This installment shares two short articles and an advertisement that appeared in the August 28, 1903, edition of the MAINE WOODS newspaper. We hope you are having a fabulous summer and that you enjoy these excerpts from Rangeley just 121 short years ago. (Contemporary commentary found in italics) GO FISHING BY ELECTRICS Talk has been revived in regard to an electric railroad over the road between Rangeley and Mooselookmeguntic lake.
It is understood that the Union Water Power company have a plan to build an electric light plant at Oquossoc and that an electric railroad may come later. How interesting that there was talk of creating a trolley service between the villages. A new dam and power station were built at the outlet of the lake and the structures remain to this day.
A dam and power station were also constructed at the site of Kennebago Falls and it is still operating. The trolley idea sounds cool and what an attraction it would be. These days, it would be no small task to get even a bike path built along Route 4 between the villages, let alone to build a hydro station.
..anywhere in fact.
Below you’ll find an early mention of the practice of catch and release. Rangeley Lake House from village steeple Circa 1903 Courtesy the late Arthur Guerin RANGELEY LAKE HOUSE One of the patrons of the Rangeley Lake House who has been a visitor to the Rangeleys for the past 20 or 30 years spoke the other day of the marked changes that have come about in the way the anglers here handle the fish that they catch. “Years”, said the veteran angler, “I have known men to catch trout and leave them on the shore of Rangeley Lake to rot.
Nowadays, if a man gets a small fish, he invariably returns him to the water unless he is hurt too badly to revive. I have seen men this season catch a good lot of fish, large and small, and return all to the water excepting those that were so badly hurt that they couldn’t live. The sentiment is now so strong in favor of saving all that it is not necessary to kill, that a reputable guide would not work for a man that didn’t use a reasonable amount of discretion in regard to killing”.
(For many years, some camps and lodges had open pits where unwanted fish were, sadly, discarded by the hundreds). Late 19th century carpenter Courtesy Historic Images Camp Lots for Sale On the westerly shore of Rangeley Lake from Oquossoc down to South Rangeley. Mr.
John A. Decker has had over one hundred lots surveyed out along the beautiful west shore of Rangeley Lake and now offers them at prices which should dispose of them quickly. One half of them will be sold at $50 per lot (approximately $1,870 in today’s dollars) —good generous lots 100 feet on the shore by nearly thirty rods back (One “rod” is the equivalent of 16.
5 feet, so these Rangeley shorefront lots were about 1.2 acres) . The lots are all plainly marked.
Look them over or write to J. E. STEPHENS, Agent, Rumford Falls, Me.
(A heck of a deal, right? Please also consider these facts compiled by historical author Robert Bruce Stewart: “In 1900, a policeman in a medium to large city might make $800-$1,000/year. The salaries of government employees can often be found in city directories and almanacs..
.A skilled worker, like a mason, might make something similar. Factory workers would generally make half that ($500 per YEAR).
But people forced to do piece work, like many garment workers, might only make half of that ($250 per year ). There are ads for domestics I’ve seen paying as little as $12 a month ”. (This puts things in perspective as to who could actually afford these lots.
If you could afford one of these awesome waterfront lots in 1903, your average building costs without site preparation would run you $300 for a 2-room camp and up to $4,200 for well-built 10-room Greek Revival home. This is according to the Missouri Library website. Keep in mind Rangeley had several competing sawmills at the time and lumber costs would have been FAR cheaper.
..as if anything in Rangeley has remained as such.
..tee hee.
When one takes all of this into account, in today’s dollars and adjusted for inflation, the price of 1.2 acres on the west shore of Rangeley with a NEW 10-room house was roughly $227,000 in today’s money! My Oh My..
. how things have changed! Have a great week everyone and be sure to get out and make some inexpensive Rangeley history of your own!) Comments are not available on this story. Send questions/comments to the editors.
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