A Very Merry Christmas from PPHS!

The Washburn-Norlands Living History Center,  Livermore, Maine

In Memorium...

   It is with very sad hearts that we pass on to the PPHS community the news of the death today of PPHS treasurer Meredith Shea, better known as Merry to all of us who loved her.  Merry was a dedicated and hard working member of the Society and she will be greatly missed.  She was not only a diligent worker, who lent her hand at every aspect of the Society, but a cheerful presence at all our meetings and events.  Her sense of humor and ready laugh cheered all of us who worked with her to make the Society a vital part of Parsonsfield and Porter.  She will be mourned by all who knew her and our prayers are with her family now as they prepare to celebrate her life of selfless devotion.

The Abra Fox Farm, Porter

George and Hannah Fox

            The Abra Fox Farm is located at the top of the hill at the end of Pine Street in Kezar Falls Village near the Porter/Hiram town line.  This home which sheltered three generations of the Fox Family, stands near the location of the original home of their ancestor, Bartholomew Gould (1774-1855).  After his marriage to Mary Goodwin in 1798, they settled on this farm and raised a family of nine children.  Their oldest child, Abigail (1799-1852), married Calvin Fox (1798-1872) in 1822.  She was the grandmother of Miss Abra E. Fox. 

 

Abra Fox

                Abra E. Fox, the last of the family to live here, died in 1945.  Her father was George W. Fox (1822-1911). He married Hannah Gould (1831-1920) and they had 4 children: Noyes R. Fox (1854-1857), Francis Albert Fox (1858-1916) who married Gertrude Watson and was a lawyer who practiced in Kezar Falls Village, Abra (1860-1945) never married, and Preston G. Fox (1863-1931) also never married.

            Robert and Margorie Thorne were the next owners of the farm and named it “Pick a Rock or Two Farm”.  They sold it in 1963.  The most recent owner was the late Mark Hull, Jr.

The house still stands but all the out buildings are now gone.  Until recent years there were no other homes nearby.

George & Hannah in front of the Fox farm – circa 1890.  It is shown on the 1858 Porter Map as G. Fox.

The farm was the scene of the 40^th Stanley-Gould family reunion Aug. 29, 1936.

The Sokokis Lumber Mill

Although the Kezar Falls Woolen Mill was considered the mainstay of the community for many years, the Sokokis Lumber Mill, (the “Box Shop”), also played an important part in providing employment for generations of local men for many years.

It was located on the Ossipee River west of the woolen mill just off Elm Street at the edge of Kezar Falls Village. J. Merrill Lord, Harvey Granville and Frank Fenderson founded the mill in 1908. It closed in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s and the buildings burned July 10, 1999. It eventually became the property of the Town of Parsonsfield and remains so today.