Document Transcriptions
Highway Assignments 1826-73
In earlier days, roads were not maintained by a town crew, but by individual citizens. Every year, the selectmen would assign sections of road to the men living nearby, and they kept careful records of who had was responsible for each stretch of road. Since few roads had names in those days, the stretch would be identified as "the road going by So-and-so's house." As a result, we have a good record of who was living in town when, and roughly where they lived. We have two books, the first covering 1826-1849, and the second 1850-73. The second book ends abruptly in the midst of 1873; presumably there was a third book that hasn't come to light yet!
Read a transcription of the books, or see a list of all the names mentioned, with the years they were referenced.
Militia Files
Various documents relating to the local militia in the years between 1805 and 1820, when the local company was part of the Massachusetts Militia. These were shared with us by the Bridgton Historical Society. We have transcribed them and posted them here.
Militia Articles: Various drafts of the regulations of the Company. (We've made assumptions about their order.)
Articles: Draft 1
Articles: Draft 2
Articles: Final
Petition to Separate: In 1817, Sebago members of the Baldwin Company wanted to separate and form their own Company. The language is very similar to that used a few years later to separate the town of Sebago from Baldwin, and most of the signers of this petition signed the later one, too.
Draft 1 of Petition
Final Draft of Petition
Cover Letter in Support
Colonel's Letter in Support
Petition's Envelope
Other Files Miscellaneous other documents from the militia.
Order for Militia
Officers' Roster
Voting for Officers: Baldwin
Voting for Officers: Gray
Letter complaining about uniforms
BROWNFIELD FIRE 1947
A transcription of an eye-witness account of the Great Fire of 1947, as seen by two residents of Sebago. It consists of two parts: a typewritten account of the days of the fire, plus a handwritten addendum from a few days or weeks later. The account was written by Frances Lane and Emily Goding, two ladies who were living in Hillside at the time. Both were from away — Frances (or Mally, or F.M.L. as she is referred to here) from New York, and Emily from Norwich, CT. They had both been involved in running Junior Camp Wabunaki with Emily Welch. Frances bought the Hill property at the base of Poors Hill in 1940, and lived there with Emily until 1953. They had copies made of their joint account of the fire to send to their friends from away; that comprises the top section of the transcript. The bottom section is Emily's handwritten note on the back of the typescript to an unknown "Margie." Emily’s handwriting is difficult, and some of the words here are guesses.
