^ -1 V », Bangor, maine Its Summer Attractions Industrial Advantages ISSUED BY THE BANGOR BOARD OF TRADE 1906 mM§ Compiled by E. M. Blanding, Secretary BANGOR BOARD OF TRADE rrirked by Cham, ti '. Glass &* Co., Bangor, Maine. 'NOV 1 1906 D. Of 0, Bangor, Maine. JACOB BUSWELL, Bangor's pioneer settler, came in 1769 to the junction of the Penobscot and Kenduskeag Rivers and brought with him his wife and nine children. On a commanding site near where is now the St. John's Roman Catholic Church, Buswell reared a rude log house and established the first home in the limits of the present Bangor with white occupants. For many years Camping Grounds of the Tarratines. P rior to this the neighborhood had been the camping grounds of the Tarratines, a numerous and powerful tribe of Indians, and this was with them a favorite abid- ing place. The pioneer Buswell was not, however, the first white man to visit or note the advantages of settlement at the confluence of the Kenduskeag and the Penobscot Rivers. As early as 1605 the French had visited this locality, and in 1613 the Jesuits had contemplated planting a mission here, but finally determined on Mount Desert. About 1670 Baron De Castine of Canada came into the region, gained great influence with the Tarratine Indians by means of marriage with the daughter of Chief Modockawando and estab- lished a trading place where now stands the historic town of Cas- tine. As a consequence for almost a century before the first settlement on Bangor's present site, the Penobscot River was a highway of communication between Canada and the French trad- ing posts established in the Penobscot region. And it was not till the fall of Quebec and the final crushing of French power in America in 1759 that this region became inviting to settlers from England or colonies to the southward. Kadesquit was the first name by which Jacob Buswell knew the place of his settlement. Later it became Condeskeag and then Kenduskeag. More families came with each succeeding year, and when the Revolutionary War broke over the American colonies, Kenduskeag Plantation contained perhaps about 75 souls, and on both banks of the Penobscot between Stillwater and Bald Hill Cove, in 1776, there were seventy-eight heads of families. The Revolution- ary War entailed much hardship on the people of Kenduskeag Plantation. The British had control of the Penobscot River and commanded the subjection of all the inhabitants on the banks. 4 Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages But the people of the little settlement were heart and soul for the cause of independence. A military band of twenty white men and ten Indians was organized in 1776. Headquarters were established Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages 5 at a rough barrack built near the present Mount Hope Cemetery. These men helped to drive Sir John Collier from Machias and it was through their efforts that the powerful Penobscot Indians were held loyal friends to the American cause throughout the war. The mouth of the Kenduskeag stream in the Penobscot was the final scene in August, 1779, of the ill starred expedition of Commodore Richard Saltonstall and General Solomon Lovell, sent out of Massa- chusetts against the British who had established themselves at Castine. A British fleet under Sir George Collier made its appear- ance in Penobscot Bay and so frightened the American fleet and forces that they fled before the British fleet up the Penobscot, and at the mouth of the Kenduskeag the Americans blew up or burned their nine ships of one hundred and fifty-four guns and three transports, and made their retreat through the pathless forest westward. One of the cannon of these ships was raised from the river's bottom in 1876, and is now to be seen in front of the Bangor Post Office and Custom House. With the advent of peace between England and the United States came a revival of the settlement of Kenduskeag. Many who had left the region because of the British persecution returned. But this revival and growth was slow, and the records of it are very meagre. In 1786 the general government sent General Lin- coln, General Putnam and Dr. Thomas Rice to Condeskeag to pur- chase the title of Indians to the lands on the Penobscot River. About this time there came to Condeskeag one who should receive mention, because to him the city of Bangor owes its name. This man was Rev. Seth Noble, a native of Westfield, Mass. He was a patriot and a chaplain in the Maine forces during the Revo- lutionary War, and was the first installed pastor in Condeskeag, although he had no meeting-house in which to preach. He was a good speaker, but far from ministerial in his habits and talk. He first taught the people of Condeskeag to call their settlement Sun- bury. In 1791 the population of Sunbury numbered one hundred and fifty people and the plantation organization seemed to its people to be primitive and outgrown. Accordingly it was decided to ask the General Court of Massachusetts for an act of town incor- poration and Parson Noble was delegated to visit Boston and secure the same. Supposedly the town was to be incorporated as Sunbury, but at Boston Mr. Noble who was a great lover of music, asked that the town be incorporated Bangor, the name of a favorite hymn, and the General Court so incorporated it, February 25, 1791. Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages 7 Bangor entered upon the nineteenth Bangor's Early Days. centui T thirty-one years after its settlement, with a population of 277. Its growth thus far had been slow. Not till 1801 had a single settler a legal title to his land. In that year the General Court of Massachusetts passed a resolve giving deeds of lands to settlers on most liberal terms, also providing for a committee to survey lots and establish their bounds. The result of this act and a legislative provision giving farms for the asking to bona fide settlers had the effect of setting immigration from the more thickly settled part of Massachusetts toward the Penobscot region. The admirable situa- tion of Bangor at the head of navigation on the Penobscot and its central location in what was obviously to be a thriving community, further conduced to increasing the population at the opening of the new century. During the War of 1812 Bangor had sorry expe- rience at the hands of the British, as it had in the War of the Revolution. In 1820 Maine became a state and Bangor seemed to receive a new impulse to growth from its share in statehood. Agriculture prospered, the lumber interests increased and ship- building flourished. A bank had been established and thrived ; the town possessed a court-house and jail ; several churches were erected and the Theological Seminary had been established. In the early thirties Incorporated as a City ill 1834. Bangor made rapid growth, land valuations materially advancing and the era being one of great speculation. From 1830 to 1834 the population increased from 2,808 to 8,000. It was in the latter year that Bangor became incorporated as a city, Hon. Allen Oilman being the first mayor. The first bridge built across the Penobscot connecting Bangor and Brewer was con- structed in 1832 by the Bangor Bridge Company at a cost of $40,000. This bridge was swept away by the great freshet in 1846 and was replaced in 1847 by a new truss bridge at a cost of $31,000. Sev- eral years ago the central span was swept away and this was replaced by steel. In 1854 the Post Office and Custom House build- ing, constructed of granite, was completed, and the next year famous old Norombega Hall was built. The ten years preceding the Civil War were not years of marked prosperity in Bangor. Political excitement and uncertainty resulted in business depres- sion. The sympathy of the Bangor people was heartily and strongly with the cause of anti-slavery. The presidential contest 8 Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages of 1860, when Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, the city's foremost man, was a candidate for vice-president on the Republican ticket with Lin- coln, saw most loyal enthusiasm in Bangor. At the close of Notable Advancement in Recent Years. the war the valu " ation of the city of Bangor was $7,076,000, and the business for a time was excep- tionally good and remained so until 1873, when the financial panic of that year had its depressing effect. The European and North American Railway was opened to Vanceboro in 1871, giving Bangor a much wider zone of trade. In 1872 there were 246,453,000 feet of lumber surveyed in Bangor, this being the highest figure ever reached. In 1869 the city celebrated its centennial with elaborate exercises, on which occasion the late Hon. John A. Peters delivered one of his most eloquent speeches. In 1875 the water works sys- tem of the city was begun and the undertaking completed two years later at a cost of $500,000, although in later years extensive additions have been made thereon. In 1893 the Bangor & Aroos- took Railroad was built into Aroostook County and in 1898 the Washington County Railway was extended into and through Wash- ington County. In the past decade and a half Bangor has made a notable advance- ment and especially noticeable have been the improvements in the past few years. The city has gained largely in population ; hand- some blocks have been reared in the business section ; industries have multiplied in number and importance ; mercantile establish- ments both wholesale and retail have increased and extended, and the homes of our citizens have been very materially improved. The influence of a com- Bangor and Her Namesakes. munit y is at times far reach " ing and the fair and busy city at the head of navigation on the Penobscot has numerous namesakes. Investigations carried on by the Secretary of the Bangor Board of Trade show that there are at least nine Bangors in different parts of North America all named for our home city. It is interesting to note that these are widely scattered, two being in the South, four in the Middle West, two on the Pacific Slope and one beneath a foreign flag. They are located as follows : in Wake County, North Carolina; Morgan County, Kentucky; Van Buren County, Michigan ; Marshall County, Iowa ; Coffey County, Kansas; Walworth County, South Dakota ; Butte County, California ; Kitsap County, Washington ; and Prince Edward Island, Canada. 10 Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages flit - rrff r rr r cartrr liiil v 1 - " - ■ '--•q MokSK-OLIVER Bangor's Admirable Location. BANGOR is fortunate in its location being at the head of navi- gation on Maine's largest river, rnd with railroads radiating to all parts of the state. It is the metropolis of Easttrn Maine and the natural gateway to the expansive territory of the North-east. Bangor is a flourishing city of 25,000 people and the towns imme- diately environing, including the city of Brewer across the river, swell the population to 40,000. As the shire town of a county embracing upwards of 76,000 inhabitants ; as the tiade centre and shipping point for a large and rich agricultural section and for many thriving induLtrial communities; as a point of convergence for numerous important railway and steamship lines, and a consequent Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages 11 tarrying place for great numbers of tourists, sportsmen and com- mercial travelers ; these together with the busy commerce of its port and the metropolitan character of its hotels and the compact- ness of its business section, give to the city a much more populous appearance than the above figures would indicate. Bangor has a fine harbor, easily accessible for vessels of large size ; and along the docks, crafts of varying rig are loaded with lumber, ice and the diversified products of this region. Although thirty miles from the bay and sixty miles from the ocean, the tide rises about seventeen feet, and there is a sufficient depth of water to float the largest of ocean steamships. COLUMBIA BLOCK. Up-to-Dateand Progressive City. BANGOR ranks among the most progressive and up-to-date cities of its class and is widely known for the enterprise of its busi- ness men and the public spirit and hospitality of its citizens. Bangor's city hall — the Hersey Memorial Building — is an impos- ing edifice, which reflects credit upon the city. The corner stone was laid July 4, 1893, and the dedication took place just a year from that date. On the front of the building is a bronze bust of the late General Samuel F. Hersey, donated by his sons. The Gen- eral was long a prominent and wealthy business man of Bangor, and represented this district for two terms in Congress. He died in 1875 and left numerous bequests, and among them one to the city, which when paid over by the executors some years later, aggregated $100,000, this sum being subsequently appropriated by the city as an endowment for the Public Library. Later the Her- sey fund was utilized to construct a Hersey Memorial Building, this being designed to meet all the requirements of a City Hall ; and the city pays interest to the Public Library. The city is divided into seven Bangor as a Municipality, wards, with one alderman and three councilmen to each ward, the principal officers consisting of Mayor, Clerk, Treasurer and Collector, Street Commissioner, City Physician, Solicitor, Engineer, Chief of Police, Harbor Master, Superintendent of Schools, School Agent, Superintendent of Sewers, Chief Engineer of Fire Depart- ment, City Electrician and Superintendent of Wires, Board of Assessors, Inspector of Buildings, Board of Water Commissioners, Board of Cemetery Commissioners, Overseers of the Poor, Board of Health, Sewer Board and Park Commissioners. The property valuation of Bangor according to the Assessors' figures is $18,488,213 as against $15,817,118 in 1900. The number of polls is 6,692 against 6,061 in 1900. These figures are indicative of the marked advancement in population and property valuation in the past few years, while it is furthermore to be considered that many of Bangor's largest manufacturing establishments, including all the large saw mills with a single exception, are located outside the city limits. Furthermore a very large proportion of Bangor's wealth consists of forest lands in remote sections of the state, and important industrial enterprises taxed elsewhere. 11 Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages During the past year the City Treasurer and Collector received from all sources $751,664.33. The city holds trust funds to the amount of $208,909.15 as follows : Hersey Fund, $100,000 ; Chil- dren's Home, $40,000; Home for Aged Women, $25,000; Mechanics Association, $12,000 ; Wakefield Fund for Indigent Women, $10,000 ; THE STAND-PIPE AT SUMMIT PARK George Stetson Fu id for City Missionary, $12,000; H. H. Fogg Fund for City Missionary, $1,000 ; Bangor Fuel Society, $4,500 ; Holton Medal Fund, $2,000; Firemen's Relief Fund, $2,409.15. The city's credit is of the best and her outstanding 3^ and 4% bonds bring a high premium in the market. Bangor has no float- Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages L5 ing debt and her bonded debt is as follows : Municipal Bonds due in 1912, $50,000, and in 1914, $100,000 ; Water Bonds due in 1910, HON. WILLIAM B. PLIRCK, MAYOR $40,000, and in 1935, $500,000. During the past year the $500,000 water bonds were refunded with interest reduced from six per cent to four per cent and making a yearly saving of $10,000. Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages 17 The city has in excess of 200 miles of streets opened and sur- veyed, and is constantly keeping pace with the demand for new- ones occasioned by the development of building tracts in the )PERA HOUS] suburban districts. The paving of the leading business thorough- fares with granite blocks has been actively in progress for more than a decade of years and the business section is now substantially 18 Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages paved. A considerable portion of Main Street has been macadamized and additional street improvements are in contemplation. From the Bangor House to the Eastern Maine Fair Grounds Main Street has been converted into a superb boulevard. There are in excess of thirty-seven miles of sewers constructed, and in the last few years extensive improvements in this direction have been inaug- urated while still further extensions are constantly being made. The natural drainage of the city is excellent, as the resident por- tions are situated on high ground sloping to the banks of the Penobscot and Kenduskeag. PALM STREET GRAMMAR SCHOOL There is a salaried fire department of 95 men exclusive of the chief and three assistants. The equipment for extinguishing fires includes four steamers, six hose carriages and two hook and ladder trucks. There are two hundred and forty-one hydrants, and twenty-two reservoirs. All the various steam mills have powerful appliances of their own for putting out incipient fires. The city is provided with the Gamewell System of fire alarm telegraph and the various hose and steamer houses are connected by telephone. There are 62 alarm boxes and 55 miles of wire. The efficiency of the department is shown by the remarkable freedom of the city from destructive conflagrations. Bangor's Municipal Electric Lighting Plant is an admirable one Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages 19 and the city is universally conceded to be one of the best lighted in the country. The Power station is at the Bangor Waterworks Dam and there is a commodious sub-station erected in 1902 on York Street. There are 372 city lights, 328 of these being arc and 44 incandescent. There are 75 miles of wire for the arc lights and 30 for the incandescent. In addition to the illumination of the streets, electric lighting is supplied to all the municipal build- !-ii FIRST CONGREGATION \l, I'Hl'KCIl ings, including City Hall, the school houses, the Alms House, the ward rooms, the city stable and the fire stables, 1,400 incandescent lights being employed for these purposes. Included in Bangor's electrical department is the Gamewell Fire Alarm telegraph ser- vice, there being 62 fire alarm boxes, 44 miles of overhead wire and 11 miles of underground wire, making a total of 55 miles of 20 Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages wire. In addition to the above Bangor is one of the few cities in the country with the tapper service, each member of the fire department having at his home a tapper which sounds every fire alarm indicating at the same time the box from which the alarm is given. In order to reach the homes of the ninety odd firemen with this tapper system 16 miles of overhead wire have been stretched. The Bangor Public Library is one of The Public Library. the forernost institutions of its kind and contains on its shelves 60,590 volumes. The nucleus of this valuable collection of books was MASONIC r.i.ocK conveyed to the city in trust by the Mechanics Association by whom it was collected during an existence covering nearly sixty years. The Hersey Fund having been devoted by the city for the purpose of the library, the institution now has an endowment of $116,000 for its maintenance. During the past year the number of books delivered for home use was 98,883, and for use in the reading room 15,109, making a total aggregate of 113,992 books issued in the year. Additions are being made continually by purchase and donation, and this is the home as well of the Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages 21 Bangor Historical Society. The collections of this society are kept in the library rooms and everything of historical interest, especially if related to local matters, is added to the collection. The Bangor Public Library according to an official bulletin recently issued by the United States Census Bureau ranks third among cities of its class, there being only two cities in the United States with a population similar to Bangor and having a larger number of volumes in their Public Libraries. The Bangor Public Library it is expected will soon be housed in a splendid home of its own, and one worthy of so important an institution. An eligible site in the vicinity of City Hall and the Court House has been acquired A iiu AUDITORIUM by condemnation proceedings and at this location a superb library building will be erected in the near future, the building fund already aggregating $132,000. In the very centre of the city with the Public Buildings, waters of the Kenduskeag River on both sides is located the Custom House and Post Office Building. The edifice is of granite and very substan- tially built. The ground floor is used for the Post Office. Within a few years there has been erected in the rear a large addition which is also used for the accommodation of Bangor's rapidly increasing postal service. On the second floor are the commodious VSZ WW [;. 'liH.:lr~ ; 4S£ WW l^M < "e* ; •• i * .■ i -^t^***** rtw'iil"^ii'r 60 Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages of railroads radiating from Bangor can furnish a large supply of poplar, spruce and other cheap woods, at a less cost, than can be obtained in other seaboard localities. The wool-growing districts of the state are within easy access, and the numerous vessels carry- ing lumber, hay, ice, brick and stone to southern ports, could bring back cotton at low rates. In fact, it is hardly possible to find a place possessing superior advantages for textile manufactures of all kinds, and likewise for pulp and paper manufacturing, while there are innumerable varieties of woodworking, ironworking and other industries that might flourish here as they could nowhere else. For almost all the countless multitudes of smaller industries the location cannot be excelled, owing to the low rents and insurance, cheap freights, small cost of water, steam or electrical power, and the general desirability of Bangor as a place of residence for the best class of mechanics. With several great lines of railway centering in Bangor, extend- ing from the four corners of the state and traversing its richest territory, her business men have only to show a proper amount of enterprise to secure and hold the trade of a larger and richer sec- tion of country than is tributary to any other city in New England. With the numerous present and prospective branch lines penetra- ting the immense timber forests, farming sections and quarrying districts of the state, whence may be drawn inexhaustible supplies of raw materials ; and with unlimited and unfailing water power, and direct and rapid communication with all the world's markets, Bangor should and must become a manufacturing and commercial city of great importance. Bangor's future as a man- Cheap Power at Tidewater. ufacturing centre is espe. cially bright because of the utilization of electric power. Cheap power at tidewater means much for a community, and the extensive developments of the great water powers in this vicinity will result in Bangor having some thousands of horse power available for diversified manufac- turing. During the past year a single company has expended on the Penobscot a dozen miles above Bangor a million dollars for electric power development and one of the great manufacturing plants in this vicinity is to secure 3,000 horse power from this source. Other developments are in contemplation, assuring a large volume of electric power and at very reasonable prices. Manufac- turers seeking an eligible location should consider Bangor's superior advantages before looking elsewhere. Bangor Board of Trade. THE Bangor Board of Trade comprises several hundred of Bangor's representative business men. This organization had its incep- tion in April, 1872, when was held a meeting of citizens of Bangor HON'. I. K. ST1.TSON, I'RKSIM.NT HOARD OF TRADK and Brewer to consider the subject of starting certain manufactures and evoking a manufacturing spirit in this locality. 62 Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages The meeting was presided over by Hon. J. S. Its Inception. Wheelwright, then Mayor of the city, with A. L. Simpson as secretary. The result of the discus- sion and deliberations of this meeting was the appointment of a committee of nine, to take the matter of organizing a Board of Trade and Manufactures under advisement, and to report at an adjourned meeting of the citizens to be held the following week. At the adjourned meeting the report of this committee was adopted and in accordance with its recommendations a committee of ten was raised to prepare a constitution and to take the necessary steps for organization. On April 15 the meeting was held according to adjournment, the draught of the constitution reported by the com- mittee was read and was accepted and adopted. The constitution having been thus Organization Perfected. ratified b Y the popular meeting of citizens from whom it sprung, and for whose benefit it was made, as well as signed by many citizens, in addition to the committee of ten who had been authorized to prepare it and organize the Board, a meeting of the signers was called to meet on the evening of Saturday, April 27. At this and several subsequent meetings a temporary organization was effected, which was finally made permanent on June 4 by the elec- tion of officers, and with President, Moses Giddings ; Treasurer, S. C. Hatch ; Secretary, B. F. Tefft, a code of by-laws was adopted and thus, with ninety-two names enrolled in its membership came into existence the organization of public-spirited citizens which later developed into the present Bangor Board of Trade. At the annual meeting in January, 1873, President Giddings declined re-election and R. S. Prescott was chosen to the office which he filled until 1881, when advancing years led him to tender his resignation. He was succeeded by Hon. Henry Lord, who brought to the position extended experience as a presiding officer, having been Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and President of the Maine Senate. In 1894 after serving as president with signal ability for thirteen years, Mr. Lord declined re-election, but he continues to serve as a member of the Board of Managers. Charles S. Pearl, who had previously shown a zealous interest in the organization by his efficient labors as Secretary for the decade of years from 1881 to 1891, was chosen Mr. Lord's successor in 1894, and he continued to serve ably and efficiently as President of the Bangor Board until 1905 when he declined re-election, Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages 63 but continues as a member of the Board of Managers. In January, 1905, Hon. Isaiah K. Stetson, prominently identified with Bangor's business interests, was elected to the Presidency and still holds this position of honor and responsibility. The office of Treasurer was held continuously by Hon. S. C. Hatch up to the time of his death, when he was succeeded by the late Jonathan G. Clark, who held this responsible position from 1890 until his decease in 1902, his successor being Joseph G. Blake, the present incumbent. The Secretaryship has been held successively by B. F. Tefft, Henry HOARD OF TRADE KooM Lord, J. D. Warren, C. S. Pearl and E. M. Blanding, the latter assum- ing the duties of that office in 1891. It was decided in 1876 to change the form of the organization to a corporation and in its corporative capacity to be known as the Bangor Board of Trade, subject to the statute laws of the state as other incorporations, and the necessary charter from the Legisla- ture was procured in 1878. At the annual meeting in 1879 the constitution and by-laws were revised in accordance with the changes which the new act of incorporation made necessary. In 3CT 291 906 Mr 64 Bangor, Its Attractions and Advantages 1891 the constitution was still further revised and regular annual dues of $3.00 fixed upon. The Bangor Board of Trade, A Career of Usefulness. which now "umbers several hun- dred members, has done much as an organization of citizens to promote the material prosperity and business growth of the city, to enlarge the field of its trade, and enhance its general welfare. To this organization is due much of that harmony and vigor of action which characterize the business community of Bangor when any question of public improvement or local advantage is under consideration. Through its discussions, debates and published reports it has drawn attention to measures affecting the welfare of the city, shown up its manufacturing resources and promising channels for the cultivation and develop- ment of local trade and commerce, and promoted local interests in all directions ; it has influenced legislation, municipal, state and national, and has disseminated useful and valuable information concerning the city, its trade and general business, its social, edu- cational, sanitary and other advantages. When Bangor's new City Hall was Rooms at City Hall. erected elegant quarters were arranged for on the ground floor and the same were fitted up by the Bangor Board of Trade in a sumptuous man- ner. Here are held the regular monthly meetings of the Bangor Board and the rooms are open during business hours daily, Sundays excepted. Visitors to our city are cordially welcome at the Board of Trade Rooms, and members who have friends here from away, are urged to bring them to the rooms. The reading room depart- ment of the Bangor Board of Trade is equal to anything in Maine to-day and its privileges are free to all members and their friends from away at all times. The Bangor Board of Trade holds its regular monthly meetings on the last Monday of each month and the annual meeting on the second Monday in January. The Bangor Board of Trade wel- New Industries Invited, comes the advent of new industries and the expansion of existing plants. Manufacturers desirous of locating in a promising field are cordially invited to investigate Bangor's exceptional advantages, and the Committee on New Industries will gladly furnish all desired information. Inquiries addressed to the Bangor Board of Trade will receive prompt attention. n v* •i'^- <^ .A c \**Qx^*~ -p « ' .