View of Columbia Falls, ca. 1925

Contributed by Penobscot Marine Museum

Description

This photo shows Church Hill Circle in Columbia Falls in the 1920s. The Alpheus Chandler house, now gone, is at the right. Chandler's daughter was Mary Ruggles Chandler, who dedicated herself to preserving the deteriorating Ruggles house; she saved the Ruggles family furniture by moving it to the Chandler house.

The Columbia Falls Methodist Church is next door.

At the left is Hamlin Hall, named for Elijah Hamlin, an attorney in Columbia before he moved to Bangor. He was the brother of Hannibal Hamlin, the former U.S. congressman and governor of Maine who served as President Lincoln’s vice president during the Civil War. It was constructed in 1857.

The building housed the elementary school on the first floor. The upstairs hall was used for community events and traveling shows. It was the meeting place for Knights of Pythias during the first half of the 20th century.

Children in the lower elementary grades used the door on the right and students in grades 4-6, the door on the left; the middle door led upstairs. A large wood stove heated the divided classroom, and privies were in the ell in the back. A student from the 1930s, when there were two teachers, remembers students using a dipper to ladle drinking water into paper cups they made.

When the Knights of Pythias decided to sell the building, a group of residents arranged to have the school bell, which had been given by Elijah Hamlin in memory of his brother Hannibal, moved to its present location in the tower of the Methodist Church.

View/Add Comments


About This Item

  • Title: View of Columbia Falls, ca. 1925
  • Creation Date: circa 1925
  • Subject Date: circa 1925
  • Location: Columbia Falls, Washington County, ME
  • Media: Glass Negative
  • Dimensions: 12.75 cm x 17.75 cm
  • Local Code: LB2007.1.105035
  • Collection: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
  • Object Type: Image

Cross Reference Searches

Standardized Subject Headings

People


For more information about this item, contact:

Penobscot Marine Museum
PO Box 498, 5 Church Street, Searsport, ME 04974
(207) 548-2529
Website

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. No Permission is required to use the low-resolution watermarked image for educational use, or as allowed by the applicable copyright. For all other uses, permission is required.

How to cite content on this site


Please post your comment below to share with others. If you'd like to privately share a comment or correction with MMN staff, please send us a message with this link.