Addison

Addison. . , The Early Settlers , The town of Addison was given permission to incorporate by the General Court of Massachusetts on February 14, 1797. The settlers chose the name in honor of the British writer Joseph Addison. The earliest town records were lost but information has been pieced together from original family documents. The earliest settlers that we have knowledge of were: Moses Plummer, William Ingersoll who came around the Revolutionary War, the Driske brothers, John, Joseph and Samuel Nash, Daniel Merritt, John Hall, William Tibbetts, Charles Tabbutt and Lemeul Dyer. Later documented settlers were Jeremiah Plummer (son of Moses), Freeman Yates, William Hix and Wilmot Wass. Jeremiah Plummer's house was on the Wescogus River. It was known for its beautiful meadows and for an abundance of codfish., Freeman Yates lived on Addison Point and owned the entire tract of land now known as Addison Village. A tombstone, which has been recently re-cut by history benefactors, lies in the Baptist burying ground. It marks the place of Yates and his wife. , William Hix lived on the east bank of the river, on the marsh. The Hix family is known to have arrived previous to 1770. He was famous for his moose hunting., Wilmot Wass and his family were from Martha's Vineyard and settled on Cape Split. They had six children., Joseph, Samuel and James Nash were three brothers who settled here in 1767. Joseph made his home on Addison Point and had nine children. Samuel settled on the Ridge, a little south of the Columbia line. He and his wife had three boys, Samuel Jr., Isaac and Keziah. James made his home on the Ridge also, but sold it to Isaiah, one of Joseph's children and moved to New York., About 1770, a vessel left Martha's Vineyard, bearing seven families and landed on the shores of the Pleasant River. We know the names of five of these families and where they settled., Seth and Amy Norton made their home on the east bank of the river, a little south of the bridge. They had seven children. Daniel and Anna Look established their residence on the east bank also, just a little farther south. They had nine children and and their ancestors still live on the property. It is documented that Daniel was a writer and lived to be 90., Richard and Mary Coffin settled on the Ridge across from the Nash's. Mr Coffin is said to have planted the first apple tree in town. He and Mary had seven children., Barnabas Coffin who was a cousin of Samuel, built his house on the west bank of the river. He and his wife Betsey were Quakers and had no children., Daniel Small settled on the edge of Harrington to the west of Addison Village., The Bangor Historical Magazine gives the number of inhabitants on April 27, 1778 as 213. It states that most of the residents are direct descendants of the early settlers., Early Industry , There were several key industries that brought the population of Addison to it's peak in 1860 to 1,272. Shipbuilding and quarrying were the major contributors. There were 83 vessels built between 1860 and 1900 and four major granite quarries in operation. Other important industries were coasting (bringing people and goods to the area by ship), Fishing, timber and silver mining. By 1958 most of these industries had disappeared. With the closing of the last quarry, the population reached it's low in 1960 at 744., Key Dates in History , 1603: The Red Paint People and other Native Americans settle in the region , 1604: Champlain visits the area , 1750: Early white settlers arrive , 1797: Addison is incorporated , 1800: Three thriving villages are established in Addison: Addison Point, Indian River and South Addison , 1866: 100 Addison residents migrate to Jaffa in Palestine, aboard the "Nellie Chapman". When the ill-fated Jaffa settlement failed, the ones that made it back were destitute. , 1938: The great Addison Point village Fire. , There is a wealth of knowledge available at the Addison Library about all these settlers and more. I encourage you to explore it. There is a 53 page booklet of the History of Addison, published in 1905, available at Town Hall. It includes information about the Indians that lived here before the settlers and stories of the early explorers. The Bicentennial book, also available at Town hall, is full of wonderful photos. There is extended information in the Comprehensive Plan section of this website. The Pleasant River Historical Society is another source of information. Details about this group are listed in the Community Organization section of-this website.