The area known as Freedom, Maine, was first settled in the latter part of 1794 by Stephen Smith. He was a great grandson of James Smith of Bristol, England, and Martha Wells of Exeter, England, who came to America in 1668 to settle in Berwick, Maine. They were some of the first settlers of this area.
Born in Berwick in 1751, Stephen Smith was the son of Elizabeth and Joshua Smith. As a young man he served under George Washington on the Hudson River during the Revolutionary War. After leaving the war, he and his wife lived with his father for a few years and worked in his father's mill. In the year of 1794, needing a home of his own, Stephen Smith followed the Sheepscot River up towards its headwaters on a fishing trip in search of a mill location, bringing him up into what is now the town of Montville. The Smith family records describe the location of the log cabin he built in the fall of 1794 located in Freedom on the west side of Sheepscot River.
This settlement was called Smithton Plantation, and it retained this name until October 31, 1812. At this time it was changed to Beaverhill Plantation.
Around the early 1800's, Stephen Smith built a sawmill and the first frame house in the Town of Freedom. This house property, located south of the Smithton Burying Grounds where the Thurston farmhouse is located, is now owned by Russell Mead.
The area known as Freedom, Maine, was first settled in the latter part of 1794 by Stephen Smith. He was a great grandson of James Smith of Bristol, England, and Martha Wells of Exeter, England, who came to America in 1668 to settle in Berwick, Maine. They were some of the first settlers of this area.
Born in Berwick in 1751, Stephen Smith was the son of Elizabeth and Joshua Smith. As a young man he served under George Washington on the Hudson River during the Revolutionary War. After leaving the war, he and his wife lived with his father for a few years and worked in his father's mill. In the year of 1794, needing a home of his own, Stephen Smith followed the Sheepscot River up towards its headwaters on a fishing trip in search of a mill location, bringing him up into what is now the town of Montville. The Smith family records describe the location of the log cabin he built in the fall of 1794 located in Freedom on the west side of Sheepscot River.
This settlement was called Smithton Plantation, and it retained this name until October 31, 1812. At this time it was changed to Beaverhill Plantation.
Around the early 1800's, Stephen Smith built a sawmill and the first frame house in the Town of Freedom. This house property, located south of the Smithton Burying Grounds where the Thurston farmhouse is located, is now owned by Russell Mead.
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