Guilford, Maine

Text by: Stub Schultz and Carrie Fellows
Images by: Guilford Historical Society

At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In the year 1794 the Commonwealth made a large land grant to Bowdoin College consisting of four townships, one of which is now the incorporated Town of Guilford.

Almost every town located in interior Maine was settled in the vicinity of a river which could be harnessed for power to run saw mills, shingle mills, grist mills, or anything else that needed more power than could be supplied by men or animals. In Guilford’s case there were the Piscataquis River, Salmon Stream, and a small outlet from Davis Pond thus three areas; Guilford Village, Guilford Center, and North Guilford, each sprouting small settlements. The area known as the village gradually became the business and economic heart of Guilford, with North Guilford and Guilford Center remaining predominately agricultural and slowly fading in population with the advent of electricity and the railroad.

On February 16 of 1806, Robert Low Jr. moved in the first family and three weeks later Robert Herring Jr. followed with his family. The three Bennett boys also arrived about this time and during the summer were busy raising corn and wheat and helping with the building of cabins. Capt Bennett stayed with his family in the township until after the harvest; then returned to New Gloucester, leaving his three sons, approximate ages 13, 12, and 11, to look after the property and tend the cow. They returned in March of the following year, the boys having survived the winter on cow’s milk, hulled corn, boiled wheat, and roasted potatoes. In September of 1806 Mrs. Robert Herring Jr. gave birth to the first child born in the settlement, a baby girl which she names Esther. Then in December Mrs. Robert Low Jr. gave birth to a daughter she named Polly.

In the winter of 1807 John Everton moved his family into the settlement which was a real blessing as Mrs. Everton was skilled in obstetrics. She served the settlement for ten years, before being thrown from a horse, fracturing her hip. She never recovered the use of her hip but lived an additional 20 years. In the spring of 1808 Deacon Robert Herring moved his family into the settlement and from that time forward religious services were held on more or less continuous basis.

The first census to include what would become Guilford was in 1810 and showed a total of 65 inhabitants. In October of 1812 the settlement was officially organized into Plantation 6, Range 7, and in November a meeting of voters was held for the purpose of raising money for school. Twenty-one dollars was eventually raised, a school board elected, and the first school was kept in the loft of Capt John Bennett’s shed until the first school house was finished in 1818, across the street from the current Guilford Valley Grange. From that time on the town has always been generous in supplying funds for educational support.

The first church was organized in Guilford Center on January 7, 1813, and on April 22 a meeting was held to see if the plantation would agree to give Elder Thomas Macomber an invitation to settle here as town minister. On June 7, Mr. Macomber was accepted and served the Baptist church at the Center for many years. On December 18, 1852, Mr. Macomber died at the age of 78 and his remains lie in the old cemetery at the center.

1816 was a pivotal year for the settlement as they petitioned the general court of the Commonwealth for incorporation as a town to be named Fluvanna. The legislature in its wisdom did not approve the name Fluvanna, changed it to Guilford, and passed the act on February 8th. The first town meeting was held on March 1st. The first male child, Moses Guilford Low, was born on March 9th. At different times, as boundaries changed, Guilford was located in the counties of Somerset, Penobscot, and finally Piscataquis.

In 1827 Guilford began to grow and prosper and by 1865 there were saw mills, law offices, retail stores, and a woolen factory. The railroad arrived in 1871 creating opportunities for business to expand. In 1890 the population was 1022 and along with the B & P railroad, the town had 29 businesses, 2 churches, 2 physicians, 1 dentist, 1 lawyer, 2 undertakers, and 1 newspaper; the Guilford Citizen. In 1903 the United States Post Office was located in the Braeburn Building on the corner of Water and North Main Street. The new Guilford Memorial Library building was dedicated in 1909 and in 1910 Guilford got its first movie house.

The first bridge across the river was built by volunteer work and subscription, and opened to travel around 1821. There have been 12 bridges on the Piscataquis River; three at Low’s Bridge, four at Sangerville, one foot bridge and four regular bridges at Guilford Village prior to the present structure.

Guilford was home to the largest fair in Piscataquis County. The date of the first Guilford Fair is uncertain but appears to have been some time in the late 1800’s. Always a traditional agricultural fair, it was held on the Saturday following Labor Day and featured livestock judging, horse and oxen pulling, and an assortment of carnival rides and games, while the centerpiece of the one day event came to be a double-header baseball game between the local semi-pro Guilford Advertisers and a visiting team from the Eastern Maine League.

The Guilford Fire Department was organized in 1893 and was comprised of 16 men and their equipment which consisted of linen hose, a two wheeled hose reel, and a sled for winter use. The pay for firemen was either $3 per year or their poll tax. The water supply came from the river using a pump in the Piscataquis Woolen Mill. In 1931 the Town purchased their first fire truck, a 1931 Ford which is still running today.

In December of 1901, the river displayed its fickle nature. Some 56 inches of snow had fallen. Cold weather had prevailed and everybody had decided that a solid winter had set in. Then it rained for a week and the water fell from the skies in sheets. First came the ice, then logs and ice, and finally buildings were seen in the water as it rose over 4 feet in 15 minutes. It was a wild scene that would be oft repeated throughout the years.

The Guilford Water Supply Company was developed when Charles Taylor, a respected engineer and entrepreneur from Wellesley, Mass bought the necessary material to build a piping system from Bennett Pond in Parkman to Guilford. In December 1910 when the work was complete the average daily use was 70,000 – 80,000 gallons per day.

In late September of 1909, the boom strung across the river at Guilford Manufacturing Company snapped, and, with a loud roar, about two and a half million feet of logs went on a rapid journey down the Piscataquis. The thundering logs swept everything before them until they reached the dam just below the bridge. At this point on the river were located the mills of the Piscataquis Woolen Company and the M. L. Hussey Woolen Company. With water rushing over the dam, logs were hurled directly through the windows of the lower floors of both mills. Hardly a whole window casement in either mill was left. The big boilers in both mills were under water.

At just about midnight, Friday evening, April 10, 1903 the residents of this town were called from their beds to fight one of the most stubborn fires that had ever been known here and which threatened to wipe out the entire business section of the town. The fire started in the stable connected to the Turner house. The stable and shed and the hotel was a total loss. With the high winds and lack of firefighting equipment it was a miracle that more of the business section of town did not suffer. The three story hotel portion that remained was moved approximately 150 feet up the road.

In 1916, Guilford citizens joyously celebrated the town’s 100th anniversary. Mr. Henry Hudson, a prominent lawyer and former state legislator, spoke these words; “We should be proud of our town. In this Centennial we have all done our best to pay full credit to the memories of our men and women not now with us.”

The Next Fifty Years 1916-1966
Modern History 1966 to Present
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