Turning back and walking down Cony Street to the river, cross the Father Curran Bridge. From the corner of Bridge and Water streets to the south, about two-thirds of the length of Water Street is in view. This area figured prominently in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The first meeting house was on the west side, as was the first inn (Josiah French, at the corner of present-day Grove and Green streets). –Sides" of the river were important distinctions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, for there was no bridge until 1797 (it burned in 1827, then re-built) and the crossing was for a toll bridge until 1867. People crossed the river before the bridge was built (and even after) by canoe or boat (both private and for hire) and walked across on the ice in the winter.

 

The great fire of September 1865 destroyed nearly every building on both sides of Water Street from the bridge south, plus buildings on Winthrop, Bridge, Oak and Commercial streets, and Dickman Place. In total, one hundred buildings burned. The fire had a profound impact on Augusta women, for they either owned or had businesses in sixteen of the one hundred buildings destroyed. The following is a list of women whose property, shops, or offices were destroyed by the 1865 fire.

Reconstruction of the downtown began early in the spring of 1866 and some of the present-day buildings date from that period.

In 1889, Miss L. M. Jordan is listed in a publication of the leading –businessmen" in Augusta and vicinity. She ran a millinery and fancy goods store (established in 1878) at 154 Water Street (near the corner of Bridge and Water). Miss Jordan was an Augusta native and is said to have run a fine store. The publication recommended it as a place to shop.

Water Street:

Mrs. Wight, milliner and owner (multiple sites)

Miss Gale, dressmaker

Mrs. J. L. Child (and E. A. Nason), owner

Mrs. A. Wright - milliner

Mrs. D. C. Weston, owner

Mrs. Bradbury (and H.R. Smith), owner (multiple sites)

Mrs. Perley, milliner

Mrs. J. P. Dillingham, owner

Mrs. M. North, owner (multiple sites)

Mrs. M. B. Vose (her heirs), owner

Miss Clark, dressmaker

Miss S. S. Bennett, dressmaker

Mrs. D. Williams, owner

 Dickman Place:

Mrs. Kimball, owner

 Oak Street:

Mrs. G. S. Carpenter, owner

Site 10.1 Sources:

	Leading Businessmen of Lewiston, Augusta and Vicinity. Boston: Mercantile Publishing Co., 1889.
	North, James W. The History of Augusta Maine. Somesworth, NH: New England History Press, 1981. New forward by Edwin A. Churchill. Originally published in 1870 by Clapp and North of Augusta, ME.
	Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785 - 1812. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1990; Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, 1991 (paperback).