LB2012.17.672

LB2012.17.672

View of Camden, Maine harbor. The spireless Chestnut Street Baptist Church can be seen left of center in this image. To the right, the stack of the Knox Woolen Mill can be seen. Chestnut Street Baptist Church The church was built in 1837, located on the village green overlooking Camden Harbor, where it still stands today. It has held the town clock since 1868. The church's spire, a visible landmark ever pointing the way to God, was taken down in 1853, when many planks of wood rotted out and the structure was deemed unsafe. Unfortunately it was necessary to remove the beautiful spire again in 1887 for many of the same reasons. It was again replaced in 1980, when an aspiring Eagle Scout from Camden, Billy Young, determined to replace the spire to earn his Eagle Scout rank. The 34 foot tall spire was designed by architect Christopher Glass. Knox Mill On the three-mile Megunticook River, there were dams making water power enough to run woolen mills. The Knox Woolen Mill made felts for Maine's growing paper industry, was the largest mill and ran the longest from the middle 1800Æs to 1988. Half of CamdenÆs population worked in the mill, as did people from outlying towns. It had the largest payroll in town for many years.