Main St. W. Jonesport, Me. 291.

LB2007.1.114460

114460

[included in the exhibit "Washington County Through Eastern's Eye"] LB2007.1.114460 Main St., W. Jonesport, Me. 291. The first building in the photo on the left was the home of Frank Holman Batson and his wife Ethel Eoline "Betty" (Bradt) Batson from the early 1900s; she lived in the house until she died at age 91 in 1973. It has been the home of her grandson, Russell Mark Batson, Sr. and his wife, Roma Elaine (Geel) Batson since then. The West Jonesport Post Office once stood next door, where the woodpile is. Ethel Eoline "Betty" (Bradt) Batson was postmaster from 1914 to 1952. Her grandson, Russell Mark Batson, Sr. was postmaster until it was closed in 1962. The old post office building is still standing. The second building on the left, built about 1898, was the home of Porter R. Cummings and his wife, Mary Alta "Mamie" (Wass) Cummings. The home then became the home of Ralph Lawrence "RL Brown" Brown, Sr. and his wife, Althea Barstow "Gram" (Joy) Brown. "RL Brown" was the Superintendent of Schools for the towns of Jonesport, Jonesboro, Beals, Addison, and Centerville. Althea Barstow "Gram" (Joy) Brown lived in the home until her death on January 16, 2000 at age 103 years. The third building on the left was the Lincoln Grammar School. It was constructed in 1902 for the elementary students of West Jonesport. After 1957 it served as an elementary school for both West Jonesport and Jonesport students until it was destroyed by fire very early in the morning on Monday, December 26, 1977. The site is a parking lot today. Lincoln Grammar School's counterpart, the Washington Grammar School in the east end of Jonesport, suffered the same fate, burning in the early 1900s. The well-dressed children on the sidewalk are in front of the house that in the early 1900s was the home of Edward Butler "Butt" Dobbins and his wife, Myrtle Grace (Rumery) Dobbins. Then it became the home of their son, Elmer Lee Dobbins, and his wife, Minnie Myrtle (Woodward) Dobbins, until her death in 1992. Stephen Jay Geel and his wife, Heidi Lynn (Look) Geel bought the house and occupied it until 2008, when they had it torn down to build a new house on the site The second building on the right was the general store of William Henry Cummings in the late 1880s. Later his son, Porter R. Cummings, ran it, and upon his death it became the store of Porter's brother, Charles Faulkingham Cummings. Charles and his wife Almeda Rebecca "Meta" (Crowley) Cummings, who lived on the second floor, operated the store until their deaths in 1965 and 1963, respectively. Their son, Lloyd Ambert Cummings, Sr., then became owner of the store. Operating it until his death in 1974. His wife, Lucille Bowden (Dennison) Cummings closed the store a day after his death. In 1976 she married Merton Almer Garnett, and they lived on the second floor until they sold the building in 1979 to James "Jim" Francyk and his wife, Patricia Jean (Brosman) Holubek Francyk. They established a drug store on the ground floor and live on the second floor. When they moved away from Jonesport in 1997. In 2012 it was vacant and for sale. The third building in the photo on the right was the home of Darius Dickey and his wife, Mary Elizabeth (Mahoney) Dickey, who moved from Winterport to Jonesport in the 1830s. In the basement of this building was one of the first stores in Jonesport. Darius Dickey was a merchant and farmer. He was also a keeper of the Moose Peak Lighthouse on Mistake Island 1853 to 1859. He died on June 9, 1867. Darius Dickey must have been a very well liked man for there are many boys who have Darius Dickey as their first and middle name. The creek next to the Cummings Store and the road corner were named for Darius Dickey Caption contributed by Donald C. Woodward, President of Jonesport Historical Society