Effects on Economy, Population


Farwell Farm, Bethel, ca. 1895

Farwell Farm, Bethel, ca. 1895
Item 101077   info
Bethel Historical Society

The prices at which farmers were able to sell their goods dropped after the Civil War as well — a catalyst for the Greenback movement of the 1870s.

Farmers throughout the North experienced a significant increase in profit during the war. They opposed the government retiring the unbacked money used by the Union to support the war because it would harm them.

Partly as a result, many farmers in Bethel left Maine to pursue better farm land that would bring better crops and subsequently yield higher profit.

It wasn't until the 2010 census that population levels reached those of pre-Civil War eras.

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