pre-1700
Large Indian village along the banks of the Sebasticook and Kennebec
Rivers extended for nearly a mile.
Indian burial ground in the area between what is now Temple St. and
the Lockwood mills
(presently the Hathaway Shirt Factory) - when the Dunn Block was erected,
the body of an Indian
buried in a sitting posture was found along with some implements and
about two quarts of copper beads.
Six other such skeletons were also found at the junction of Main and
Water streets around the same time.
1498
Sebastien Cabot sailed along the coast of Maine & Massachusetts
Bay.
1603
King Henry IV of France named the territory between Cape Breton and
the Hudson River "Acadia."
1604
Samuel de Champlain sailed part way up the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting
Bay.
1607, Aug 19
English set up Popham Colony at the mouth of the Kennebec River.
1607, Sep 27
Exploring expedition reached Vassalboro.
1607
First ship built in America, the "Virginia" was under construction
at Popham.
1611
The Jesuits Biard and Massé were with the Kennebec (Cannibas)
Indians and the first
Catholic service held near the Sheepscot.
1676, Aug 13
Teconnet Indians first blow against the trader, Richard Hammond, for
having cheated them
and filling them with strong drink.
1724
English destroyed Indian village at Norridgewock and kill the French
missionary priest, Father Sebastian Rale.
1754
Fort built by the English under Gen. John Winslow at Teconnet Falls
(now Fort Halifax in Winslow)
and eleven families settled in the area about that time.
1757, May 18
The last skirmish with the Indians.
1771
The plantation, formerly called Kingfield, was named Winslow and incorporated
as a town named
in honor of General Winslow, formerly Colonel Winslow, who, about 15
years earlier,
had led the British expulsion of the French-Acadians from what is presently
called Nova Scotia.
1775, autumn
Arnold expedition (1,100 soldiers) passed through Winslow-Waterville
on way to Quebec.
1777
First dam built by Dr. McKechnie on the Messalonskee for operating
a mill for grinding grain and a saw mill
(located at Crommett's Mills behind the present Waterville Water District's
pump station).
1792
First dam built on the Kennebec by Getchell & Redington at Ticonic
Falls from the west shore to Rock Island
and erected the first saw mill. A few years later, additional saw mills
were built, destroyed by fire in 1849,
rebuilt, destroyed again by fire in 1859, rebuilt and continued manufacturing
lumber until 1867 when it was
sold to the Ticonic Water Power & Manu. Co. and resold to General
Franklin Smith who removed the old mill
and erected a larger and more modern one in its place. It was operated
until 1880 when it was moved to
make room for the second Lockwood Mill.
1794
Building of schooners, brigs, and ships (and later, steamboats) began
in Waterville (Winslow).
1794-1850
Shipyards of John Clark (at foot of Sherwin Street), Nathaniel Gilman,
Asa Redington, and
W.& D. Moor (built steamboats) - larger ships were launched during
spring or fall freshets and
floated down river to Hallowell or Gardiner.
1796
New town meeting house built (presently where Waterville City Hall
is located).
Meetings were held alternately on the east and west sides of the river.
1799
Kennebec county formed.
1799 ca.
A second dam was built on the Messalonskee below the foot of Silver
Street for operating a saw mill.
1800 ca.
A third dam was built on the last privilege of the Messalonskee where
a saw mill and grist mill were erected.
In 1810, a new owner added another building for manufacturing wool
carding machines and for turning bed posts. Shortly after this, a carding
and clothing mill was built there.
1800
450 persons were living on the east side and 800 living on the west
side.
There was no bridge spanning the Kennebec at the time.
1802, Jun 23
The west side of Winslow was incorporated into a separate town called
Waterville.
1806
Stage line was established between Norridgewock and Hallowell (2 trips
per week).
1807-1852
Born in Massachusetts, Dr.Stephen Thayer, of French Huguenot extraction,
practiced medicine in the Waterville area and settled in Waterville
in 1835.
1809
Waterville Fire Department was established.
1813
Maine Literary & Theological Institute chartered (later Waterville
College, now Colby college).
1814
Largest ship built in Waterville, the Francis and Sarah (290 tons),
was launched.
1814
Lively trade in lumber, farm products, groceries, etc. along the river.
1816
Tannery built on the Kennebec
(now site of the boiler houses of the Lockwood).
1818, Aug 27
First Baptist church organized.
1820-1873
Purmot Hill manufactured carriages and sleighs on the east side of
Main Street.
Samuel Stilson also manufactured these on the north side of Temple
Street.
1820's
Dam built in West Waterville to operate a grist mill, saw mill and
a carding and clothing mill - later occupied by the Dunn Edge Tool Co.
which made scythes and axes into the 20th century.
Bed posts and wagon wheels were turned in the basement of the saw mill
from 1834.
1820, Mar 15
Maine became a state - formerly the District of Maine under Massachusetts.
1823, May 23
Waterville's first newspaper - the Waterville Intelligencer - it had
no local news - for lack of financial support.
Its last issue was Nov 11, 1828.
1826, Mar 27
Great freshet carried away part of the Ticonic bridge and was immediately
rebuilt.
1826, May 28
Universalist church organized.
1826, Dec 6
First Baptist church dedicated.
1827
First French-Canadian settler, Jean-Baptiste Mathieu, came to Waterville.
before 1828
The Kennebec River was crossed by ferryboat (in the winter time, after
the river was mostly frozen, a large
cake of ice was cut and then swung to the other side of the rapid current
to form a bridge).
1828
Ticonic bridge opened to the public. It was previously a privately
owned wooden toll bridge.
1828
Waterville Academy (later Coburn Classical Institute) was built and
opened in 1829.
1828, Aug 21
Congregational church was organized.
1828, Dec 11
Waterville's first weekly newspaper, The Watchman, was issued, politically
oriented, and lasted 56 weeks.
1830
Windsor & Barrett erected a cotton goods factory on the next privilege
below Crommetts mills; it operated as a carpet factory and made linen table
cloths. In 1836, it was converted to a large tannery operating until about
1900.
1830
James Crommett built a saw mill, grist mill, carding and clothing mill
on the east side of the Messalonskee
(located behind the present Water District pump station).
1830 Census
Waterville's resident French-Canadian population was 20 (1% of the
town).
1830's
Jean Marcoux, Peter DeRocher, Abraham & Joseph Rancourt, Jacques
Paré and
other French-Canadian families immigrated to Waterville.
1830's
A bark mill and tannery operated in West Waterville near the dam.
1830's
Trout, as large as 4 pounds, were caught in the Emerson (now Messalonskee
Stream).
1830's
Kennebec River (at the foot of Temple St.) where the bottom was sandy,
was a favorite swimming place.
Before the Augusta dam was built, great quantities of salmon, shad,
alewives and other fish were caught
in the Kennebec - some salmon weighing 20-30 lbs.
1831, Jun
A Whig paper, The Times, was issued and lasted about 25 months.
1832, May 22
Great freshet washes away part of Ticonic bridge and the Redington
saw mill.
1832, Jun 1
The Ticonic (built in Gardiner) the first steamboat to visit Waterville,
arrived.
1833
Waterville Iron Works foundry was built at the site of the former saw
mill below the foot of Silver Street.
It burned down in August 1895. In 1896, a new foundry, the Waterville
Iron Works, was built on the bank of the Kennebec, just north of Temple
Street.The Iron foundry was the first Waterville industry; then the Smith
& Meader saw mill and D. L. Milliken grist mill on the Kennebec; scythes
and axes were manufactured by the Dunns
in West Waterville (now Oakland).
1833, Jan 1
Universalist church was dedicated.
1833, Dec
The Waterville Journal, a non-sectarian religious paper of eight pages
appeared and lasted one year.
1834, Mar 15
First issue of The North American Galaxy (also as the Watervillonian
Revived) lasted for 4 issues (2 months).
It was a four-page journal of tales, essays, music, biography, poetry,
etc.
1836, Sep 27
Congregational church dedicated.
1836
Tannery and scythe factory built at the Coombs dam in West Waterville.
1837, Jan
Travel time between Boston and Waterville by stage took 6 days.
1840 Census
Waterville's resident French-Canadian population was 146 (8-1/2% of
the town).
1841, May 29
The Watervillonian, a literary and family journal, was published for
one year.
1841, Jul 16
First Catholic Mass celebrated in Waterville at the Mathieu home on
Water Street.
(officiated by Rev. Moïse Fortier of St.Georges de Beauce)
1841, Aug 11
Ralph Waldo Emerson visited Waterville and spoke at the college.
1842
Land for Pine Grove Cemetery was purchased.
1842
Water Witch, the first steamer launched in Waterville by the W. &.
D. Moor shipyard.
1842, Jun
The Yankee Blade was published until Aug 1843.
1847
A few Irish families came as employees of the A. & K. Railroad.
1847, Jul 19
First weekly issue of The Eastern Mail - name changed to The Waterville
Mail on Sep 4, 1863.
1847, Sep 30
From 1802 to 1902, Waterville's only murder occurred this date.
1848, May 23
Steamer "Hallifax" a new boat, making a record trip to Augusta, exploded
upon leaving the lock at Augusta killing
six persons including James Hasty, the pilot, and Vital Mathieu (Vedo
Micue), fireman, both of Waterville.
1849
Great fire destroyed the business section of the town.
1849, Sep 27
The Androscoggin & Kennebec Railroad reached Waterville - this
brought river travel practically to an end.
1849
Hathaway Shirt Factory established by Chas. F. Hathaway.
1849
Railroad car repair shops were constructed.
1850
Elmwood Hotel opened.
1850 Census
Waterville's resident French-Canadian population was 379 (9-1/2% of
the town).
1850-1860
Dunn & Harvey manufactured men's thick boots on Common Street.
1850's
Brick-making establishment on Water Street located just south of the
Lockwood houses.
1851
Funds are raised for building a Catholic church on Grove Street.
1851, Jun 1
Pine Grove Cemetery dedicated (earliest cemetery was the high ground
lying south of Western Avenue near the Kennebec Water District pump station
and bordered on three sides by the Messalonskee stream where about
forty of the towns' earliest settlers are buried; the area now known
as Monument Park was the next cemetery.
Those buried there were reburied at Pine Grove.
1852
St. John's Catholic chapel on Grove Street completed and services began
there.
1852, Sep 27
Work on the Penobscot and Kennebec Railroad from Waterville to Bangor
started.
1854, Nov
Telegraph communication was established in Waterville.
1854
Railroad bridge (wooden) across the Kennebec was built.
1854
Waterville Library Association formed.
1855, Jul 30
Penobscot & Kennebec Railroad opened to Bangor.
1857
Dunn Edge Tool Company opened in the former scythe and axe factories.
1858-1890
Friction matches manufactured by Winslow Marston below Crommett's mills.
1860 Census
Waterville's resident French-Canadian population was 544 (12-1/2% of
the town).
1862
Waterville gave bounties of $100 for enlisting in the Army (Civil War).
1862
First French-owned store opened (owned by Peter Bolduc & later
sold to Exear Reny).
1865
Waterville gave bounties of $500 for a 3-year enlistment (in the Civil
War).
1866, Feb 6
Ticonic Water Power & Manufacturing Company chartered (previously,
the water power
and shore rights along the Kennebec were owned by about 50 proprietors).
1866, Sep 4
Unitarian church dedicated.
1867
Noyes Stove Company foundry on Chaplin Street established; converted
to a cook stove foundry
by new owners in 1873, burned down in 1892 and rebuilt.
1868, Nov 14
Lockwood Dam was completed across the Kennebec River.
1869
Methodist church built.
1869, Oct 5
Ticonic toll bridge (Waterville to Winslow) was carried away by a freshet.
1870
Maine Central Railroad (previously the Androscoggin & Kennebec,
the Penobscot & Kennebec, the Portland & Kennebec, and other roads)
selects Waterville as its' rail center where new shops were built in 1886.
1870 Census
Waterville's resident French-Canadian population was 871 (18% of the
town).
1870, Dec 1
A new and more expensive ($32,000) bridge was completed across the
Kennebec.
1871
Colby accepted first female students.
1871
Dr. Frederick C. Thayer, grandson of Dr. Stephen Thayer, opened his
practice.
1872
Four acres of land on College Avenue near the Fairfield line were purchased
by St.John's parish
for the area's first Catholic cemetery; opened in 1873.
1872
Doors, sashes, and blinds manufactured at Crommett mills.
1872, Jun
Construction of St.Francis de Sales church was started.
1873
Construction begun on a cotton mill of 33,000 spindles by Reuben B.
Dunn and began operations in Feb. 1876.
1873
Brick factory constructed in Winslow just below the Ticonic bridge
- where the bricks for the Lockwood mills were made. In 1893, the yard
was sold and the Waterville brick yard (near the Fairfield line) was enlarged.
They were making 4 million bricks per year by 1900.
1873, Mar 10
West Waterville was incorporated as the town of Oakland.
1874, Jun 14
St.Francis de Sales church was consecrated by the Bishop of Portland.
1874
Lamp posts erected & street lamps were introduced.
1874
Steel railroad bridge replaced the wooden one across the Kennebec river.
1875, Apr 9
Real estate and water rights of the Ticonic Company deeded to the Lockwood
Co.
1876
Waterville Free High School established.
It was a wooden structure located at the corner of School and Pleasant
Streets.
1878, Mar 31
Telephone connection between Waterville and Portland was established.
1878, Jul 5
St.Mark's Episcopal church opened.
1879, Mar 6
Shank factory on the Messalonskee, employing 50 people, burned down.
1880
The Waterville Sentinel appeared (in competition with The Waterville
Mail) as a weekly newspaper.
1880 Census
Waterville's resident French-Canadian population was 1,506 (21% of
the town).
1882
Cotton mill No. 2 with 55,000 spindles employed 1,300 persons.
1883
Cascade Woolen Mill began operations in Oakland.
1884
A new iron bridge built across the Kennebec river (costing $36,863)
to replace the old wooden covered bridge.
1884
Land purchased for securing the Maine Central Railroad locomotive and
car shops for Waterville.
1887, May
Waterville Water Company chartered.
1888, Jan 23
Waterville chartered as a city.
1888, Mar
St.Francis de Sales parochial school built ($7,000) and opened.
1889
City sewer system constructed followed by Maine's first central water
system.
1890
Mr. R.B. Hall, a composer and one of the State's best cornetists, came
to Waterville
and organized the Waterville Military Band and Hall's Orchestra.
1890
Steamer "City of Waterville" sailed from Bangor on its' maiden voyage
to Waterville in an attempt to restore steam navigation on the Kennebec,
ran aground several times, failed in its mission, and was later sold to
a Virginia firm.
1890 Census
Waterville's resident French-Canadian population was 3,228 (43% of
the town).
1891
Convent building for the Ursuline Nuns was built and furnished at a
cost of $8,788.
1892
Hollingsworth and Whitney pulp and paper mill was established in Winslow.
1892
Oakland Machine Company replaced the earlier tannery at the Combs dam.
1892
Electric cars of the Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company
ran
between the two towns and was one of the first such companies
in the State.
1892-1894
Proctor & Flood was manufacturing 3/4 million bricks annually.
In 1895, Proctor & Bowie was making
1-1/2 million bricks annually and other building supplies in their
Winslow yard.
1893
Stone dam and power station built on the Messalonskee (off Western
Avenue) (the Messalonskee Electric Co.
formed by Harvey Eaton & Walter Wyman - eventually becoming the
Central Maine Power Co.).
1895
St.Francis de Sales rectory built ($8,000) and occupied in 1896.
1896, Jan 29
First issue of the Waterville Evening Mail.
1897, Dec 17
Myrtle Street schoolhouse built.
1898, Jun 2
Land (westerly portion of the old trotting park) purchased adjacent
to the Pine Grove Cemetery by St.Francis de Sales parish (under the name
of the Bishop of Portland) for the new and larger Catholic cemetery. It
was about 10 acres and was purchased from the city for $1,710. The first
burial was that of 10 year-old Alfred Trial on Sep 6, 1898.
1899
New dam built below the Coombs dam at the foot of Silver Street by
the
Waterville and Fairfield Railway and Light Company for electric generation.
1899
Riverview (Wyndotte) Worsted Mills corporation was organized.
1899
The Oakland Electric Company is formed by Oakland native, Walter Wyman
and his partner,
Waterville lawyer Harvey Eaton, who provided the monetary backing.
They bought a small hydroelectric
station on the Messalonskee Stream in Oakland and began with about
100 customers. They later got the contract
to provide street lighting for Waterville and set up an office in a
former stable. In ten years, the company built a
larger power generating station on the Sebasticook River in Winslow
and had over 4,500 customers.
This company later became the Central Maine Power Company, Maine's
largest electrical utility.
1900, Feb
Worsted Mill began operations.
1900 Census
Waterville's resident French-Canadian population was 4,136 (44% of
the town).
1901, Dec
Iron foot bridge (commonly called the "Two-cent Bridge") was built
across the Kennebec and
was in operation for a few days - until Dec 15.
1901, Dec 15
Iron foot bridge was carried away by highest river levels seen since
1832.
1901
The new City Hall completed and operating replacing the old 1796 building;
the old building served as
the Waterville Armory until torn down in the early 1950s.
1902
Oakland (Cascade) Woolen Mill replaced the Oakland Machine Company.
1902
Andrew Carnegie donated $20,000 for a free public library.
1904
Waterville Morning Sentinel was established.
Reference: Centennial History of Waterville - 1902
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