The ruins of a town that time forgot are resting in this Maine state park

James Brown’s Vanished Logging Empire in Maine

In 1834, James Brown saw gold in Maine’s trees. He built a log cabin in the wild, then a sawmill on the Cambridge River by 1838.

Soon after, his fourteen-room house with five fireplaces stood tall where his wife Ruth fed hungry lumbermen. Other folks moved in too.

By 1880, the town of Grafton had grown to 115 souls living off timber and tough farming. Yet as trees fell and weren’t replaced, the town slowly died.

In 1919, Grafton gave up its town status, and within years, all buildings were torn down.

The ghost town now sleeps beneath Grafton Notch State Park, where hikers pass without knowing they walk on forgotten dreams.

James Brown Hiked Through Grafton Notch in 1830

James Brown from Canton, Maine walked through Grafton Notch in 1830, using just a footpath. He looked for timber chances in the remote area folks called Township A back then.

Jesse Smith of Newry and his two sons had already checked out the area on similar trips. Most of the land belonged to out-of-state owners, creating chances for people to buy property.

The region had several miles of flat land above the Notch that looked good for settling.

A Log Cabin Became Home For The Newlyweds

In 1834, Brown married Ruth Swan of Newry and brought her to live in a log cabin he built in what later became Grafton. He bought land and started building a dam on the Cambridge River, which flows north to Lake Umbagog.

By 1838, he finished his sawmill. Brown picked a spot east of what’s now Route 26 to use the river’s power for his mill.

This changed the area from untouched wilderness to a place where people lived and worked.

The Brown House Grew To Fourteen Rooms

Brown started building a barn in 1840, then worked on a large house he finished in 1842. The big fourteen-room house had five fireplaces and became the center of the settlement.

Ruth Brown cooked meals for the many lumbermen who worked for her husband over the years. They built their house above what’s now the Grafton cemetery, toward the Upton line.

This big house showed Brown wanted to create a lasting community in this remote spot.

Mary Brown Made History As Grafton’s First Baby

Mary Brown was born in 1839, becoming the first child born in the new settlement of Grafton.

She lived there her whole life except for her last two years (1908-1910), when she spent winters with her daughter in Lewiston. Mary later married George Otis, a man who came to work for her father.

The Otis family built their house right across the road from the Brown home. Today, Route 26 runs right through where the Otis house once stood.

More Families Put Down Roots Above The Notch

Other families soon followed the Browns to Grafton, with most setting up homes above the Notch. The Davis and Morson families joined the early settlers who built houses in the area.

According to an 1858 wall map of Oxford County, four farms sat down near the Newry line. Most Grafton homes went up near the main road for easy access.

The Morse homestead broke this pattern, sitting off to the west near the Upton line, away from the others.

Hannah Brown Named The Town After Her Massachusetts Hometown

By 1852, enough people lived in the area for Grafton to become an official town, changing from Plantation Letter A Number 2. James Brown’s mother Hannah suggested the name Grafton, after Grafton, Massachusetts.

The town started keeping records, though they stayed pretty basic and not complete. The settlement had grown enough to need its own local government.

This step made Grafton a real Maine town on the map.

The Town Peaked At 115 Residents In 1880

From 1850 to 1880, Grafton grew and did its best. The town reached its highest count of 115 residents in 1880.

In 1859, twenty-one men between eighteen and forty-five years old lived there. People worked mainly in logging and small farming to feed their families.

Life wasn’t easy with frosts hitting even in June and August, and July temps staying around sixty-six degrees.

Barrett Wriston Never Made It Home From The Civil War

Some men from Grafton joined the Union Army during the Civil War, including Barrett Wriston. After getting hurt in 1862, the army sent him home.

Sadly, Wriston died while walking on the road between Bethel and Grafton. His death left behind a wife, who died soon after, and three children.

His oldest son later joined the army for the $1,000 bonus and pay. This son lived through the war and moved to Minnesota, where he did well for himself.

Winter Brought Hundreds Of Loggers To Town

Life in Grafton focused on logging and farming, with logging as the main business. The big lumber camps held over a hundred men and almost as many horses.

Spring meant large crews worked to float logs down the Cambridge River to Lake Umbagog. By November each year, camps got set up and men came from all over Maine, New England, and Canada.

The town had a post office but never got a real store or church.

The Town Officially Closed Up Shop In 1919

As loggers cut down more and more trees, the town started running out of timber to cut. Grafton gave up its status as a local government on February 27, 1919.

Not all the town records got turned over when Grafton closed, with some ending up at the Newry Town Office. The logging business that kept the community going for decades couldn’t support the town anymore.

People moved away as the jobs went away.

Nature Reclaimed What People Left Behind

In the early 1920s, the Brown Company tore down the remaining buildings in Grafton to prevent fires. Bulldozing, road construction, and trees growing back erased most signs of the homes and community.

The area turned into what we now know as Grafton Notch State Park. Only the Grafton Cemetery and a few old foundations remain as proof of the former town.

The once-busy logging community of 115 people completely vanished from the landscape.

Visiting Grafton Notch State Park, Maine

Grafton Notch State Park at 1941 Bear River Road in Newry preserves the remains of James Brown’s 1834 logging town that once had 115 residents.

You can explore where the sawmill and dam once operated before the town dissolved in 1920 when timber ran out. The park charges $3 for Maine residents and $4 for others, open May 15 to October 15 from 9am to sunset.

Camping isn’t allowed here, but you can camp on nearby public lands.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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