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The town of Bethel had a tumultuous birth, caught in a land battle between France and Britain in the late seventeenth century. This hardy Maine town was originally called Sudbury Canada, and its rugged settlers weathered the hardships of nature and devastating Indian raids. With the growth of agriculture, more and more families began settling the rich intervales along the Androscoggin River until, in 1796, they were incorporated as the town of Bethel, Maine. In this detailed and comprehensive history, Stanley Russell Howe outlines the importance of the railroad to the town's growth, its post-Civil War industrialization, the birth of Gould Academy and the rise of modern tourism spawned by Sunday River Ski Resort. From the famous Indian healer Molly Ockett to Dr. True, first historian of Bethel, the characters from Bethel's past are sure to inspire the residents of today.
About the author
Stanley Howe has served as the executive director of the Bethel Historical Society since 1974. He is a book review editor for the Maine Historical Society's journal, Maine History, and a member of the publication's editorial board. He attended high school in Bethel at Gould Academy and later received an MA in American History at the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. in Canadian History from the University of Maine. He is a member of the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, the Maine Historical Society, the Canadian Historical Association, and the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States. Since 1976, he has edited the Bethel Historical Society's quarterly publication, The Courier, and authored numerous reviews in scholarly journals and New England newspapers. Publications include "A Fair Field and No Favor" A Concise History of the Maine State Grange (Maine State Grange, 1994) and Two chapters in Maine: The Pine Tree State from Prehistory to the Present (University of Maine Press, 1995).
