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.

Time to Give Thanks...

   It is time for our annual Thanksgiving Dinner!   Time for Historical Society members and invited guests to sit down together and share a great meal and fond remembrances of this past season at History House.  We have much to give thanks for this year.

   Festivities begin at 1 pm at the Town Office on Main Street in Porter on Saturday 14 November 2015.  Please call Jan Iler at 625-7019 to reserve your seat at this delicious event!  For many, this is the highlight of the year at PPHS!

   Don't forget to turn your clocks back Saturday night October 31st and don't forget to vote on Tuesday November 3rd!  HIstory happens every day, be part of it!

The Haunted History of Halloween

The holiday is fast approaching but how much do you actually know about what we now call Halloween?  On Saturday October 24 at 1:30 pm  PPHS member Patricia Turner will present a multi-media presentation of the history behind the second most popular holiday in the US.

Do you know where the word "Halloween" comes from?   How about the origins of "trick-or-treating"?  And bobbing for apples?  Come to History House and find out!

There will be a short meeting prior to the presentation and the drawing for the beautiful quilt will take place.  You can still pick up your raffle tickets at the Porter Town Office.