating as a real estate office. This is the current location of the United States Post Office.

EXHIBITS
HOME