Otis Maine

Date: 19 Mar 1835
Location: Otis, Hancock, Maine, United States
Surnames/tags: One_Place_Studies Maine Hancock_County_Maine

Back to One Place Studies Project

Otis is a town in Hancock County, named for its early proprietor Joseph Otis (1777-1856) , settled in 1805 and incorporated March 19, 1835 from a portion of Township 8.

• Parent Page: Hancock County
• Otis, Maine Category page

Date	Designation	Note
-1534	name unknown	Wabanaki peoples - the Penobscot and perhaps Passamaquoddy.
1534-1760	Nouvelle France	Under French control, no known European settlers
1765	unorganized territory Lincoln, Massachusetts Bay	Britain takes control of the area
1776	unorganized territory Lincoln, Massachusetts	America declares independence from Britain July 4, 1776
1786	Township 8, Hancock, Massachusetts	Bingham's Land Lottery Township No. 8 East of Penobscot River, Livermore Survey (T8 EPR LS)
1789	Township 8, Hancock, Massachusetts	Hancock County is formed June 25, 1789
~1805	Township 8, Hancock, Massachusetts	First Settlers: Isaac Frazier, Nathaniel M. Jellison, James Gilpatrick and Allen Milliken
1820	Township 8, Hancock, Maine	Maine becomes the 23 state March 15, 1820
1835	Otis, Hancock, Maine	Otis Incorporated March 19, 1835

Contents 1 Villages, Locations and Settlements 2 Pioneer Settlers 3 Maps 4 Stories 5 Additional Resources 6 Photos 7 Sources

Villages, Locations and Settlements

Villages, Locations and Settlements	Settler/Namesake/Note
New Trenton

Pioneer Settlers

Pioneer Settler	Arrival Year
Isaac Frazier (1769-1853)	~1805
Nathaniel M. Jellison	~1805
James Gilpatrick	~1805
Allen Milliken	~1805

Otis in the 1840 Census:

Head	# Household Members
Jeremiah Boynton	3
Job Billington (1770-1849)	4
Benjamin Davis	3
Isaac Frazier (1769-1853)	3
John B Frazier	8
Nathan Foster	6
Timothy Jordan	9
Joseph Otis (1777-1856)	11
Linus Pond	3
Elkanah Remick (1804-1884)	5
Jubez Salsbury	7
Aaron Salisbury (1779-1843)	7
Edward Salsbury	3
Abraham M Warren (1795-1887)	8
Mehitable Young	8

Maps

Otis on Google Maps

Stories

Varney's Gazetteer of the state of Maine. hast the following:^[1]
Otis is situated on the western side of Hancock County, being bounded on the north by Penobscot County, and on the South by Ellsworth. It is on the stage line from Bangor to Mariaville, which adjoins it on the east. The principal sheets of water are Beech Hill, Flood, Springy and Mountain ponds, emptying into Union River, or some of its branches. Of these, Flood's Pond covers one square mile; Beech Hill Pond, 1.85 square miles; and Mountain Pond, 1.25 square miles At Remick's Falls, at the foot of Flood's Pond, and also at the south part of the town, are saw-mills. The prevailing rock is mica-schist interstratified by an impure limestone. On the side next Mariaville the rock is a hard talcose slate and a kind of sandstone in alternate layers, placed perpendicularly. There is a cave in Oak Hill on the west side of Beech Hill Pond, which is 12 feet under ground, with rooms 7 feet by 10 feet. Ice and snow have been found in it on the 4th of July, by which it has gotten its name of the " Cold Cellar." The soil, as a whole, is productive when cultivated ; but much attention is given to lumbering.
     Otis was first occupied in 1805. It was incorporated in 1835, being named in honor of a proprietor. The first settlers were Isaac Frazier, N. M. Jellison, James Gilpatrick, and Allen Milliken. Otis furnished 35 men to the Union cause in the war of the Rebellion. The Free Baptists have a church, and a settled minister in the town. Otis has three public schoolhouses, valued at $400. The valuation of estates in 1870 was $26,407. In 1880 it was $34,725. The population in 1870 was 246. In 1880 it was 304.

Additional Resources

Web Sites:

• Otis Maine at Family Search
• Maine Genealogy Net Resources for Genealogists and Family HistoriansGenealogy.net
• Town of Otis
• Otis Maine on WikiPedia

Books:

Photos

Photo Gallery

Beech Hill Pond, by Lorena Caler	Beech Hill Pond, by Lorena Caler	Beech Hill Pond, by Lorena Caler
Beech Hill Pond, by Lorena Caler

Sources

1. ↑ Gazetteer of the state of Maine