Editing Dayton, Maine (section)

==History==

The area was once inhabited by the Sokokis (or Saco) [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]], who hunted and fished along the [[Saco River]]. The old Sokokis Trail is now [[Maine State Route 5|Route 5]], which passes through Dayton. In 1664, Major William Phillips purchased from the [[Sagamore (title)|sagamore]] the land which would become Little Falls Plantation—today the towns of [[Hollis, Maine|Hollis]], Dayton and part of [[Limington, Maine|Limington]]. In 1728, a [[stockade]]d [[fort]] which contained a [[trading post]] was built a half mile below Union Falls. Called the Saco Truck House or Saco Block House, the [[garrison]] was maintained throughout the [[French and Indian War]] until the fall of [[Quebec, Canada|Quebec]] in 1759.<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/n135 101]–102| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Settlers arrived in 1753, and [[lumber]]ing became a principal industry. Logs were rolled down the banks of the Saco River and floated to [[sawmill]]s at [[Saco, Maine|Saco]]. Nathaniel Goodwin established the first local mill in 1782 at [[Goodwins Mills, Maine|Goodwins Mills]], where [[Waterfall|falls]] in Swan Brook drop {{convert|33|ft|m}}. A sawmill and [[gristmill]] were erected at Union Falls (then called Hopkinson's Mill) in 1806. [[Tanning (leather)|Tanneries]] were built, and land was cleared for farms. In 1798, Little Falls Plantation was incorporated as Phillipsburg, in honor of Major William Phillips—but only until 1810. Considered difficult to pronounce and write, the Phillipsburg was changed to Hollis. Then, in 1854, the southern part of Hollis petitioned the state legislature to become a separate town. Permission was granted, and the community was named Dayton after Thomas Day, who submitted the petition.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120729124345/http://history.rays-place.com/me/dayton-me.htm George J. Varney "History of Dayton, Maine" (1886)]</ref>

In 1860, Dayton voted to build at Union Falls a [[covered bridge]], {{convert|112|ft|m}} long and {{convert|18|ft|m}} wide, connecting to [[Buxton, Maine|Buxton]]. The span was blown up in 1921 by the Clark Power Company, an event filmed as part of a [[melodrama]] by the Pine Tree Moving Picture Corporation of [[Portland, Maine|Portland]]. The [[Great Fires of 1947]] destroyed two-thirds of Dayton, including 27 homes, four barns and the town hall. In 1951, the [[Central Maine Power|Central Maine Power Company]] built a [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] [[dam]], [[Skelton Dam]], between Salmon Falls and Union Falls, submerging the scenic [[Canyon|gorge]]. With the submergence of the gorge, the road that ran perpendicular to the covered bridge was cut off. A new road called Company Road was built to replace it. Once a community of [[dairy]] farms, Dayton is now primarily residential.