History of Parsonsfield, Maine, USA

Parsonsfield, Maine
York county. This town lies at the N.W. corner of the county, and is bounded W. by the state of New Hampshire, and N. by Ossipee river. It is 36 miles W. by N. from Portland, 21 N. by W. from Alfred, and 93 W.S.W. from Augusta.—First settled, 1774. Incorporated, 1785. Population, 1837, 2,510.—The surface of the town is rough and hilly, but the soil, though hard, is productive of good crops of grain and hay. Wheat crop, 1837, 3,929 bushels.

There are many good farmers in this town, and good specimens of iron ore, zinc, and crystalized quartz are found here. In this place is an incorporated seminary, for the education of males and females. The institution is under the direction of the Free Will Baptists, and is in a flourishing condition.

Parsonfield, a post-township in York co., Maine, intersected by the Ossipee river, 80 miles W. S. W. from Augusta. Pop., 2322.

The town of Parsonsfield is in the extreme northwest corner of York County, Maine. Center Square, on the northern slope of Cedar Mountain, is about 30 miles from the ocean, at Old Orchard and thirty-two from Wells Beach on an air line, and 33 miles west-north-west from Portland.

Its northern boundary is the Great Ossipee River (Ossipee signifies "River of Pines" in the Indian dialect.) The towns of Porter and Hiram are north of the river. Effingham and Wakefield, NH, are on the western border, Newfield is on the south, Limerick and Cornish on the east. The outer lines of the town have been measured several times, giving an area from 62.23 to 64 square miles. The length of the western line is nearly 8.5 miles, the eastern something over 9 miles, the northern and southern about 7.3 miles.

The surface of Parsonsfield is quite broken, or more properly, rises into high swells. Ricker's Mountain, in the southwest, is the highest, it being not far from 1,600 feet above the level of the ...