A few years after Mr. Chase’s settlement (1782), in the

field notes of Hayden, the surveyor, this minute  was

made:

“I found upon the stream leading from Unity

pond to the Sebasticook a man by the name of Mitchell,

building a mill upon what I called a very good mill privilege.”

This  was on the site of the present Moulton

Mill. The first grist mill of which we have any knowledge  was built upon the rapids, just above this. A’

rude dam  was constructed, and water conducted

through a hollow log, onto an overshot wheel, which

furnished  power for the mill.”

 

This is the record of the early settlers of our town,

and here for the most part the record ceases, but with

our mind’s eye we can see these men, the pioneers of

our town, strong, brave, sturdy men with brain and

brawn and a sense of power and mastery over nature

almost  unknown now, in the pampered civilization of

the present. These forefathers of ours here on the

edge of our lake and on the banks of our stream toiled

to fill the primitive needs of man. With an indomitable

belief in their power to conquer, they fought with

wind and  snow and merciless cold. They felled trees

for fire and shelter; they  made the Waters yield their

toll of food ; they dug the soil and built mills to grind

their corn. Later they sought places for a real settlement,

cleared the land, built roads, bridged streams,

and put up their homes. They laid the foundation for

our modern civilization ; they  made our way easy. We

should honor them  when we can with a thought of

gratitude.

---

 

1794

At the time my grandfather, Simeon Murch,  moved

into Unity, the country  was an unbroken forest east

of Augusta, so that people were guided by blazed lines

(spotted trees). The method of moving  was unique,

but neither comfortable nor convenient.  As there  was

no road, the only means of travel at hand was on horseback.

A strong bedtick  was fixed astride the horse’s

back, and the furniture  was packed on each side.  The

load  was completed by putting father, then one year

and a half old, on one side, and an older sister on the

other to balance. Thus they  moved from Gorham to

what is now the town of Unity, grandfather walking

on one side of the horse and grandmother on the other.

Upon arriving at their destination, they found a

small opening and a log house which grandfather had

provided the year before. Here they began life in the

wilderness. There were no stores, no shops of any

description, no mills, nor any of the conveniences of

modern times. They had not to wait long for food,

for beans, potatoes and other vegetables could be used

as soon as grown, but corn before it could be used had

to be converted into meal, and there being no mill

nearer than Winslow;, it had to be carried through the

woods, by spotted trees, to that town, to be ground.

A.  number of neighbors would go together, each taking

a bushel of corn on his shoulders.  They travelled a

distance of eighteen miles to the mill.  They stayed

in the mill all night and returned the next day with

the meal, less  what two quarts would make, which the

miller took for toll.

Game  was plentiful, the streams and brooks abounded

with fish, so that all they had to do  was to go to the

stream with hook and line and in a  few moments they

could catch all they needed for their present use. In

those early times, shad and herring came up the outlet

to the “twenty-five mile pond.” After the Sinclair

dam  was built, I have heard my father say that one could stand on the shore, and, with a sieve, dip up a

year’s supply of herring in a few moments.

R.W. Murch 1909

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SINCLAIR’S MILLS   WHEN??

Jefferson Sinclair built a fine grist and sawmill

where the Moulton Mills now stand.  Weeks & Ames

were the carpenters. It  was afterward  owned by

Samuel Hall. It  was burned, rebuilt, and afterward

owned by  Eben F.  Thompson and O. J. Whitten.  The

present mill  was built by W. H. J. Moulton & Sons.

Vickery p.27

---

The first mill of which I find any record  was built

by John Mitchell in 1782, just above the Moulton

Mills. It  was a rude affair, the water being conducted

through a hollow log onto an overshot wheel. Mr.

Mitchell lived on the lot now  owned by Archie Tozier,

near the Moulton Mill.

p.26

 

mills were used for grist, carding, sawing. I am somewhat familiar with Moultons Mill and Unity. Twenty five mile stream carried the fish to spawn in Twenty five mile pond.