Families of Columbia, Maine: The first settlers were William and Noah Mitchell from Falmouth, who came about 1750. The marshland at the mouth of the Pleasant River had attracted them as feed for their cattle. They first constructed rude log cabins and hovels. William built the first frame house in town; exactly where it was located is not known. The heads of families in Number 12 in 1790 were Samuel, Isaac and Parratt Leighton. Among the heads of families living in Plantation Number 13, now Columbia Falls, in 1790 were Allen, Archer, Bucknam, Black, Cox, Coffin, Calaghan, Crocker, Drisko, Dunbar, Dorr, Hale, Ingersoll, Kelly, Nash, McKinsey, Merritt, Mansfield, McKaslegen, Reynolds, Tinny, Tucker, Tibbetts, Whitney, Wilson, Worcrester, Wass and Weymouth. The first town meeting was held in April, 1796, at the dwelling house of Joseph Patten who was elected town clerk. Thomas Ruggles, William Wass and David Wass were selectmen. At the first regular annual town meeting, Benjamin Ruggles was elected moderator; William Bucknam, town clerk; Elisha Coffin, Thomas Ruggles and Gowen Wilson, selectmen, and Joseph Patten, treasurer. Two young Englishmen, Thomas and Samuel Leighton, came about 1760 from Falmouth to Narraguagus. Samuel settled in Columbia, the progenitor of all the Leightons in this vicinity. Of his four sons, Isaac settled at Columbia and married Mary Worster in 1813. She was the sister of Deacon Moses Worster. Captain Joseph Wilson of Kittery was one of the first settlers. He came about 1762; Captain John Bucknam from North Yarmouth, an early comer, began to build mills, and started lumbering in 1773. He married Mary, the daughter of Joseph Wilson. John Bucknam was one of the incorporators of Washington Academy in 1791. These two families figured largely in the early settlement. Jonathan Dorr came from Wales, England, and after a few years in Steuben came to Columbia in 1788. Of the Allens, Gideon Allen came early and the brothers, Robert and Samuel, settled in the Columbia; Moses Worster from Old York arrived about 1775 and settled in that part of Columbia known as Saco. Joseph Patten who came in 1789 was a blacksmith from Wells, Maine. He soon began shipbuilding and the first vessel was launched in 1799. James Bailey, from the same town, set up the first coloring and cloth-dressing machine; John Archer, a brick mason by trade, born in England and a Revolutionary soldier, came to Columbia in 1789, and John McCaslin, another Revolutionary soldier, took up a place, paying only five dollars for the making out of the title. Captain Thomas Ruggles came from Rochester, Massachusette, to the District of Maine in 1795; he was a prominent businessman, bought a large tract of land, acquired a saw mill and accumulated wealth. He became one of the great lumber barons on eastern Maine. The beautiful four-square mansion which he built in 1810 is still an object of admiration. William Ingersoll, who had come in 1779, built a mill located at "Burnt Mill Rips." Joshua Young was the first resident minister in 1798; Dr. Caleb Haskell, the first resident physician, came in 1799. He put up a wool carding machine which was carried on by Samuel Bucknam; Jonathan Weston was the first lawyer. His stay was brief. Elijah Hamlin practiced law for some time; his brother, Hannibal, often lived and studied with him. Other outstanding settlers who deserve more than a passing notice were the Coffins. John Puffer, a soldier of the War of 1812 and a prisoner in the notorious Dartmoor prison for more than two years, came about 1825 and bought the "betterments" of a place at Little River. He was active in town affairs and in building up the town society. ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://home.netscape.com/webmail