Store and post office, Swanville, ca. 1915

Contributed by Penobscot Marine Museum

Description

The Nickerson and Damm store, at the foot of Swan Lake, was a center of Swanville life. The bricks used in its construction came from the Nickerson Brickyard, just south of the store, which was one of several brickyards in town. Brick production was Swanville's largest industry until the establishment of the Oak Hill granite business.

The Nickersons and Damms were the early owners of the store. Later owners and operators included Robert and Marian Clark, Robert and Annie Osborn, Ronald Nickerson, Wayne and Francis Clark, and Robert Newcomb.

Living quarters were upstairs in the building. The woodpile on the left may have been for sale but more likely heated the store and apartment.

The long brown building in back and to the right of the store was a saw and grist mill. Aaron and Reuben Nickerson, two of Swanville's first European settlers, built the original mill, which was succeeded by another mill operated by Tully Nickerson and others. Charles Nickerson operated the last mill on the site in the late 1930s or early 1940s. The white building peeking through the trees on the right was a blacksmith and carriage shop, last run by Sewell and Frank Harriman.

The mill and carriage and blacksmith shop no longer stand since 2010, but Robert Newcomb runs the store as Swan Lake Grocery in 2010.

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About This Item

  • Title: Store and post office, Swanville, ca. 1915
  • Creator: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
  • Creation Date: circa 1915
  • Subject Date: circa 1915
  • Location: Swanville, Waldo County, ME
  • Media: Glass Plate Negative
  • Dimensions: 12.7 cm x 17.8 cm
  • Local Code: LB2007.1.102743
  • Collection: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
  • Object Type: Image

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For more information about this item, contact:

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

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