HISTORY ALONG THE MAIL ROUTE

HISTORY ALONG THE MAIL ROUTE- 1899
BY EBEN M. HAMOR

The Bar Harbor Record
June 7, 1899

Mr. Eben M. Hamor Writes Entertainingly Of Ye Olden Times

During Andrew Jackson's second administration from March 3rd, 1833 to March 3rd, 1837, Capt. William Thompson who lived on Thompsons island, was mail contractor on the route from Ellisworth to Southwest Harbor;  and in the spring of 1836 he employed my father to carry the mail from the Narrows to Southwest Harbor and back, one trip a week, for fifty dollars a year.  My father told me I must carry the mail and earn this fifty dollars.
Now, Mr. editor, with your  permission I will give your readers some account of the routes, made, made by carrying the mail, condition of roads and settlements at that time as I recollect them.
On Friday, the 25th day of March, 1856, the day before I was fourteen years of age, I took the mail bag at the Narrows at about four o'clock to the Eden office, than home to my father's on Town Hill.  The next morning, it being my fourteenth birthday.  I carried the mail to the Mt. Desert office, than to Southwest Harbor arriving there about ten o'clock a.m. The mode of carrying the mail when the ground was bare, was from the Narrow's to Mt. Desert, sometimes on horse back and sometimes with one horse and a wagon, and the remainder of the way on horseback.  When there was snow enough, with one horse and sleigh over the whole route.
The bridge over the Narrows was commenced in the fall of 1836, and completed in the fall of 1837.  Capt. William Thompson and John M. Noyes built it on contract;  cost about $1,000.  Thompson's Island was than part of the town of Eden.  It was set off from Eden and annexed to Trenton in June 18??. (date unreadable).
Tremont was than part of the town of Mt. Desert.  It was detached and incorporated under the name of Manset, June ?, 1848, name changed to Tremont, August 8th of the same year.  The roads were in very bad condition especially from Mt. Desert over Beech Hill to Southwest Harbor, where they were not much more than bridle paths.

Eben M. Hamor

Capt. Thompson kept a retail variety store, and built vessels, and was one of the prominent business men of the town.  About a mile from the Narrows on the road to Eden post office, Elisha Cousins and his son Nathum had a blacksmith shop, where they did blacksmith work for their neighbors.
There was a sawmill situated on Northeast Creek, where long lumber was manufactured to a small extent.  The Eden Post Office was kept by Leonard J. Thomas in his dwelling house, which stood where John Hodgkins' house now stands.  The settlement was known as the Thomas district on account of it having been first settles by John Thomas 4th, who raised a large family, most of whom settles here.The Thomases were for many years, prominent and influential citizens of the town of eden, but like many other families the name has almost become extinct in that neighborhood.
Leonard J. Thomas, at the time carried on the tanning and shoe making business, having a tan yard and shoe shop and keeping four or five men employed making shoes and boots during the fall and winter.  Their bark mill was run by horse power.  Sometime previous to this, Nickolas Thomas had a wind mill on the ledge at the southwest of his house in which Mr. Eleazer Higgins ground the neighboring farmer's grain.
The Eden Post Office was the only post office in town, and consequently some persons from all parts of the town came there for their mail.  I well reminder frequently seeing Mr. Tobias Roberts from Bar Island,  as the place was than called, Edward Brewer from Hulls Cove, John McFarland from Salisbury Cove, and many others from all parts of the town, at the office after their mail matter.
After I had been two or three trips Capt. Thompson advised me to ask Esquire Thomas to swear me in as a mail carrier;  so when I arrived at the office I requested him to administer the oath of mail carrier to me.  The office was full of people, many of them strangers, and I, a boy who never had heard an oath administered, was required to stand there in the presence of that crowd, hold up my hand, announce my name and repeat after him the oath of allegiance to the United States, and that I would faithfully perform the duties of mail carrier..  Why, I never was so frightened before nor since as I was then.
The next place on my route was Town Hill, which received the name on account of the town owning a tract of land containing 450 acres extending over the hill from Northeast to Southwest.  The settlers were Gideon Mayo, Simeon Hadley, Amos T. Hadley, Samuel Higgins, David Higgins, James Mayo, Joseph Higgins, Thomas Knowles, William Hamor, Thomas Mayo, and Benjamin Kittredge.  Occupation mostly farming and lumbering.
The next settler on the route was Dr. Kendall Kittredge who lived in Mt. Desert, where his son William Kittredge now lives.  He moved from Pernobscot  to Mt. Desert in 1799, and was the only practicing physician on the island for many years.
About one mile further south was the Mt. Desert Post Office kept by John Somes Jr, grandson of Abraham Somes, who moved from Gloucester in 1762 who with James Richardson, were the first permanent settlers on the island of Mt. Desert.  This place was than called "Between the Hills", afterward "Someerville", and was then the most important business place on the island.  It consisted of nine families, Dr. Kimball Kittredge, Capt. (unreadable) E. Babson, David Richardson, Timorthy Mason, Abraham Somes, Daniel Somes, John Somes, John Somes Jr, and Isaac Somes.
There were in the place one small store, one blacksmith shop, one shoemaker's shop, one tan yard, two ship yards, one bark mill, one saw mill, one little mill, one shingle mill, one grist mill and one schoolhouse in which school and meetings were held.
The John Somes family, John Jr., Jacob and abraham kept stores, built vessels, ran a blacksmith shop and were (unreadable) in the grist mills.  Of the Abraham Somes family, George B. was engaged in the mill business, sawing long lumber, (unreadable) and shingles.  He also owned an interest in the grist mill.
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I distinctly remember "Old Uncle Abrahan and Uncle John Somes," and how they were dressed when I was a boy, as they tended the grist mill by turns, one tending one week, the other the next;  with their long coats and hats all covered with meal and flour.  They appeared to me as very old and very venerable men.  I do not remember much about Uncle Daniel.  They were sons of Lieut. Abraham Somes, the first settler at Somerville, and the other Somes mentioned above were his grandsons.
Timothy Mason was a ship builder and at one time lived at Oak Hill, where he built a small vessel and hauled it to Somesville.  He was a son of William Mason, who was killed at Bar Harbor by the English in the war of 1812-1815.  David Richardson was a farmer and lumberman.  He was the son of James Richardson, the first Richardson that settled on Mt. Desert.
Quite a business was done in the spring catching and smoking alewives and in smoking and boxing Magdalene herring.  The road ran to the west of all the houses in the village except David Richardson's, and crossed the brook near the cemetery.
A branch mail ran from here to Seal Cove where I think, William Heath, Esq. was postmaster.
There was a road on the east side of Dennings pond (as Echo lake was then called) but the road lead over the eastern part of Mullen Hill, over Beach Hill and over the mountains to the head of Norwoods Cove.  There were eleven families living on Beach Hill and were located in the order mentioned below, going toward Southwest Harbor;  Richard Richardson, Stephen Richardson, David Seavey, Nathaniel Richardson, Stephen Richardson, John Richardson, William Atherton, David Wasgett, Asa Wasgatt, John Clark, and Reuben Billings.  Occupation, farming  and lumbering.  There was a school house near the northern part of the settlement, and a sawmill at the outlet of Dennings Pond.  Asa Wasgatt was a local Methodist preacher, John Clark was the father of David Clark, who became Bishop Clark.
The post office at Southwest Harbor was kept by Capt. David King in his two story house on Kings Point where his son Joseph now lives.  Henry Jones from Ellsworth, was deputy collector, and lived in one part of Capt. King's house.
The inhabitants of Southwest Harbor were mostly engaged in navigation and fishing.  A large number of fishing vessels were owned here.  Many of them were sent in the spring to the Magdalene Islands for herring, which were brought here and smoked, boxed and shipped to the westward, making a large business.  After the vessels discharged their herring they were fixed out for shore or bank fishing, which business they followed for at least four months to entitle them to a bounty which the United States paid, subject to certain conditions.  Smokes houses were located all along the shores, in which Magdalene herring were smoked in the spring, and (unreadable) bay herring in the fall.
The principle businessmen were the fernandes on fernandes point.  James Freeman, blacksmith, Nathan Clark and his sons, Henry, Seth and Eaton, who lived and kept a store and fish stand on Clark's point.  Samuel Osgood and his son, Samuel Osgood Jr. kept quite a large store on the south side of the harbor where Horace Durgan afterwards lived.
Rev. Micah W. Strickland, a Congregationalist minister, who married Miss Marion Kittredge, youngest daughter of Dr. Kendal Kittredge, lived in the house afterwards owned and occupied by Mr. Nehemiah Cousins.  There was a meeting house on the south side of the harbor, I think the same one that is there now.
The road to Bass Harbor commenced near this meeting house and came out at the head of Bass Harbor Marsh, where now the bridge crosses the brook.  There was no mail route to Bass Harbor but a man by the name of Farley was employed by the citizens of Bass Harbor  to carry their mail.  He was an old man and use to carry his mail matter in a canvas bag.  I carried the mail 18 months, one trip a week, and am sure there was not a bushel of mail matter in the mail bag at at one time while I carried it.
It may be of interest to the young portion of your readers to know that there were no envelopes or postage stamps at that time.  Letters were written on sheets of paper than folded in different ways according to the fancy or ingenisty of the writer, than sealed with sealing wax.
Last paragraph unreadable.

E.M. Hamor