Editing Avon, Maine (section)

==History==
First known as Township 2 Abbott's Purchase, or Upper Town, it was settled in 1781 by a pair of [[sea captain]]s—Joshua Soule, originally from [[Duxbury, Massachusetts]] and later [[Bremen, Maine]], with Perkins Allen from [[Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts|Martha's Vineyard]]. The town was incorporated on February 22, 1802, named for the [[River Avon (Warwickshire)|River Avon]] in England. One of the [[Worcestershire]] villages through which River Avon flows is [[Eckington, Worcestershire|Eckington]], birthplace of Capt. Soule's ancestor, [[George Soule (Mayflower passenger)|George Soule]], a ''[[Mayflower]]'' [[Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony)|Pilgrim]]. Capt. Soule's son, [[Joshua Soule|Bishop Joshua Soule]], was raised in Avon.<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book | last = Coolidge | first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield | title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge | year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n71 42]–43| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>
 
Fertile soil on either side of the Sandy River yielded [[grain]], [[fruit]] and [[vegetable]]s. When the population was 767 in 1837, the town produced 3,220 [[bushel]]s of [[wheat]]. By 1875, two [[sawmill]]s operated on a small stream. In the easterly part of town developed the only village, where some [[trade]] was conducted. The [[Sandy River Railroad]] opened in 1879, transporting [[freight]] and tourists between [[Farmington, Maine|Farmington]], Avon, [[Strong, Maine|Strong]] and [[Phillips, Maine|Phillips]]. The [[narrow gauge]] line became part of the [[Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad]] in 1908, but was discontinued in 1935 during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/historyfarmingt00parkgoog/page/n117 <!-- pg=111 quote=Perkins Allen settled Avon Maine. --> Thomas Parker, ''History of Farmington'', Farmington, Maine 1875]</ref>