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215, [1] pages. Pencil erasure residue on fep. Preface. Names of Patrons. Errata. Includes some information in tabular form. Topics covered include History of Norway, Maine; Early Settlers, Early Taxes and Assessments, Regimental Muster, Church History, Military History, Taxes, Immigrants. Also contains a record of deaths in the town of Norway from 1820 to 1852. The author, a long-time resident of Norway, Maine, focused on the early settlement of the town, the immigration of new settlers, the accidents and remarkable incidents that have taken place, and on historical sketches. Norway, Maine has it origins in the fertile soil and abundant fauna surrounding the Pennessewasse Lake. This supported Indians in the region for thousands of years. It wasn't until after the American Revolution that European settlers established the town of Norway. In 1786, Joseph Stevens, George Leslie, Amos Hobbs, Jeremiah Hobbs, Jonas Stevens, and Nathaniel Stevens began clearing land and building homes. They intended to not only provide for their families, but also attract new settlers to their small community. Many of the early settlers had fought in the Revolutionary War, including Phineas Whitney, a veteran of the Battle of Bunker Hill. By 1789, a sawmill and gristmill were established, the first road was built in 1796, and the town of Norway was officially incorporated on March 9, 1797. Before incorporation, the township adopted the name Rustfield, to recognize the contributions of prominent landowner Henry Rust of Salem, Massachusetts, and the community once petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to be named Norage, meaning "falls" in the Indian language. still, the origin of the town's current name remains unknown. Beyond the timeframe of this History of Norway, it was during the Civil War, Norway and other municipalities in Oxford County formed a militia that joined the 1st Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment under the command of George Lafayette Beal. Beal would later rise to the rank of major general and serve as State Treasurer from 1888 to 1894. With fertile soil for cultivation and access to the Pennesseewassee waterways, which drain into the Little Androscoggin River, the community had ample water power to drive industrial manufacturing, including a cloth and carding mill, a furniture factory, a box factory, and a shovel handle factory. Waterfalls powered two grain mills. Businesses like the tannery, the harness maker, and a trunk manufacturer emerged. Shoe manufactory was established in 1872. The busy stage route from Paris, the county seat, to Fryeburg passed through Norway. By 1878, there were 32 stores in the town. For a number of years, Norway had the fastest growing population of any similar town in the state.[6] On December 30, 1879, the Norway Branch Railroad opened. The 1.45 mile (2.3 km) line connected Norway village with the Atlantic St. Lawrence Railroad (later Grand Trunk Railroad) at South Paris. On May 9, 1894, a fire sparked in the C. B. Cummings & Sons mill on Main Street. Spread by a strong wind, what would become known as The Great Norway Fire, destroyed a substantial portion of the business district, devastating the opera house, Congregational Church, tannery, and 80 other buildings, including many homes. Reconstruction began the same year, and many of the original wooden buildings on Main Street were rebuilt with brick. Norway, Maine was once known as the "Snowshoe Capital of the World." Walter Tubbs founded the Tubbs Snowshoe Company 1906. Tubbs produced high quality ash snowshoes, skis, sleds, and furniture, even supplying Byrd and Peary's polar expeditions. Tubbs relocated to Vermont in the early 1930's. Soon after, SnoCraft Inc., a company owned and operated by Kenneth (Kac) Aldrich, set up production in the old Tubbs Factory. SnoCraft was responsible for supplying 70% of the snowshoes ordered by the U.S. government during World War II. Founded in 1850, the C. B. Cummings & Son Company mass-produced wooden comp.
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