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 Drisko
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 it's 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 3 boys, Samuel Jr.,Issac 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. |
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About 1770, a vessel left Martha's Vineyard, bearing seven
families and landed on the shores of the Pleasant River. We know the name of
five of those 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 their
ancestors still live on the property. It is documented that Daniel was a
writer and lived to be 90 years old. |
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 Quaker's 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 1800 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 Chapin". 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 of 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 and details about this group are listed in the Community Organization
section of this website. |