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The First Pioneer Settlers of Crouseville
The
first permanent pioneer settlers of Crouseville was the family of
Joshua and Dorothy (Estey) Christie, who lived on the south bank of
the Aroostook River. They first settled their property in February
1827.[5],[6]
As the story of Crouseville develops, the Christie family will play a
key role in the establishment of Crouseville. Another
important key to the future of Crouseville were the two families of
Nathaniel Churchill. Nathaniel’s first set of children were with his
first wife, Jerusha Freeman,[7]
whom he married July 30, 1822, but who died in 1833. His second set of
children were with his second wife, Malinda Hoyt,[8]
whom Nathaniel married about 1836. Nathaniel and Malinda brought their
family to Crouseville as permanent settlers in 1839,[9]
where they lived in a frame house. They lived next to the hill that
would soon become known as Churchill Hill, and which later would
become the site of the Crouseville Cemetery.
1842
Map of the Crouseville area. For
orientation, the Crouseville Advent Christian Church would later be
located approximately where the “D” in “Dunn” is printed near
the center of the map in Section 4. The little squiggly marks under
the name “Dunn”, on the north bank of Aroostook River, are the
Crouseville Flats (low-lying land) which stretch from the village
center to the river. The town of Washburn is off the map to the left
(west) and the town of Presque Isle is off the map to the right
(east). The Aroostook River flows easterly (left to right). |
The Early History of Crouseville, 1800-1875, is reprinted with permission, from the book Crouse Family History, 2nd Edition, copyright (c) 1995-2000, Rogue Publishing, Seattle, Washington.