The Middle Road School and the Union Church....

On the left is the Middle Road School – District. No. 6 - facing Merrill Hill Road.  The Union Church is just beyond and the Town House is just out of the picture on the right.  The school existed here from about 1872 until 1939. The Congregational Church built a second church here in 1830.  The Union Church Society purchased it in 1899 intending to use the material from that church to build a new one.  Regular Union Church services ceased in 1920.  An annual service is held here each year in late summer.

The Town House at Middle Road Village...

This picture, taken in 1938, is of the Town House at Middle Road Village located on the east side of Merrill Hill Road in Parsonsfield. The Town House was built in 1832 across from the Congregational Church when the town and the Church could no longer agree to share the church as a meeting house as they had been doing since 1790.  When the town was founded in 1785, Middle Road Village was a thriving community and the geographic center of the Town of Parsonsfield. In about 2002, a group of interested citizens called “ROOT” (Restore Our Old Town House), worked to restore the building to its original design and had it placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.  Parsonsfield’s municipal offices were moved to Kezar Falls Village in 1985 but all residents south of North Road continued to vote at this location. In 2012 the municipal offices moved from the former Milliken School building in Kezar Falls to the former Fred Morrill School on North Road.  The Town House is not used at this time.

The "Old Dalton House" on Middle Road...

This is the “Old Dalton House” at Dalton’s Corner on Middle Road east of the McIntire house. This picture was taken in 1938 when it was owned by Joseph L. Marcionette of Medford, Mass.  It shows as the home of Mrs. A. Dalton on the 1872 map of Parsonsfield. By at least 1802, Samuel Dalton had a store close by. He was succeeded as proprietor by his brother Benjamin.  It is one of the few old homes that still stand at Middle Rd. Village.  For many years it was the summer home of Marcia and the late Arthur Close.  It is currently owned by Marcia Close.

The Rufus McIntire House on Middle Road...

This house was located in Parsonsfield on Middle Road at the intersection of Merrill Hill Road (also called Dalton’s Corner).  This picture, taken in 1938, is of the Rufus McIntire house that was originally built for Rev. Benjamin Rolfe (the 1^st settled Minister for the Congregational Church) in 1795.  It was the Weeman home in 1917.  Mr. McIntire also had a store near here.  The house and store no longer exist.   The Congregational Church records describe the house as follows: “40 feet long, 30 feet wide, 2 stories high with clapboards and shingles”.

The Evolution of a Church-Part Three...

This is the old church after it was transformed into the Garner Gym upstairs and the Fire House on the ground floor.  Mr. William Garner purchased the building in 1937 and remodeled the second floor for the gym and the lower part for the fire station.  It was presented to the town in time for basketball season in 1941. 

The Evolution of a Church-Part Two...

   This is the old church building on River Street when the Charter Oak Grange owned it in 1908 and added another floor. Myron Ridlon started the first drug store here in 1910 and Frank Holmes had the dry goods store on the right. In 1924 it was ravaged by fire destroying the 3^rd floor. Orman Stanley and Jim Wiggins purchased it and rebuilt it without the 3^rd story.

The Evolution of a Church-Part One...

 This building was formerly a Union church located between School and Bridge Street in Kezar Falls Village. The Kezar Falls Methodist Church  began using it in 1867.  This building was moved to this nearby River Street location and a new Methodist Church was built just back of this building’s former location in 1883.  One of the oldest buildings in town, it evolved over a period of years and was used for many purposes including a popular roller skating rink.  Dr. Chellis bought it in 1887 and made a large public hall called the “Village Hall”.