Editing Porter, Maine (section)

==History==

The land was once territory of Pequawket, the [[Abenaki]] village at what is now [[Fryeburg, Maine|Fryeburg]]. It was purchased from the [[Massachusetts General Court]] in September 1795 by Dr. Aaron Porter of [[Biddeford, Maine|Biddeford]] and others. Terms of the grant offered {{convert|100|acre|ha}} to each man who settled before January 1, 1784. First called Portersfield Plantation, it was incorporated as a town on February 20, 1807, named for its principal proprietor. Land was set off to [[Brownfield, Maine|Brownfield]] in 1831, 1832 and 1855.<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book  | last = Coolidge  | first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield  | title = A History and Description of New England| year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| pages = 265–267| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&q=coolidge%20mansfield%20history%20description%20new%20england%201859&pg=PA265}}</ref>

Although [[farmer]]s found the town's surface uneven, the hillsides offered excellent [[pasturage]] for [[cattle]]. Porter became noted for its [[orchard]]s. Outlets of ponds provided sites for [[watermill|mills]], with the best [[water power]] on the [[Ossipee River]] at Kezar Falls, where part of the village lies in [[Parsonsfield, Maine|Parsonsfield]]. The town had numerous [[sawmill]]s, a [[gristmill]], [[furniture]] factory, [[bobbin]] factory and a [[boot]] and [[shoemaking|shoe]] factory. In 1870, the population was 1,104.<ref>[http://history.rays-place.com/me/porter-me.htm George J. Varney, "History of Porter, Maine" (1886)]</ref>