Editing Paris, Maine (section)

==History==

[[File:View of Paris Hill, Oxford County, Maine, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg|thumb|left|''View of Paris Hill,'' a [[Victorian era]] [[stereoscopy|stereographic card]]]]
It was granted by [[Massachusetts General Court|Massachusetts]] on June 11, 1771, to Captain Joshua Fuller of [[Watertown, Massachusetts]] and 59 others (or their heirs) for service during the [[French and Indian Wars]]. It was the second attempt to repay the soldiers, because their first grant in [[New Hampshire]], made on November 24, 1736, and called Township Number Four, was deemed invalid because of a prior claim by the heirs of [[John Mason (governor)|John Mason]]. The land in Maine would retain the name Township Number Four.<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/n281 246]–247| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

On November 4, 1773, when the Proprietors were lotting out the township, they held a meeting at Coolidge Tavern in Watertown Massachusetts and they voted that there be reserved for the use of the proprietors their heirs and assigns forever two rods in width on the eastward side of every range line through the length of the township for the conveniency of ways if it shall be needed, establishing rangeways to prevent landlocking and segregation in the township of Paris and West Paris.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NB9D QRZ Page|url=https://www.qrz.com/db/NB9D}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Paris, Maine, from its settlement to 1880: with a history of the grants of 1736 & 1771 : together with personal sketches, a copious genealogical register and an appendix|year=1884 |url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofparisma00laphrich/historyofparisma00laphrich_djvu.txt|page=35}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://1drv.ms/b/s!AipyfggbEGRUggxLiqA-5fJo_XtM?e=shyIeK | title=November 4, 1773 Proprietors Meeting.PDF }}</ref>

It was first settled near the center of the town in 1779 by Lemuel Jackson, John Willis and their families. Organized as Number Four Plantation, it was incorporated as Paris on June 20, 1793. At the establishment of Oxford County in 1805, Paris was designated its county seat and developed into a thriving community. It was noted for scenic beauty and excellent [[pasturage]], including some of the state's best [[livestock]] and [[dairy]] farms. It also had many large [[apple]] [[orchard]]s. The village of Paris Hill was established at an elevation of {{convert|820|ft}} above sea level, with views of [[Mount Chocorua]] and [[Mount Washington (New Hampshire)|Mount Washington]] in the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]]. The Paris Hill Historic District, added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1973, has fine examples of [[Federal style architecture|Federal]] and [[Greek Revival]] architecture. The old Oxford County Jail, built of [[granite]] in 1822, was given in 1902 to the Paris Hill Library Association, and is now the Hamlin Memorial Library and Museum.<ref>[http://www.oxfordcounty.org/history.htm History of Paris Hill as Oxford County Seat] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016120326/http://oxfordcounty.org/history.htm |date=October 16, 2007 }}</ref>

The [[Little Androscoggin River]] provided [[water power]] for mills at [[South Paris, Maine|South Paris]], to which the town center shifted after the arrival of the [[Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad]] on June 8, 1850. Industries included a [[gristmill]], [[sawmill]], [[roof shingle|shingle]] mill, [[planing mill]], [[iron]] [[foundry]] and [[machine shop]].<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Varney
  | first = George J.
  | title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Paris
  | place = Boston
  | publisher = Russell
  | year = 1886
  | url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/paris-me.htm
  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130104223247/http://history.rays-place.com/me/paris-me.htm
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = January 4, 2013
| access-date = October 23, 2007
  }}</ref>
In the 1890s, the county seat moved here from Paris Hill to be near the train station. Manufacturing would fade with the [[Great Depression]], but South Paris remains the commercial part of the town. [[West Paris, Maine|West Paris]], which includes North Paris, was set off and incorporated in 1957.<ref>[http://www.maine.gov/local/oxford/paris/ Maine.gov -- Paris, Maine]</ref>

The town's name is believed to be borrowed from [[Paris|the city in France]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lapham|first1=William Berry|last2=Maxim|first2=Silas P.|year=1884|title=History of Paris, Maine: From Its Settlement to 1880, with a History of the Grants of 1736 & 1771, Together with Personal Sketches, a Copious Genealogical Register and an Appendix|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofparisma00laphuoft|location=Paris, Maine|publisher=printed for the authors|quote=Like Paris, whose name is believed to have been borrowed from the capital city of France...|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofparisma00laphuoft/page/204 204]}}</ref>