About Union

Location

Situated at the junction of Routes 17, 131 and 235 about 15 miles inlandfrom Rockland, Union is a rural community located in a countryside of rolling fields and woods, well watered with lakes and rivers. Present population is about 2,300. Farming (dairy, vegetable and blueberry) and service businesses form the basis of the economy.

Union is home to the Union Fair and Maine Blueberry Festival as well as the Maine Antiques Festival; both events are held at the Union Fairgrounds (click to see map) during August. Many residents commute to work in the coastal towns or in the state capitol of Augusta. Union village is centered around Union Common, reputed to be the one of the oldest existing public greens in Maine. The Common has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Union is located on the St. George River in Knox County in mid-coast Maine and is roughly equidistant from Augusta, and Waldoboro (situated inland), Rockland and Camden on the coast. Route 235 as it passes through Union is part of the George's River Scenic Byway. This pleasant community is surrounded by a beautiful countryside of hills, lakes, rivers and rolling agricultural and blueberry land. The town contains many fine pre-1840 homes.

Early history

The Union area was used by the Wawenock native Americans of the Abenaki nation. The Wawenock or Walinakiak Indians resided on the banks of the Saint George River at European contact in 1605. The Wawenock Indians were one of four related tribes of the Abenaki, who inhabited central and southeastern Maine. Walinakiak means "People of the bays".

Numbering about 10,000 people in 1500, the Wawenock tribe was decimated by a series of epidemics during the latter 16th century and through the 17th century, falling to about 1,000 people by the end of the American Revolution. Two members of the Wawenock tribe were captured by Captain Weymouth in 1605, and one Wawenock was returned from England in 1607 aboard either the Gift of God or the John & Mary by the Plymouth Company.

The Wawenock along the Saint George’s lived on cultivated products including pumpkins, maize and beans, along with fish, shellfish and game.[4] A large Wawenock shellfish midden at Damariscotta dates back 2,200 years. Captain Weymouth observed this midden in 1605.[5] for hunting, fishing and gathering berries and other vegetable food. They maintained no permanent settlement but there is evidence of campsites and burial sites. The native Americans of this area and the white settlers had relations which were mostly cordial and cooperative, but cautious and wary on both sides.

The first white settlers arrived in September or October of 1772. With the names Anderson, Malcolm and Crawford, they were natives of Scotland and called their bachelor logging camp "Sterlingtown" or “Sterling” after their native Scottish town of Stirling. In the spring of 1774 Dr. John Taylor of Lunenburg, Massachusetts entered into negotiations with the heirs of the Waldo patent on purchasing the entire gore of unappropriated land belonging to the patent.

Accompanied by John and Phineas Butler, he landed near the mouth of the Crawford river on Monday July 18, 1774. Taylor's deed to the land was executed on November 17, 1774. The Butlers and Benjamin Packard continued to work the land until the arrival in 1776 of the first family of settlers, that of Philip Robbins. Philip's son David and his wife arrived in May and were followed in the fall by Philip and his wife and family, including an unmarried daughter named Mima.

The Robbins family crowded into a small cabin on the west side of Seven Tree Pond for the first winter. These beginnings and the early days of many settler-farmers are vividly recounted by author Ben Ames Williams in his 1940 historical novel Come Spring. The plantation of Sterlingtown was incorporated on October 20, 1786 by the name of UNION, so called because of the "uncommon harmony" among its people.

These beginnings and the early history of the town are well documented in John Langdon Sibley's History of the Town of Union written in 1851. Sibley's father was a doctor in Union who knew the early settlers. The author was well educated and became librarian at Harvard. His account is considered to be an accurate one of the settling of the town. The early days of the settler-farmers are vividly brought to life in the historical novel Come Spring, by Ben Ames Williams in 1940. Williams read Sibley's book, walked the trails and canoed the waters to get to know his chacters, who were the actual founders of Union.

Union Common

The earliest record of the Common appears in a record from a Town Meeting on April 5, 1790, when a motion was passed "denying boars and rams the liberty of going abroad on the Common." At the same time the vote "permitted hogs to roam at large."

In May 1801 the town voted to accept from David Gilmore a donation of the land which now forms Union Common, and also approved clearing out the stumps and stone to make it fit for drilling the militia. The deed was eventually recorded on June 15, 1809. The enterprising Gilmore had just built the Cobb Tavern on the Common's north side to attract travelers on the stagecoach route to Searsmont, and wanted to redirect the business center of town, at that time in South Union, to the Common. His strategy was successful and the Union Common is one of the oldest public common in the state.

Its stately elms have long gone but the Common is still a beautiful place with mature maples and birches, a flower planter made from an old water trough, and a map of historical sites mentioned in Come Spring.

A young sugar maple, one of many recent plantings, is dedicated to the memory of Ben Ames Williams, author of Come Spring. There are benches for the public, a bandstand built in 1897, a war memorial and of course a fine Civil War memorial made from local granite with its pensive statue of a young Union soldier. A time capsule from the town's Bicentennial celebration is buried on the Common.

Surrounded by commercial structures and fine homes, the Common is a favorite venue for outdoor public events such as Founder's Day, band concerts, the library book sale, and the annual "Tree Lighting" (organized by the Union Area Chamber of Commerce). The Union Common was registered on the National Register of Historic Placeson November 7, 2007.

Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage

Union is home to the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage, located at Union Fairgrounds, home of the Annual Union Fair and Wild Blueberry Festival, a stricktly volunteer organization independent of the Union Fair.

The Museum is open from July 1st through the end of August, Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4:00 pm., although special visits by groups or individuals can be arranged in June and September, if volunteers are available. The museum is also open from 10 am. through 8 pm. during the Union Fair offering free entrance to Fair visitors (regular entrance fee is $5.) This little-known museum has been called the finest collection of agricultural artifacts outside the Smithsonian.

The museum concists of 4 sections:

The one-room Hodge School House, was built in 1864 in Washington (about 10 miles west of Union)and moved to Union to join MMoMH from in 1958. When the school closed in 1954, it became exposed to vandalism, so it was moved to the Union Fairgrounds to become a part of the Matthews Museum and thus be preserved and maintained.

The Main Museum was started by Edwards Matthews, a Union-born collector whose house is still standing and occupied by his great-grand daughter. In the late 60s Matthews sold his collection of approximately 900 items to the Union Fair, which in turn passed control of it to the "Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage."

It became one of the best agricultural museums in the country, with many hand-made artifacts that farmers built to ease their work. It contains over 12,000 exhibits.

The Carriage House was terminaly damaged by flooding and had to be rebuilt from the ground up. This time it is level with the rest of the museum and thus handicapped available. Most of the carriages and sleighs exhibited are made in Union.

It is the home of the "One-Horse Shay", a beautiful two-person carriage. There are two remaining. The other one resides at the Smithsonian.

Moxie is the official Maine soft drink. Moxie's inventor is another Unionite, Dr. Augustin Thompson. In 2008, MMoMH fulfilled their dream of building a house for the one and only "Moxie Bottle House," which turned from a sales stand to a 3-floor house, and is now the centerpiece of the Moxie Museum, the last section of MMoMH.

Churches

The means of worship was one of the urgent demands of the early settlers, but this was difficult to fulfill in a wilderness setting such as the St. George River valley. There were few ministers within range of the town at that time. There were no roads. The building of basic shelter was the most urgent need in the beginning and it was difficult to find either time or money to build churches. In May of 1779, with but a few families in the community, three of those families attended their first worship service by making the long, tedious boat trip down the pond and the river to attend services in either Warren or Cushing, in both of which towns a Presbyterian minister, Dr. John Urquhart, was preaching.

For two years, they made this trip - but only about four times a year. People with that dedication were certain to have the means of worship set up in Union. In February of 1782, Rev. Urquhart preached at a service to those gathered in the log cabin of Philip Robbins. In March of 1784, Rev. Isaac Case, a Baptist minister from Thomaston, preached at a service in the Robbins' cabin. That year and the following, unsuccessful attempts were made to vote to hire a part-time preacher on a permanent basis. It was not until 1796 that the first minister was offered the post, a Rev. William Riddel of Massachusetts, but he turned down the offer.

A renewed move for a community preacher was made in l797, when it was voted to hire a part-time Methodist preacher, to be paid by a voluntary $100 tax. Rev. Aaron Humphrey was offered the post and accepted and he held the post until 1799. While this struggle to find a preacher and to set up a meeting house was going on, denominational differences began to appear and as a result, the next direction of activity was toward the establishment of denominational churches, rather than a community church. In 1802, a Rev. Abraham Gushee, a Congregational minister, supplied the pulpit and was offered it permanently, but he turned it down because of differences between the denominational groups. In April of 1792, the Town voted to build a Meeting House on the north side of the Common. The building was put up in October of 1793, though it was left in very rough condition - no pews, no windows or doors, no heat - for four years. The town’s history says little else about this building except to note that it was taken down in 1839.

Methodist Church

The first of the denomination to organize and set up its own meeting house was the Methodist Church. The first sermon preached in town by a Methodist was in 1793, when Jesse Lee, presiding elder of the Boston District of the Methodist Church, led a service in the barn of Rufus Gillmor (Gilmore).

The Free Methodist Society in Union was organized in 1797 by Rev. Aaron Humphrey, town minister at the time, at a meeting held in the house of Jason Ware. Methodist meetings were held in the Town Meeting House for a number of years, but in 1810 the Methodists built their own church at Burgess Corner (now Rte 17 and North Union Rd.) at a cost of $1,625. For a short time before this, they met in the homes of Jason Ware and Matthias Hawes and then in the Round Pond School House.

In 1834, the Methodist congregation had a parsonage built up the road from their church. Recognizing some disadvantage in their location so far from the Common, in 1871 they build a chapel on what is the site of the present People’s United Methodist Church and used the chapel for evening services. Sometime before 1900, they sold the Burgess Corner church building and used the chapel until 1902, when they erected the present Church.

Universalist Church

The Universalist, or Free Church, held its first meeting in 1814 at the home of George W. West, two miles northwest of the Common. There was only intermittent activity until 1825, when 33 people who had withdrawn from the Congregational Church became interested in the Universalist movement. In 1840, the First Universalist Society in Union was organized, with 60 members. Their church had been constructed in 1839 on the north side of Common next to the Moneka Block (both these buildings were on the site of what is now the Common Market.) This building was later used as a store and then burned in 1925.

Congregational Church

The Congregational Society was formed in 1816, though the Congregationalists had been the most active leaders in the old Town Meeting House services and the First Congregational Church had been organized in 1803. Some of the membership had withdrawn over a controversy involving the minister and the covenant of the church, and a Second Congregational Church had been formed in 1809. In 1826, the two churches were united and in 1839 the Congregational Church was built east of the Common, at the cost of $3,300. The parish became inactive in 1928. Even though $10,000 was bequeathed by Lucy Rokes of Thomaston to try to keep the church active, this bequest reverted to the Rokes’ estate, and in 1942, the church was sold at auction for $475. It stands now, used as an apartment.

Nazarene Church

The Church of the Nazarene was organized in 1926 in what is now called the old Town House. Previously, tent meetings had been held on the present church lot on top of the hill above the Common. There were 15 charter members, of whom some were from North Waldoboro and who later transferred to the North Waldoboro Nazarene Church after that was organized. The charter group met for services in the home of Mary and Eva Ware until the present Nazarene Church was completed in 1928.

Bible Church

The Union Bible Church began in town in the early 1960s, when Rev. Roger A. Cousins of Calvary Temple, Hartford, Connecticut arrived under the Christian Missions to Closed Churches and reopened the North Union Chapel which had been built about 1899 as a Free Church, but had fallen into disuse. Union Bible Church built a new structure in South Union in 1968. Later the congregation disbanded and the building was used as a residence before it was taken down.

Cemeteries

There are 5 public cemeteries in Union. The Union Historical Society (UHS) has a listing of the graves in these cemeteries done by Beniah Harding of Thomaston in the 1980's. The UHS also has some information on the Butler Cemetery, an old private family burying ground. Please visit us at the Robbins House to see our Cemetery Books.

Common or 7 Tree Cemetery

The Common Cemetery is the largest in town; it overlooks Seven Tree Pond.

To locate this cemetery, travel south on Depot Street from Union Common and the Union Post Office at the corner of Common Road and Depot Street (State Route #235 ). Continue about one half mile on Depot Street to Ayer Hill Road, which is a fork to the right off of Depot Street. A sign for Common Cemetery is at this fork in the road; the cemetery is on the right a few hundred yards up the hill. Part of this cemetery was known at various times as the Sterlington Cemetery and Union Town Burying Ground. Other parts were called the Tolman Burial Ground and the Ayer Burial Ground. The Cameron Annex was added, as well as a newer, Soule Annex.

Lake View Cemetery

Lake View cemetery is located Round Pond and 7 Tree Pond. It overlooks farm lands and Round Pond north of town.

To locate this cemetery, travel west about one mile on Route #17 from Union Common to North Union Road (formally Gleason Road). Turn right onto North Union Road and continue north about one half mile on North Union Road to Overlock Hill Road, the first left hand turn. The cemetery is reached from a long drive on the left, one tenth of a mile on Overlock Hill Road.

Sidelinger Cemetery

The Sidelinger Cemetery is a small town cemetery in an area west of Union Common.

Travel west about 2 and one half on Route #17 to Bump Hill Road and turn left. Continue south about one mile on Bump Hill Road to where Sidelinger Road joins it. (Bump Hill Road turns sharply to the right and goes west at this point.) Continue (straight) south about one half mile on Sidelinger Road to Sidelinger Cemetery on the left.

Skidmore Cemetery

The Skidmore Cemetery is another small town cemetery, located in the area once called North Union.

To locate this cemetery, travel west about two miles on Route #17 from Union Common to Shepard Hill Road. Turn right (north) onto Shepard Hill Road and continue about two and one half miles to Skidmore Road, after passing over a small bridge over the Medomak River. Turn right onto Skidmore Road; Skidmore Cemetery is on the left about one and one half miles from the turn.

East Union Cemetery

The East Union Cemetery is in an area that was once the separate village of East Union.

To locate this cemetery, travel east about two miles on Route #17 from Union Common to Wottons Mill Road. Turn right onto Wotton Mill Road and continue south about one half mile to Miller Road where the cemetery is a short distance from the corner of Wotton Mill and Miller Roads. The oldest graves, in the center of the cemetery, were moved from the original location of the cemetery, which was close to the village center of East Union on Payson Road, north of Route #17. The graves were relocated due to high water level in this previous area.

Buttler Cemetery

The Butler Cemetery is on private property and contains the graves of a few of the Butler family:

Last name Butler – Catharine, Hannah D., Maria J., Melea E., Mima R., Phineas, Phineas S., and initials P.S.G. There is also a grave marked Olive Amelia Pressey. (Anyone having information on this last entry, please contact the UHS.)

About the Town of Union