Gazetteer of the State of Maine, 1882 page 352
Gazetteer of the State of Maine With Numerous Illustrations, by Geo. J. Varney
BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY B. B. RUSSELL, 57 CORNHILL. 1882. Public domain image from
north-east side was annexed to Augusta in 1856. The name was
changed to the one it now bears in 1854.
The surface of the town is moderately uneven. The principal rock is
granite, of which a fine quarry is worked in the eastern part of the
town. The soil is various, being sandy, gravelly and clayey in differ-
ent sections. Birch, beech, maple, spruce and hemlock are the pre-
vailing trees.
The principal employment of the inhabitants is agriculture, which
is carried on more scientifically and successfully than in most towns.
Probably the finest orchards in the State are found here.
The Methodists, Baptists and Friends have each a church here.
Manchester has seven public schoolhouses, valued at $3,500. The
valuation of estates in 1870 was $320,219. In 1880 it was $291,200.
The rate of taxation in the latter year was about 16 mills on the dol-
lar. The population in 1870 was 732, which, by tbe census of 1880,
has decreased to 623.
Maple l*rove, a post office in Aroostook County.
Mapleson is a new town situated on the south bank of the
Aroostook River, in Aroostook County. Washburn bounds it on the
north, Maysville and Presque Isle on the east, Chapman Plantation on
the south and Castle Hill on the west. The surface is uneven, but
without high hills. Sprague Hill is the highest elevation. The soil is
a sandy loam, and quite fertile and easily worked. Potatoes are the
crop chiefly cultivated. There is a starch-factory in the town that
consumes 60,000 bushels of these tubers annually. The machinery is
run by a 16 horse-power engine.
The Aroostook River, in passing, cuts off .the north-eastern angle of
the town; and through the southern part runs, in a circuitous course,
the Presque Isle of the Aroostook. This and two or three of the
smaller streams have falls suitable for carrying machinery. The prin-
cipal business centre is in the south-western part of the town, at the
junction of Libby Brook with Presque Isle Stream. There is on the
latter, near this point, a saw-mill with a rotary saw, cutting about
10,000 feet per day, and two shingle machines, making about 20,000
per day. There is also a potash-factory. The forest trees in this town-
ship are chiefly maple and beech.
This town'is 47 miles north-west of Houlton, via Presque Isle. It
is on the stage-line from Presque Isle to Ashland. The nearest rail-
road station is that of the New Brunswick Railway at Fort Fairfield,
15 miles distant. The town has two cedar bridges, one 273, the other
213 feet in length.
Among the prominent and esteemed citizens may be mentioned
Freeman "L. Ball, Thomas Griffin, Josiah McLaughlin and Francis
Hatch.
Mapleton was incorporated March, 1880, being named, perhaps,
from the tree which is the most numerous in its forests. The principal
religious society in the town is that of the Free Baptists. The num-
ber of public schoolhouses is seven ; and the school property, including
tbe school lots, is valued at $1,100. The valuation of estates in 1870
Was $28,707. In 1880 it was $51,642. The rate of taxation in the