Worromontogus Lake Association

History

Also available in PDF Scans and transcribed Word Document >>

DAILY KENNEBEC JOURNAL – ANNUAL VACATION EDITION

Saturday, July 9, 1949

Togus Pond, Developed As Resort, Now Year-Round Colony

Dams Built 145 Years Ago: First Cottages About 1900

By Frances Allen Savage

How many of you remember when your family
took the horse and buggy, packed the fishing poles and traveled seven
miles to spend Sunday fishing in Togus Pond? Do you recall the
generous fish-chowder dinners for thirty-five cents at the old Barrows
cottage? Or did you eat at the Lakeview House? Did you realize
then, that in fifty years a fast growing colony of year-round homes
and summer cottages would be developing into what may become a new community
– namely, Worromontogus Lake?

Began In 1895

In 1891 when Ralph G. Johnson deeded
to Andrew Rising the land covering the north shore of the lake, he probably
considered it a transaction of little import on the future. The
development began on March 9, 1896 when Andrew J. Rising sold the land
to William E. Barrows, who later deeded it to Frank E. Barrows.

The Barrows cottage was the first dwelling
to be built on Togus Pond. For several years the family rented
boats and served dinners to local fishing parties. Those were
the days when fish could be bought, cleaned, for ten cents a pound.

As time went on, the two ice houses adjoining
the cottage were set back and made into camps for two Civil War veterans,
Leander S. Frost and Richard Symms, both of whom lived there the remainder
of their lives.

In 1900, the land was surveyed for the
first time and sold to five men: Frank E. Smith, Charles M. Taber, Frank
S. Savage, Sumner Pullen and Harry Stoddard, all of whom built their
cottages by holding all-day building bees, in which neighbors of all
trades volunteered their labor. The camps were completed by about
1902. Following soon after, and built in the same way were the
cottages of Ira Shorey, Charles Newcomb and Walter E. Porter (joint
owners), Lem O. Pullen, A. W. Foster, all on the north shore.

On the south shore at about this time,
Lakeview House was built my William W. Shaw, who also rented boats and
served dinners to fishing parties. George Rockwood and John Thompson
built a camp at this time, which was later sold to Edwin H. Gay in 1910.

Two and one-eighth miles of new and repaired
roadway on the west shore built by Daniel S. Young practically started
the camp development on this side of the lake. Before 1932 there
was hardly more than a footpath along this shore and only a very few
camps. Mr. Young created one mile of entirely new road through
the woods between Lambert’s Point and the north shore. He cut
down trees, removed stumps, blasted rocks, leveled the ground and graveled
the road, all at his own expense. One and one-eighth miles more
were cleared of brush and given the same treatment as the new road.
The city plans to take over the road in the near future. Today,
approximately 24 camps share the convenience of a fine road and beautiful
shore line. Mr. Young’s cottage is a model of the ideal summer
home and attracts many a passerby.

Poor’s Island

C. Walter Poor, on the west shore, was
the first to build in 1904 on what is now called Poor’s Island.
On the east shore of Hayden’s Cove Earle Harvey and Omar Pomerleau
built cottages in about 1900. On Lambert’s Point William Jackson
built a cottage in about 1900 which was sold in about 1902 to the Rev.
Malory Kearney. Levi Brown and George Ricker bought it jointly
in 1906.

Years ago, on this shore, Alvah Howe
made his living by making charcoal for commercial use for L. Wyman Weaver’s
Restaurant which was formerly located near the present Depositor’s
Trust Company. Weaver’s Restaurant specialized in charcoal-broiled
steaks, and had the distinction of serving the best steak dinners in
this part of Maine. Mr. Howe made his charcoal by laying birch
poles in double cone formation, one set of poles upon the other, allowing
only a slight vent at top and bottom, so that the smoldering fire could
be controlled at all times. The wood had to char but not burn.
Layers of sod completely covered the outsides of these birch cones and
after due time, the sod was shoveled off, leaving charcoal in sizes
a little larger than egg coal. Even today some charcoal may still
be found.

Frank Hewins was the first to build on
the east shore in about 1909. Contrary to general custom, he allowed
no building to take place on Sunday. For years, the only other
cottage on the east shore was that of Wesley W. Albee, built between
1910 and 1912. After the building of the Albee Lumber Mill in
1926, other cottages began to appear. It is interesting to note
that tenting was common in about 1929 on Snake Island which is near
the east shore.

The name Worromontogus is from the Abenaki
Indian language and has been corrupted enough from the original to cause
numerous differences of opinion as to its meaning. Among the many
versions offered are: “Spring under mountain”, brook cove”,
“small vermillion inlet”. No one agrees. Since the lake
is entirely fed by springs, it seems likely that the name bay be associated
with the word “spring”.

Worromontogus Lake is a scenic one with
coves, islands, woods and farms varying the panorama. The shore
line is rocky, the woods still quite dense, the coves deep. There
are six sizable islands and other smaller ones. North Belfast
Road bounds the lake on the north and South Belfast Road on the south.
It is three miles long, approximately, from the northernmost tip of
Hayden’s Cove to the southernmost shore of Little Togus Pond and is
a mile or under in width. Little Togus Pond is separated from
Togus Pond by the lower Belfast Road which crosses the marshland between
the two ponds. At high water, it would be a part of Togus Pond
if not for the road. At lower levels, there is swamp land separating
the two ponds.

Noted For Fishing

The lake has always been well known for
its fishing as far back as anyone can remember. White perch, pickerel,
bass, brown trout, and even hornpout have been caught there. Ice
fishing for pickerel has also been popular. Deer hunting, as well
as rabbit and partridge, and duck hunting on the lower end of the pond
and on Togus Stream are still popular. According to seasoned fishermen,
it was common to catch 50 to 100 white perch in one day and 25 pickerel
in a day. Twenty-five years ago there was a tiny stream near Hayden’s
Cove where brook trout were found and some say that they are still there.
Mink and muskrat have been seen on the lake shores and the height of
the muskrat huts was an indication of the forecoming weather.
If the walls were high, there would be a bad winter with a lot of water
in the spring; if they were low, an ordinary winter and spring would
be expected.

Togus Pond is dependent upon two dams
– the main and the back or back run dam, so called. In the History
of Kennebec, the following is found: “About 1850 Franklin Stevens
erected a sawmill on the Little Togus, about where the Kennebec Central
railroad strikes the street. It was built for Door Bullen, who
ran it several years, and then sold the business to Franklin Stevens.
When the civil war began, Mr. Stevens sold the machinery at a large
price, and the business was discontinued.

“On the Togus stream, was an old carding
and fulling mill, on what is now Samuel Stevens farm. It had disappeared
before the recollection of the present generation. There was a
saw mill built in 1808 on the Togus stream, called the Cooper mill.
It stood just above the present mill of Oliver Moulton. A portion
of the dam only remains. Oliver Moulton built a saw mill in 1864,
on the Togus stream, a short distance above the river road, but it was
burned ten years afterward. Another mill was at once erected,
a little lower down the stream and is now leased and run by Henry and
Warren Moulton, sons of Oliver. It contains a rotary saw for long
lumber, planers, lath and shingle mills, and employs twenty-five hands.
This mill controls the stream up to the reservoir at Togus.”

So it was that the Moultons dammed the
water of Togus Pond for commercial use at Randolph. They closed
the gates in winter and opened them in spring, thus controlling the
water level in the pond. Togus stream starts in Lower Togus Pond
and ends in the Kennebec River at Randolph, and it was here that Moulton
erected his sawmill.

Dams Built In 1804

The dams were built in 1804, making them
145 years old. Some say that they were built by Charles Sylvester
who ran a quarry business on South Belfast Avenue. The main dam
is located just off the Rockland road on Togus stream in Chelsea.
The back dam is located about twelve minutes walk from the Mud Mills
road on Mud Mills Brook which runs off from Togus stream.

The main dam was built of granite blocks
onto a narrow ledge and packed in with clay and gravel. It was
175 feet wide, twelve feet deep. The gates were lifted by gears
and heavy iron wheels which slid up and down. The old grist mill
stones which were left on the Moulton property were moved to the cottage
formerly belonging to Frank. E. Barrows, in 1931, and are still in front
of the camp.

The back dam was made of rocks, boulders
and sod. It is about 100 feet long on top and about four feet
wide. Today water is going underneath the old structure which
seems permanently imbedded and looks as though it had grown there.
Three or four trees, six to eight inches in diameter, are now growing
inside the dam. At high water, the stream between pond and dam
covers a wide area, but when the water level is drawn down, the brook
dwindles to a narrow trickle. Leakage on the north side of the
dam is indicated by a small whirlpool. In 1947, sandbags were
placed at this point but are now out of the water about 12 inches and
are partly broken up. Visible out of water is about 5 feet of
the structure.

Form Game Association

In 1928 the Worromontogus Fish and Game
Association was organized mainly to acquire ownership of the dams, to
repair them and to secure the right of way on Togus stream. In
1931 Frank E. Barrows, attorney in the law firm of Pennie, Edmonds,
Morton and Barrows in New York City, and formerly a native of Bolton
Hill, bought the dams, all the property connected with them and the
right of way on the stream as far as Randolph, in order to allow the
association time enough to re-purchase from him the dams and property
for their own use. With this generous assistance, the Fish and
Game Association was encouraged to earn money with which to repay him
by holding entertainments, giving suppers, using membership dues, and
by the generous contributions of the property owners themselves who
gave heavily at a time when the country was in a financial crisis.

In 1933 the main dam leaked to such an
extent that the water level of the lake fell five or six feet lower
than usual, which exposed mud flats and stumps, seriously affecting
sanitation and all water sports. Total cost of repair was estimated
to be about $1500 plus a great amount of donated material without which
the estimated cost would have been about $3200. The Fish and Game
Association, by selling nine acres of land surrounding the dams, obtained
the greatest portion of the expense of repair. The remainder was
earned by giving suppers and entertainments by soliciting contributions,
and by using membership dues.

Maurice B. Dow was in charge of the whole
construction and volunteers from the organization gave whatever services
to the project they could, saving the association many hours of expensive
labor. A new sluiceway was built as well as a new flume.
Fifteen stop-logs, 6 inches square, were placed in back of the fish
screen in channels at both ends and were later braced at the top.
Each stop-log is bored and pinned at each end so that hooks can be inserted
to move the log. The surface of the dam was wholly refaced with
cement to the width of about two feet at the bottom and approximately
one foot at the top. The cement work was all reinforced with iron.

A five-foot excavation was dug under
the dam and filled with concrete so that the whole construction rests
on a solid foundation.

Two cement wings measuring 8 feet 9 inches
by 6 feet 8 inches on top, and running out from the dam 7 feet with
a depth of 13 to 15 feet, were connected on the top by two cement slabs
18 inches thick and on the bottom by a solid 36 inch base.

A fish screen measuring 7 ½ feet and
made up of 7/8 inch by 2 ½ inch oak slats, bolted together, was set
into a recess in front of the stop-logs. The two wings were connected
in front with concrete, starting at the bottom of the iron penstock
and running down to the same depth as the side walls of the dam.
The wings were also reinforced with iron.

The upper side of the dam was sack-filled
with clay and gravel making a sloping surface under water to resist
water pressure with the least impact.

The fish screen, consisting of three
sections and measuring 27 feet in width, was installed over the spillway.
Above it is the cement foot-bridge measuring 18 inches wide and in front
of it is a slanting cement slab. The rock walls constituting the
main part of the dam are connected by this foot bridge. The penstock
measures 3 ½ feet in diameter.

Throughout the entire undertaking, Frank.
E. Barrows was most helpful, with legal advice and with his generous
contributions. His sincere interest and genuine desire to help
in the improvement of the lake was both felt and appreciated by every
member of the association.

Try Stocking Lake

The second objective of the original
Fish and Game Association was to stock the lake with game fish every
year. A fish weir was built for $400 and the lake experimentally
stocked with about 7000 landlocked salmon on July 7, 1931. It
was found that the lake was not deep enough to give the salmon the cold
temperature which they needed so they next tried brook-trout, which
did not show good survival. By survey of the Maine Department
of Inland Fisheries and Game, it was found that brown trout were the
most successful in Togus Lake. Several times the state stocked
the lake with brown trout which proved successful. For instance,
in 1947, 10,000 six-inch brown trout were put into the lake.

Proof of their survival lies in the fact
that brown trout were caught weighing 3 ½ to 3 pounds 12 ounces.
Further proof that the last-mentioned catch is no fish story is the
fact that it may be seen, stuffed, in the home of George F. Giddings.

Excerpts from the minutes of the meetings
of the Association give an idea of its growth and activities:
“September 27, 1928 – About 25 men met in Augusta City Hall to organize
Worromontogus Fish and Game Association. George F. Giddings chosen
president. … June 20, 1929 – Investigation begun to
find out how many cottage owners would take electricity provided Central
Maine Power would transport the power. … August 22, 1929 – Voted
to make Frank E. Barrows honorary member on account of assistance given
in building of screen. … April 1, 1930 – Commissioner
George J. Stobie stated that pheasant eggs donated by the state would
be available soon to be bred, reared and liberated. …
June 18, 1930 – 80 pheasant eggs hatched under the good care of the
late Herbert Brown. … July 17, 1930 – A site of land
south of Spofford Giddings cottage with 80 feet waterfront accepted
as the location of a new clubhouse. … April 28, 1931 – Frank E.
Barrows bought the dams and surrounding property to hold for later purchase
by the Association. Subscriptions taken by members to pay Mr.
Barrows. …

June 24, 1931 – Land site for clubhouse
rejected for business reasons. … July 8, 1931 – 10 cans
of landlocked salmon received from United States Government and placed
in Worromontogus Lake. … New site for clubhouse accepted on
Robert Hayden’s property. … September 29, 1931 – Incorporation
of Worromontogus Fish and Game Association at 249 Water Street by Robert
L. Hayden and 11 other men. … August 23, 1931 – First annual
Field Day held. … August 3, 1932 – Nine acres of land surrounding
dams sold. … December 1, 1931 – Clubhouse floor laid and concrete
pillars constructed. … September 26, 1934 – Clubhouse voted
to be sold. … September 27, 1940 – Last meeting of the Association
until 1947. …

August 24, 1947 – Worromontogus Fish
and Game Association reorganized by Donald S. Savage. First meeting
since World War II. President chosen, Paul K. Radsky. …
September 26, 1947 - Baked bean supper, beanhole style, cooked by William
E. Bubar, held at his camp. About 200 attended. Beano party
afterward. Large iron kettles use. Deep holes dug in the
ground and stoned up. A fire made in this cavity and kept going
half a day until live coals were made. The kettles then sealed
and buried in the hot embers, after which the kettles were covered with
earth and allowed to bake this way for 24 hours. … April
7, 1948 – Johnson outboard motorboat bought by the Association for
contest to earn money for Blue Vitriol. … May 13, 1948 - $488.65
in treasury of the Association. … State Department of
Sanitation sampled water and prescribed four pounds of Blue Vitriol
to 1,000,000 gallons of water. Purpose, to destroy water algae
which form on odorous, unhealthful scum on surface of water in mid-summer.
… June 15, 1948 – Worromontogus Fish and Game Association
joined the State of Maine Fish and Game Association. …
July 1948 – Field Day planned for August 22 with Clifford W. Taber,
Chairman. … February, 1949 – Minstrel known as the “Downeasters”
planned for last of March to raise funds for general upkeep of lake
and dam repairs. Cast of 20 will perform in Bolton Hill Schoolhouse.
… March 31 and April 1, 1949 – Performance of “Downeasters:
given twice before enthusiastic audiences and full houses. …”

In 1939 the Veteran’s Administration
Center at Togus tried to obtain legislation enabling them to divert
the water from Togus Lake for drinking water. Through the letters
and personal appearance of Frank E. Barrows, Maine native and New York
City attorney, the proposition was defeated. Had the measure been
accepted, all cottage owners of the lake would have been unable to use
the water for recreational purposes because the water level would have
been lowered to such an extent as to depreciate the property values
and to make fishing, boating and swimming impossible. If the State
Legislature had consented to the Veteran’s Administration control.
Of these waters, then the Federal government would have had complete
and exclusive jurisdiction over the property acquired. The result
would have been to deprive all property owners affected by the legislation
from the protection of State laws and State courts, and subject them
to control by the Federal government, acting through administrators
of the Veterans “Administration, and with recourse only to the Federal
courts in case of disagreement.

40 Year-Round Families

Today, out of about two hundred privately
owned cottages on the lake, approximately forty families live there
the year around. Thirteen children from the north shore and seven
from the south shore commute on the school buses with their reliable
and popular drivers, John Chase and “Bill” Howard. Roads are
now city-owned and plowed all winter. Mail is delivered once a
day and the friendly postman, Roy Whitten, acts as local postmaster
as well, by taking back letters and packages to be mailed; selling stamps
and the like.

Telephones are found in the majority
of year-round houses and most of the families have cars which makes
it convenient for the men, most of whom work in Augusta.

Two grocery stores – Hayden’s and
Hisler’s – are on the lake shore but neighbors are thoughtful enough
to accommodate each other when shopping must be done in town.

As yet, there are no year-round resident
doctors, but in emergencies, the trip into the heart of Augusta may
be made in only 10 minutes.

The housing shortage may be the reason
why many people first moved out or winterized their summer cottages
into permanent lodgings, but from all the year-round residents who were
asked, the same loyal answer was given: “We live on Togus Pond all
year because we like it.” Some of the reasons for liking it
are that they are close to Nature; that it is a child’s play ground;
that the neighbors are sociable. Card parties, sociables and dances
held by the Fish and Game Association in the old Bolton Hill Schoolhouse,
which is their recreation hall; skating; ice-fishing, all combine to
make year-round living on Worromontogus Pond different, challenging,
serene, yet exciting.

(Grateful acknowledgment hereby extended
for the generous co-operation of cottage owners and relatives of past
owners, in giving information which could not have been otherwise obtained
for this article. Appreciation goes to the following: Frank.
S. Savage, Mrs. Clyde C. Reynolds, Frank J. Barrows, who deserves special
mention for the thorough attention given the history of the lake, Charles
W. Poor, William E. Bubar, Frank. E. Hewins, Jr., Herbert Gay, George
F. Giddings, Mrs. Raymond E. Cunningham, Clifford W. Taber, Daniel S.
Young, Sumner Glazier, A. Anita Smith.)