by Mary Grow Intercolonial mail started in the early 1700s in the major cities on the east coast of the future United States, and had reached Maine’s coastal towns before the Revolution. The national postal service was organized during the Revolution, with Benjamin Franklin the first Postmaster General. Alma Pierce Robbins wrote in her history […]
by Mary Grow Faced with a four-item agenda that included three pre-application reviews, Vassalboro Planning Board members have scheduled public hearings on two of them, for Leo Barnett’s requested medical marijuana growing facilities. The hearings are to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10 (a week later than the board’s usual monthly meeting night because […]
by Mary Grow – The Waterville & Fairfield Railroad, which was initially powered by horses, is described in both books. Cummings wrote that it was incorporated on Feb. 24, 1887, and authorized to run horse-drawn cars the three and a third miles from Waterville to Fairfield. With $20,000 in bond sales and $20,000 borrowed, Amos F. Gerald, of Fairfield, and the other organizers acquired four cars and six horses…
Vassalboro selectmen heard a variety of matters, some with potential costs, at their Oct. 1 meeting, including near-final plans for a redesign of the transfer station, junkyard and auto hobbyists’ permits, the fire department’s repeater problem and the future of the town’s Conservation Commission…
As described earlier, the first road in the central Kennebec valley connected the trading post and fort at Cushnoc (now Winslow) with Fort Western (in what is now Augusta)…
by Mary Grow China Planning Board members decided at their Sept. 22 meeting they should prepare a separate ordinance to set requirements for solar developments, instead of trying to amend the existing land use ordinance. Attorney Thomas Federle, of Federle Law, in Portland, has been representing SunRaise Investments as the company got approval for two […]
by Mary Grow China selectmen agreed to two temporary closings at their Sept. 28 meeting, one their own doing and one not. At the transfer station, the free for the taking building, sometimes called the swap shop, will be closed indefinitely, effective immediately. Reopening will depend on state guidelines concerning Covid-19 safety measures. Selectmen were […]
by Mary Grow Although the narrow-gauge railroad that was built inland from Wiscasset starting in 1894 never reached either Québec (its first name was the Wiscasset and Québec) or Waterville or Farmington (later it was the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington) (see The Town Line, Sept. 17), as the WW&F it was an integral part of […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro Community School (VCS) has started the year well, administrators told School Board members as they met Sept. 15, at the beginning of the second week of classes. Safety regulations and educational programming both work well, so far. Board members’ reaction included vetoing interscholastic sports – soccer, specifically, Principal Megan Allen said […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro selectmen heard updates on several aspects of town affairs at their Sept. 17 meeting. Auditor Ron Smith, managing partner in Buxton-based RHR Smith & Company, said as of June 30, 2019, the town’s finances were in good shape, with an adequate surplus for emergencies. “I think you guys are doing a […]