Wheeler and Crosby
Text by Karyn Field
Crosby's Grist Mill Store, called Old Brick Store, Hampden, built in 1807
Hampden Historical Society
While Hampden was not the first town incorporated in the Penobscot County area it was the first to be inhabited by white settlers migrating primarily from southern New England and Nova Scotia. The area became favorable to southern New Englanders because there was plenty of land for younger sons to inherit. In 1763 the French and Indian Wars ended with the Paris Peace Treaty which ensured the safety of settlers from attack. Those settlers quickly discovered the ease of providing food, shelter, and clothing for their families. The surrounding forests provided wood for building and fuel, berries, and nuts for food, and animals for fur and meat. Fields allowed for hunting, raising cattle, and growing fruits and vegetables. The close proximity to rivers and streams gave early settlers drinking water, a good source of food, power for mills, and ease of transportation and shipping.
An accomplished builder, Benjamin Wheeler is known to be the first white settler. He arrived during 1768 with his wife, Elizabeth, and their first two children, Ben and Sarah. Wheeler was so impressed with the area during his exploration the year before that he collected his family from Durham, New Hampshire, and settled near the mouth of the Souadabscook Stream. Using a broad axe and crude tools, Wheeler soon built a cabin for his family on a knoll which is now known as Dudley Street. He then took advantage of power created by the rushing waters of the Souadabscook and built both a saw mill and a grist mill. The grist mill proved a great convenience for nearby settlers, who otherwise had to carry their grain several miles down-river to Fort Pownal to have it ground.
Although it took several years for the settlement to be established, several families came to the area shortly after Wheeler’s arrival. Captain John Crosby (later a general) came to the area in 1775 from Woolwich. Captain Crosby is known to have participated in the Revolutionary War. After marrying Benjamin Wheeler’s daughter Sarah he enlarged the mills. Crosby and his son, John, traded in sugar, molasses, and lumber with the West Indies. In 1806 he became the first president of the Penobscot Bank in Bucksport.
