To the editor:
The Unitarian Universalist Church in Caribou will be the site of Proclamation Day April 5th, and I thought someone out there might appreciate a tidbit of information. This was the first church in Caribou and was built by my great-great-grandfather George F. Ellingwood, and another gentleman Sylvester Washburn. It was dedicated the winter of 1867-68, and a glowing account of this dedication was printed in the Presque Isle Sunrise. This is a partial description of the building “…interior of the house is one of the most finely planned, tastefully furnished and pleasant places of worship ever seen. The exterior of the building is a beautiful piece of architecture. The site is one of the most beautiful imaginable.”
My great-great-grandfather was a carpenter, an expert millwright and dam builder by trade. He built the first mill dam on the Little Madawaska Stream in 1871, and had a hand in constructing the Vaughn House. George Ellingwood died at the age of 71, and an excerpt from his obituary published in the Aroostook Republican Dec. 18, 1902, states, “took prominent part in the early history of the town being one of the most prominent builders and millwrights at that time. He built starch factories and many other buildings, and to his enterprise and push, a large portion of the credit for the rapid advancement of Caribou in its early days.”
I understand the Caribou Historical Society has the full history on this wonderful church and the builders thereof in case anyone is interested.
Several other bits:
• Do you remember when Fort Hill was the Washburn Hill?
• And the hill on Washburn St. was known as Baker Hill?
• The first Bible used in the Universalist Church cost a whopping $16 in 1867.
Caribou
