c. 1940. Herbert Hamilton poses on Walnut Hill Road in the dooryard of his neighbors Meda and William Hamilton. Notice the pole holding up the clothesline—a typical sight at the time.
c. 1911. When Maine Central Railroad constructed a new rail line through town, replacing the existing tracks, workers were needed. Elsie Bohannon and her husband, of Richmond, Virginia, moved to this home near the tracks on Memorial Highway for the duration of the project.
c. 1965. Ditching on The Lane, in a photo taken roughly near where Ames Farm Center now stands at left. Skyline Farm is in the distance. Road Commissioner Herman Smith is at right, Frank Parker is operating the tractor, and Albert L. Barbour is on the left, with the shovel. The Lane was paved in 2019!
North Yarmouth Historical Society founding mothers Rosalyn Isabel Baston, 1931-2009; Nellie Winifred Smith Leighton,1913-1999; and Ursula Millicent Baier, 1929-2020. These active community members were all instrumental in the creation of NYHS and had the foresight to identify, collect, and preserve the town’s valuable historical assets.
c. 1948. Gerald L. Smith observes with a new batch of chicks keeping warm under a hover. Gerry’s father Donald W. Smith and family’s poultry business was located in Walnut Hill. The poultry industry was a healthy part of North Yarmouth’s economy until the early 1980s, with several farming families raising and selling laying hens, eggs, and broilers. The industry thrived for many years until the 1960s.
1956. A group of East North Yarmouth students of different classes who attended North Yarmouth Academy, in the days when students chose where they would attend high school. Left to right: Barbara Hilton, Beverly Atkins, Elsie Atkins, Donna Doyle, Rodney Bowie, Claudia Atkins (Quattici), Sandra North.
c. 1930. An impressive hayrack at the Ammi Loring farm at the corner of Mill and New Gloucester Roads. The farmhouse burned a few years later when the Hicks School teacher, who was boarding there, was alleged to have fallen asleep while smoking. Across the street from the Loring farm was a gambrel house owned by Alfred N. Titcomb, called Pleasant Hill Farm. It still stands.
c. 1954. North Yarmouth Memorial School opened in 1950 and educated children from subprimary through grade eight. Children were then “tuitioned out” to attend high schools of their choice. North Yarmouth joined with Cumberland in creating MSAD#51 in 1967. This first school burned in 1975 and was rebuilt in 1977. Today only the 1977 gym remains and is now part of the North Yarmouth Community Center and Wescustogo Hall.
c. 1925. A view of the intersection of Route 115 and Route 9 in Walnut Hill Village. The monuments were placed there in 1922, designating Route 9 as the North Yarmouth Memorial Highway to honor military veterans from North Yarmouth. The building behind the monument is Jordan’s Store, where ice cream was a favorite purchase. The c. 1815 Nathaniel Lufkin, Jr. home, behind the store, housed a carpentry business.
c. 1945. Lester Smith’s IGA Grocery Store in Walnut Hill Village was a typical general store, selling groceries, meat, electrical appliances, gasoline, and clothing. The building is now home to Stones Café.
c. 1960. Frank Knight, right, and Al Whitney weighing blueberries. Frank ran a blueberry growing business and North Yarmouth had a number of acres in production.
c. 1935. End-of-the-year school picnic at Hayes Grove! North Yarmouth teachers Amy Tripp, Florence Richards, Lydia Kimball, Cora Fox, and Charlotte Lawrence.
c. 1950. The North Yarmouth Congregational Church Vestry sat on the corner of Routes 115 and 231, across the street from the church. Over the years town organizations met there, including the Grange, which stayed for over 75 years until it moved into its own building in 1952. For almost twenty years North Yarmouth’s subprimary children were taught here, due to overcrowding in the schools. The Vestry burned in 1976.
c. 1918. Charles L. Dunn, Jr. and Elwood Haskell standing at the barn door at the Charles Dunn, Sr. farm, corner of North Road and Memorial Highway. The boys were probably celebrating Memorial Day or Independence Day. The handwritten caption on the back of the photo reads, “Some soldier?”