The origin & namesake of the Frye School Apartments

The Frye School Apartments at the corners of Horton and Ash streets in Lewiston was established as the Grammar School in 1865. In 1889, the name was changed to honor Senator William Pierce Frye, a famous Republican political figure of his era from Lewiston. The Frye School enjoyed a respected reputation in the community for many […]

Androscoggin Courthouse & Jail and the battle over the county seat

Auburn extends 12 miles along the west side of the Androscoggin River, encompassing over 50 square miles, one-sixth of which is water. When Androscoggin county was organized on March 18, 1854, it acquired Auburn, Danville, Durham, Minot, and Poland from Cumberland County; East Livermore, Greene, Leeds, and Wales from Kennebec; Lewiston, Lisbon, and Webster from Lincoln; and Livermore and Turner from Oxford. It includes the last half of the original town of Minot, […]

The Elms, Mechanic Falls

Mechanic Falls, a town in the southwestern corner of Androscoggin County, was initially part of Bakerstown Plantation, named for Captain Thomas Baker who was granted ownership by the Massachusetts General Court after services rendered in the 1690 Battle of Quebec. It was then named “Jericho” by renowned Maine physician Dr. Jacob Tewksbury of Oxford who […]

The Life & Death of Worumbo Mill

An established piece of Maine history, the Worumbo Mill in Lisbon Falls, is now a broken and crumbling monument to Androscoggin County’s once-roaring industrial era and is being demolished as I write. Worumbo Mill, on the northern shore of the Androscoggin River, was founded by Lisbon businessmen, Edward Plummer and H.A. Tibbetts, and Bath resident, Oliver Moses. It was […]

Edward Little & the History of Lewiston Falls Academy

The giant Maine reference book The History of Androscoggin County published in 1891 by W.A. Fergusson & Co. out of Boston, Mass. opens its detailed chapter on Auburn with a striking ode to the city… “Auburn… A city of energy and progress, of rapid and beautiful growth, of stirring manufacturing activity, of artistic and beautiful […]

The Historic Wiseman Bridge

This past April, the historic Wiseman Bridge, which spans 72 feet across the canal at Chestnut Street in Lewiston, was closed for $52,000 in scheduled maintenance. According to the National Bridge Inventory Data Sheet submitted by the Maine Department of Transportation in 2011, Wiseman Bridge is extremely rare, one of only three known remaining reinforced-concrete, […]