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Work and Play In The 19th Century




Hard At Work In Thomaston

Sail Making

Employees of Dunn & Elliot Sail Loft: left to right - Bill Hodgkins, Ralph Grafton, Orrin Perry, A. Morse, Levi Bucklin, Dick Robinson, Irving Harrington, George Hanley, Pat Sanfey, Weston Rines, George Elliot, Capt. Jesse Wilson. 1895

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Dunn & Elliot Sail Loft: Left to right - George Hanley, Orrin Perry, Henry Mathews, Arn Morse, Pat Sanfey, R. E. Dunn, Irving Harrington, William Hodgkins, Levi Bucklin, George Elliot and T. . Dunn. 1873

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Lime Burning

Rock team in quarry (c. 1870)

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Rock team near mill.

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Team and wood for the lime kilns (c. 1892)


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Kilns and sheds of J. A. Creighton & Co. (1900)
Note how small the full grown horse appears standing on top of the platform of the kiln. 


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Ship Building

Rib construction of the Schooner REPUBLIC. 801 tons, three masts, built by Dunn & Elliot, 1900. M. D. Saunders, Captain.

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Bark CAROLINE O. SMALL on the stocks. Built in 1870, 733 tons.

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Enjoying Leisure Time 

Yacht racing on the Georges River in 1897.

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Going for an enjoyable ride, perhaps on a Sunday afternoon. The surrey is passing in front of the A. P. Gould house. (c. 1870)


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Driving past the intersection of  Main Street and  Gilchrist Street, looking down Gilchrist, c. 1890.


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Flint & Starr's Thomaston Market at the corner of Knox and Main Streets in 1872.

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Smelting on the Oyster River in 1896.


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A decorated surrey on Muster Day in 1897.

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Sheep grazing on a hillside. Thomaston had several common grazing grounds where residents would take their animals each day and return them to the family barn at night. Because the grazing grounds had no fences, most houses had fences along the streets to keep the animals from getting into flower and vegetable gardens.

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Living Whist Group, August 13, 1892. The group gave benefit performances for the Ladies' Library, Thomaston,  and the Free Public Library, Rockland. The dances performed demonstrated the tricks that were played in the game of Whist. The dancers, left to right: Jack of Hearts, Mr. Weeks; Queen of Diamonds, Miss Bennett; Three of Diamonds, Mr. Paladino; Queen of Spades, Mrs. Curtis; Queen of Hearts, Mrs. Berry; King of Hearts, Mr. Copeland; King of Spades, Mr. JOnes; King of Diamonds, Mr. Miller; Queen of Clubs, Miss Rankin; King of Clubs, Mr. Simonton; Jack of Clubs, Mr. Graves; Jack of Spades, Mr. Crockett.

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Ice fishing was, and still is, a popular winder sport in this area. These boys are fishing on the Oyster River in Thomaston.

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Children at play in the yard of the Green Street Grammar School built in 1872.  The school stood at the southeast corner of Green and Hyler Streets.

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