Lewiston's History

      Paul Hildreth -- Lewiston's first settler.

    Long ago, when young not many people lived in of land speculators offered free land to settlers if they came and developed land in the wilderness. Life was very hard for settlers. There were many dangers for settlers to face. loneliness were only a few problems faced by settlers. For poor farmers the free land was worth the risk of living in the wilderness.
    In 1765 about 21,000 people lived in a part of Massachusetts called the District of Maine. By 1790 the population had reached 96,540. This population grown as a result of land companies encouraging settlers to go north to Maine.
    The Pejepscot Proprietors, a land company, gave a land grant to Jonathan Bagley and Moses Little on January 28,1768 with the condition that they get 50 families to settle on that land within six years or they would lose the land. The area of land was about five miles square along the eastern side of the Androscoggin River starting at the river’s falls. That settlement was to be named Lewiston.

    The first settler was Paul Hildreth. He moved from Dracut, Massachusetts in the summer of 1770. He built a log cabin on the bank of the Androscoggin River. The cabin was built where the Continental Mill now stands.
    In 1768 there were no bridges crossing the Androscoggin River. It was difficult to cross the river. Paul Hildreth operated a ferry that crossed the river. A ferry was a barge that could be pulled across the river. It was a means of transportation used before roads and bridges were built. In 1795, Hildreth sold his house and the ferry and moved to Gardner where he later died.
    David Pettingill was the second settler. He built his house at the lower end of what is now Main Street. Pettingill owned the most valuable 100-acre lot at the falls.
    Lawrence Harris, Asa Varnum, Jesse Wright, James Garcelon, and Amos Davis were also among the first settlers. It was Amos Davis who surveyed the land for Jonathan Bagley and Moses Little.
     Amos Davis became an important member of community. He was a man of many talents. He was a land surveyor, a tanner, as well as a shoemaker. Davis built a meeting house for the Quakers. That meeting house was also used as a schoolhouse. Education was very important to Amos Davis. He donated a large area of land to Bates College. Part of that land was Mt. David, which is a dome, shaped ledge that rises 129 feet above Main Street. On a clear summer evening you can see the White Mountains. Bates College used Mt. David as an observatory.
    The Garcelon family also played an important role in Lewiston's history. James Gacelon, one of the first settlers, was elected to the first board of selectmen he operated a ferry across the river where River Road and Ferry Road meet. Col. William Garcelon, James' grandson, served eighteen years as selectman as well as the town clerk. His son Alonzo became mayor of Lewiston and later Governor of Maine.
    By 1790 the settlement's population grew to 532 residents. Lewiston was still a small rural community. It did not grow into a large community until the railroads and industries came to the area. The Andsroscoggin River was difficult to navigate and kept the settlement isolated. Even thought the river provided power for the grist and saw mills, Lewiston remained a farming community until the river's waterpower was developed to provide energy for factories.
    The first saw mill was built by L. J. Harris in 1770-1771, near the falls, and was burned down in 1785. Three years later, he put in a gristmill. These were the first mills.
    Michael Little later put up a building on the same site as L.J. Harris. This building was used as a sawmill, a gristmill, a fulling mill, and even had a carding machine. This building was destroyed by fire in 1814, but was rebuilt and existed until 1850.
    On February 18, 1795 Lewiston was incorporated as a town and became a city in 1861.
For additional information about Lewiston's history watch the Power Point Presentation "Did You Know?" This presentations takes a few minutes to download.

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Created by D. Letourneau ©1999 Revised 2003
Materials compiled from files of the third grade teachers of Lewiston.
Leamon, Historic Lewiston "A textile City in Transition", Lewiston Historical Commission 1976.
Michaud and Janelle, Historic Lewiston "Franco-American Origins", Lewiston Historical Commission 1976.
6 Alive, The Bicentennial of Lewiston 1975-1995"
Down East Magazine, "The Heart of Maine Lewiston-Auburn Confonts the Future, 1999 annual issue.