The Tide Mill District (Blue Hill Falls)
The images referenced are perhaps the oldest available and are both interesting and informative.
In the first two, the photographer stood at a the high point of Mill Island above the “Tide Mill House,” looking north towards Conary Cove. In the left photo is a man standing by the mill. It was not a road then and there was no bridge to the Blue Hill Neck (photo mid-1800's). Access over the dam was to the properties on Mill Island and for those that rowed across from the Blue Hill Neck to get to the Village of Blue Hill - 3 miles distant. The white building(s) in the center are “Manor House” and its barn that stands between the Mill Pond on the left and Conary Cove on the right.
To the right side of the first two images is a large two story structure that burned and was destroyed after the mid-1800’s - the Tide Mill. It sat to the right of the dam (bay side), which served to generate the hydrodynamic flow that enabled the mill to operate its equipment - before electricity was available.
Just beyond the Mill are three visible buildings. Two are on the mainland side of The Nub (the islands) on the right side of the road and one is on the left. On the right side, one additional is not visible. That structure once belonged to Benjamin Clay who built it in 1833 and it was torn down about 1940 or so. The other larger buildings served as a store - Dana's (for part of its life), shop for boat building and other related marine uses. All were on the piece of land adjacent to the Dam and the Cove where ships were built. To the left on the Mill Pond is a small building that sat on the rocks there, supporting boatbuilding and other purposes and is still owned by members of the Seavey family. Immediately above the smaller building in the 2nd photo is a Federal Style home at the head of Conary Cove (The Sinclair House). It is perhaps the earliest photo of that structure, which was built about 1820. Note that the LeVeque (Red) Boathouse on the cove is not there! It was not built until the 1920's and was for personal boat repair/storage.
Note: Many other photos of this general area follow - taken during later time periods that include structures which did not exist at the time this photo was taken; some that include the same buildings. The challenge is to place yourself where they were taken and observe how things have changed - or not.
In the first two, the photographer stood at a the high point of Mill Island above the “Tide Mill House,” looking north towards Conary Cove. In the left photo is a man standing by the mill. It was not a road then and there was no bridge to the Blue Hill Neck (photo mid-1800's). Access over the dam was to the properties on Mill Island and for those that rowed across from the Blue Hill Neck to get to the Village of Blue Hill - 3 miles distant. The white building(s) in the center are “Manor House” and its barn that stands between the Mill Pond on the left and Conary Cove on the right.
To the right side of the first two images is a large two story structure that burned and was destroyed after the mid-1800’s - the Tide Mill. It sat to the right of the dam (bay side), which served to generate the hydrodynamic flow that enabled the mill to operate its equipment - before electricity was available.
Just beyond the Mill are three visible buildings. Two are on the mainland side of The Nub (the islands) on the right side of the road and one is on the left. On the right side, one additional is not visible. That structure once belonged to Benjamin Clay who built it in 1833 and it was torn down about 1940 or so. The other larger buildings served as a store - Dana's (for part of its life), shop for boat building and other related marine uses. All were on the piece of land adjacent to the Dam and the Cove where ships were built. To the left on the Mill Pond is a small building that sat on the rocks there, supporting boatbuilding and other purposes and is still owned by members of the Seavey family. Immediately above the smaller building in the 2nd photo is a Federal Style home at the head of Conary Cove (The Sinclair House). It is perhaps the earliest photo of that structure, which was built about 1820. Note that the LeVeque (Red) Boathouse on the cove is not there! It was not built until the 1920's and was for personal boat repair/storage.
Note: Many other photos of this general area follow - taken during later time periods that include structures which did not exist at the time this photo was taken; some that include the same buildings. The challenge is to place yourself where they were taken and observe how things have changed - or not.
The photo on the left shows the Tide Mill in the foreground. A man is standing on the dam to the left of it.
Reference to "South Blue Hill" in right photo on the right should be to Blue Hill Falls (Tide Mill neighborhood/district).
South Blue Hill is on the Blue Hill Neck. That term was not used until the late 1800's - before these two photos were taken.
Reference to "South Blue Hill" in right photo on the right should be to Blue Hill Falls (Tide Mill neighborhood/district).
South Blue Hill is on the Blue Hill Neck. That term was not used until the late 1800's - before these two photos were taken.
Dana's on Conary Cove -
Adjacent to the Mill Pond Dam and The Nub
The photo below was taken from the bay side of Mill Island, looking at the Mill Pond Dam (on the left) and land with Benjamin Clay's house in the foreground. Probably taken in the late 1890's. The Nub (islands) is to the right - not in the photo. The higher white structure is the Blue Hill Falls school and the oak tree(s) near the masts are those in front of Manor House with a schooner (mast showing) are on Conary Cove loading wood.
Tide Mill Dam with bridge & angular trusses on left and the Benjamin Clay House to the right. Two masts are on a lumber schooner in Conary Cove. See related photo to the right.
|
Schooner loading lumber on Conary Cove pre-1907. Taken from vicinity of Blue Hill Falls School. Manor House is to the right.
Note there is no boathouse on the cove!
|
Remains of a crib wharf in Conary Cove (lower center)-once supported the loading of lumber.
Its demise occurred due in part to industry changes, maintenance, weather & winter ice.
A crib pier once stood adjacent to the LeVeque Boathouse.
Photo by Butler Smythe
Its demise occurred due in part to industry changes, maintenance, weather & winter ice.
A crib pier once stood adjacent to the LeVeque Boathouse.
Photo by Butler Smythe
Roundy & Wood Tablet Dedication Day - 1910
Joseph Wood and John Roundy Settled on Mill Island in 1762 in what was to eventually be called Blue Hill. For a time it was known as "Head of the Bay." A tablet now sits on Mill Island on the pond side of the road near the Mill Pond Dam. In the photos that follow, Blue Hill citizens gather in 1910 in Blue Hill Falls for the unveiling of the monument celebrating the founding of the town. The first settlement in Blue Hill (Plantation #5) was in the area of Mill Island referred to as the "Tide Mill" neighborhood, derived from the fact that a mill structure, powering both a grist and a lumber mill, were built near this site - powered by the tides. Wood and Roundy were at the beginning of a land rush to settle the downeast Maine coast that came after the end of the French and Indian wars clarified Britain's sovereignty over this part of the coast. The postcard is postmarked 1911. The house in the photo is Wakonda - then owned by the Nevin family.
Joseph Wood and John Roundy Settled on Mill Island in 1762 in what was to eventually be called Blue Hill. For a time it was known as "Head of the Bay." A tablet now sits on Mill Island on the pond side of the road near the Mill Pond Dam. In the photos that follow, Blue Hill citizens gather in 1910 in Blue Hill Falls for the unveiling of the monument celebrating the founding of the town. The first settlement in Blue Hill (Plantation #5) was in the area of Mill Island referred to as the "Tide Mill" neighborhood, derived from the fact that a mill structure, powering both a grist and a lumber mill, were built near this site - powered by the tides. Wood and Roundy were at the beginning of a land rush to settle the downeast Maine coast that came after the end of the French and Indian wars clarified Britain's sovereignty over this part of the coast. The postcard is postmarked 1911. The house in the photo is Wakonda - then owned by the Nevin family.
|
|
|
Blue Hill Falls - Tide Mill District
Conary Cove & The Mill Pond Photos
The Blue Hill Falls Post Office was established on May 1, 1852
Conary Cove & The Mill Pond Photos
The Blue Hill Falls Post Office was established on May 1, 1852
Other Area Information
Blue Hill Falls
Albert Conary operated the Socony Mobil Gas Station in Blue Hill Falls and provided service to those folks who had automobiles or tractors that needed service and fuel. Conary also used his store as the Blue Hill Falls Post Office at Conary Cove. The South Blue Hill PO operated on the Blue Hill Neck from 23 June 1886 to 15 September 1923 when it ceased operations. The Blue Hill Falls PO (04615 zip code designated in 1963) was established May 1, 1852 on Conary Cove in Blue Hill Falls. Its functions moved to the Blue Hill Neck in 1946 where the postmistress, Mrs. Hazel M. Day lived. The PO ceased operations on January 8, 2005. The last postmistress was Dolly Robertson.
Education – The Schools of Blue Hill Falls & South Blue Hill (The Blue Hill Neck)
Preface: In William Hinckley’s Bits of Local History there is a section on the Blue Hill schools. There were many of them, because children all had to walk to school – more info. available at GSA re: Blue Hill George Stevens Academy. According to Hinckley, there were two elementary school locations – one called the Blue Hill Falls District was west of the road near the head of Conary Cove and east of a small brook. A school building east of South Street on the hillside south of Bragdon brook was moved to this location in 1830. The schoolhouse burned in 1833 and another took its place. School was discontinued after the spring of 1908, but the building was kept in repair for some years after that. The second school he mentions is the South Blue Hill District School on the Blue Hill Neck. (Rufus Candage says in his interview that the school was built in 1875 on one acre – a wood structure with a stone foundation 24’ x 38’. This school was west of the road and north of the South Blue Hill Cemetery. A playground was provided in 1921 with money appropriated by the town and was said to be the best playground at any school in town. (Location is near the current Dodd’s house). It was a one room school until it was enlarged to two rooms in time for the opening of the school in the fall of 1925. The school had two big rooms and perhaps 20 or more students. Many improvements were made with new teacher’s desks, chairs for kindergartners, a new stove and improvements to the out buildings. Total cost for the improvements were $1819.88. John Sylvester recalled being a janitor at the school for (3) years, earning $1 a week. His duties included arriving early to start a fire in the stove, sweeping the floor, splitting wood, carrying in drinking water from a neighbor’s well and shoveling snow in the winter. During the 1920’s, many of the young teachers were not much older than the students they taught. Students graduating from this school went on to either the high school in Brooklin or to George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill. By the 1940’s, the Blue Hill Consolidated School had been built and all of the elementary age children in the area went there. It was very modern with indoor plumbing and hot lunches provided.
Blue Hill Falls
Albert Conary operated the Socony Mobil Gas Station in Blue Hill Falls and provided service to those folks who had automobiles or tractors that needed service and fuel. Conary also used his store as the Blue Hill Falls Post Office at Conary Cove. The South Blue Hill PO operated on the Blue Hill Neck from 23 June 1886 to 15 September 1923 when it ceased operations. The Blue Hill Falls PO (04615 zip code designated in 1963) was established May 1, 1852 on Conary Cove in Blue Hill Falls. Its functions moved to the Blue Hill Neck in 1946 where the postmistress, Mrs. Hazel M. Day lived. The PO ceased operations on January 8, 2005. The last postmistress was Dolly Robertson.
Education – The Schools of Blue Hill Falls & South Blue Hill (The Blue Hill Neck)
Preface: In William Hinckley’s Bits of Local History there is a section on the Blue Hill schools. There were many of them, because children all had to walk to school – more info. available at GSA re: Blue Hill George Stevens Academy. According to Hinckley, there were two elementary school locations – one called the Blue Hill Falls District was west of the road near the head of Conary Cove and east of a small brook. A school building east of South Street on the hillside south of Bragdon brook was moved to this location in 1830. The schoolhouse burned in 1833 and another took its place. School was discontinued after the spring of 1908, but the building was kept in repair for some years after that. The second school he mentions is the South Blue Hill District School on the Blue Hill Neck. (Rufus Candage says in his interview that the school was built in 1875 on one acre – a wood structure with a stone foundation 24’ x 38’. This school was west of the road and north of the South Blue Hill Cemetery. A playground was provided in 1921 with money appropriated by the town and was said to be the best playground at any school in town. (Location is near the current Dodd’s house). It was a one room school until it was enlarged to two rooms in time for the opening of the school in the fall of 1925. The school had two big rooms and perhaps 20 or more students. Many improvements were made with new teacher’s desks, chairs for kindergartners, a new stove and improvements to the out buildings. Total cost for the improvements were $1819.88. John Sylvester recalled being a janitor at the school for (3) years, earning $1 a week. His duties included arriving early to start a fire in the stove, sweeping the floor, splitting wood, carrying in drinking water from a neighbor’s well and shoveling snow in the winter. During the 1920’s, many of the young teachers were not much older than the students they taught. Students graduating from this school went on to either the high school in Brooklin or to George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill. By the 1940’s, the Blue Hill Consolidated School had been built and all of the elementary age children in the area went there. It was very modern with indoor plumbing and hot lunches provided.