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==History== [[Image:MonsonQuarry.jpg|thumb|right|Flooded slate quarry at Monson]] Monson was founded on February 8, 1822, by an act of the state legislature. It was named after [[Monson, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=2239|title=Profile for Monson, Maine|publisher=[[ePodunk]]|access-date=May 7, 2010}}</ref> Previously the town was part of a piece of land granted to both [[Hebron Academy]] and Monson Academy by the state of Massachusetts in 1811. On April 22, 1822, the town had its first [[town meeting]] to form a government. However, the first settler came here in 1816 after being here the previous fall to clear trees out for a settlement. Monson is also referenced in the book ''The Maine Woods'' by [[Henry David Thoreau]], wherein a drawing of moose [[antlers]] depicting the direction and names of both [[Blanchard, Maine|Blanchard]] and Monson, and the town is mentioned in other sections of the book. The antlers have been stolen and replaced several times, but currently they exist in the approximate location on a pole after leaving the town of [[Abbot, Maine|Abbot]]. In 1870, [[slate]] was discovered by a resident who had immigrated from Wales, while driving his horse in the countryside of the town. Over the next few decades, many slate quarries were created, increasing the population of the town, as well as generating a source of income for residents. Large-scale slate operations required construction of the [[Monson Railroad]] in 1883; and {{TrackGauge|2ft}} gauge locomotives transported slate and passengers to the larger [[Bangor and Aroostook Railroad]] in Abbot until 1943.<ref>{{cite book| author=Jones, Robert C.|title=Two Feet to the Quarries: The Monson Railroad| publisher=Evergreen Press| year=1998 |isbn=0-9667264-0-5}}</ref> The slate industry began to decline after [[World War I]] and most of the operations effectively ended. The '''Sheldon Slate Product Company''' was operating in Monson in the 1990s,<ref>{{cite book| title=Down East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CjQhAQAAMAAJ |date=January 1996 |publisher=Down East Enterprise}}</ref> while the Monson Maine Slate Co. and Kennedy Slate Co. continued in the 2000s <ref>{{cite news |url=https://bangordailynews.com/2011/05/10/business/abbot-slate-dealer-to-move-into-former-moosehead-plant/ |work=Bangor Daily News |title=Abbot slate dealer to move into former Moosehead plant |first=Diana |last=Bowley |date=May 10, 2011}}</ref> The headstone of [[John F. Kennedy]]'s grave in [[Arlington National Cemetery]] is made from Monson slate.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://bangordailynews.com/2017/05/25/business/a-wealthy-group-bought-the-heart-of-a-poor-maine-town-to-build-an-artist-colony/ |work=Bangor Daily News |title=A wealthy group bought the heart of a poor Maine town to build an artist colony |first=Nick |last=Sambides Jr. |date=May 25, 2017}}</ref> In 1945, after a fire at [[Greenville, Maine|Greenville]]'s Moosehead Woodcrafters resulted in the company buying a former slate company's buildings that created Moosehead Manufacturing, which produced furniture products for over 60 years until its closure in 2007. The company had a sister plant located in Dover-Foxcroft, and a store in [[North Carolina]], and shipped its products all over the state, country, and even as far away as Japan and other countries. The operation created many jobs for several generations, and it was not uncommon that fathers and sons, as well as mothers and daughters, would work together. The town was greatly impacted by the revenue and income generated by the company, and had as many as 250 workers who lived either in town or in several communities around the town. Throughout its history, Monson has been greatly surpassed by its neighbors to the north by means of tourism. The town had a hotel, and even a steamboat that took people on trips on Lake Hebron in the late 19th century and early 20th century, but due to several causes, the hotel and many of the local businesses dealing with tourism in the early 20th century went into decline. Since the 1990s, Monson has increased again in tourism and, with the closure of Moosehead Manufacturing, many consider Monson (as well as much of [[Piscataquis County, Maine|Piscataquis County]]), to cater towards tourism. This is evidenced in the rise of antique shops, a new pub and lodging, and several similar businesses increasing on Main Street.
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