The land on which China Village now stands was, in the 18th century, part of Albion in 1816 the northern boundary of Harlem was moved to about the middle of the present village, and after 1818 the whole village was within China. National Register of Historic Places – Listings China Village Historic District Friend For Life: The Biography of Rufus M. **”South China Public Library.” (accessed March 15, 2015) Text and photos from: text/xxxxxxxx.PDF and photos/xxxxxxxx.PDFĪbel and Rufus Rufus Jones House: 64000316.PDFĬhina Village Historic District: 77000069.PDF Published by the Palermo Historical Society. Palermo, Maine: Things That I Remember in 1996. (Thesis (M.S.)–University of Maine, Farmington, 1973) Town meeting twice a year was a great event, and the issues were thrashed out for months before and after by the cracker-barrel philosophers in the grocery store.įorm of Government: Town Meeting- Select Board -Manager.Įbert, Fred R. The village was self-contained it made its own shoes there was a carriage shop as well as a smithy before the fire there was a bank. But the highways of those days were narrow, hilly, and rough, and even the twelve miles to Augusta were formidable. The new houses belonged to a less happy period of architecture than those they replaced maples grew where the elms had been.įour roads met in the center of South China: the roads to Augusta, to Belfast, to Bangor, and to Damariscotta. Though rebuilt after the fire, it was never again so prosperous or so comely.

The view above left is of the Baptist Church at the east end of the lake.Įlizabeth Vining captured a verbal portrait of the village of South China in the late 19th century:īefore the fire of 1872, which destroyed some twenty-two buildings as well as the avenue of glorious elms, it had been a beautiful village. in the town other than those already mentioned, are China Village, at the north, the seat of China Academy, and South China, beautifully situated at the south end of a lake.Ĭhina Lake, around which Quakers and Baptists settled in the early 19th century, dominates the community and its history as a recreational center. The town has a cheese-factors, tannery, several small boot and shoe factories, etc. At Palermo post-office, or Branch Mills, are a lumber and grist mill. George Varney commented on the villages of China in 1886:Īt Weeks Mills on the stream are a grist mill, lumber, and two shingle mills. In 1829 China ceded some land to Vassalboro. The area that became the town of China was first surveyed in 1773-1774 the first settlers arrived in the summer of 1774.Ī portion, first known as Jones Plantation, was incorporated in 1796 as Harlem. a town in Kennebec County, incorporated on Februfrom parts of the towns of Harlem, Fairfax (now Albion), and Winslow.Ĭhina was originally part of the Plymouth Patent.

Articles about Maine history, government, ecology, economy, recreation, towns, natural features, famous people, sports, with maps, photos, and videos.Ĭounty: KennebecTotal=land+water Land=land only

Factory town rufus