By law, Judge North (1739-1825) owned the property, but it was through his wife, Hannah Flagg North, that he acquired it. Hannah was the daughter of Greshom Flagg, a Kennebec Proprietor who held a lucrative share of the Kennebec Purchase. The property was small compared to others, but of great value because of its location – it became a major portion of downtown Augusta. The Norths’ house was on the west side of the street, at the intersection of Oak and Water streets. Today you find the large Key Bank building on one side of Oak and the former Fleet Bank building on the other. Of Hannah (1741-1819), it is known that she was from an upper-class Boston family and a woman of genteel taste who was admired for her kindness and generosity. Hannah and Joseph had five children; their one daughter was also named Hannah. Hannah Flagg North is credited with beginning the tradition of taking a Thanksgiving feast to the Kennebec county jail inmates, a ritual that came to be called “pies for the jail.” The event survives in the lore of Augusta history, but no one has actually taken pies to the jail since the early twentieth century.

Hannah and the Judge were considered well-to-do and certainly wealthy enough to have servants and take on indentured help, as they did with Mary Kelly, an orphan. Mary, indentured to the North family in 1790 at the age of seven, was to stay with them until age 18. Indenturing was a common method of providing for the poor in the eighteenth century, particularly when there were no relatives able or willing to help. Young and old alike were auctioned off to taxpayers – with the lowest bidder getting “custody,” as it were, of the individual. The indentured person provided services to the family that would make it worthwhile for the family to have them. If the fee the town paid to the bidder did not cover the person’s keep, the bidder was still responsible for the care of the individual, and laws stipulated some of the terms of their treatment: indentured persons were not be mistreated, they were to be provided with clothing of a certain quality, and by the mid-nineteenth century (if not earlier), children were to have the benefit of schooling in order to learn to read and write. Indenturing was common in the eighteenth century, but it was not the only method for caring for the needy. The town paid rent and provided supplies to widow Jane Welch in 1792, and an almshouse for the poor was built at the edge of the village in 1834. What became of Mary Kelly is not known.

This early image of Water Street, looking north from Rines Hill, captures the tranquility of the day. The banner across the street cautions people about the train crossing: “Look out for the engine while the bell rings!” The street is unpaved and a solitary carriage makes it way along the road.

In this very early 20th century postcard you see a busy commercial section of Water Street. Note the trolley tracks in the street, and the horse-drawn buggies on both sides of the street. The postcard was sent from a gentleman named Ralph to a Miss Ada Weston, who lived in Carmel.










This postcard of the North Hotel on Water Street was sent to a Miss Iva Ocier [?] in 1909. There is no message on the card, just her name and address, and that of the gentleman sending it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This turn of the century photograph shows people lining both sides of Water Street, focused on what appears to be the beginnings of a parade. Note the ladies on the left in the long mutton-sleeved dresses and hats. The large Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus was a regular visitor to Augusta in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The tradition of the circus continues today with smaller circus events appearing at the Augusta Civic Center.

 

Site 11.1 Sources:

	Augusta, Maine Sesquicentennial. Special reprint of Daily Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine, Sesquicentennial Edition, Wednesday, July 30, 1947.
	Hankins, Jean F. –A Cage For John Sawyer: The Poor Of Otisfield, Maine." From Maine History, Fall 1994, Volume 34, Number 2. (Orono: University of Maine, 1994), 96-115.
	Hodgkin, Douglass I. –Managing the Poor in the Town of Lewiston, ME, 1775 - 1863." Paper delivered at the Washburn Humanities Seminar, June 7 - 9, 2001, Norlands Living History Center, Livermore, Maine.
	Douin, Anthony. Interviews by and conversations with Phyllis vonHerrlich, 17 March 2001, 31 August 2001, 18 September 2001, 28 September 2001, Augusta, Maine.
	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).