Draft:Skinner, ME

Skinner, Maine is a township in North Franklin Unorganized Territory in Franklin County, Maine. It is located on the convergence of Moose River and South Branch Moose River. It is 5 miles away from the border with Canada and 10 miles away from the nearest incorporated towns of Jackman and Eustis.

Geography

First map showing the location of Skinner (1901)

Skinner Township is in western Maine near to the sources of Moose River and South Branch Moose River. It was first seen on maps as early as 1901 The settlement of Skinner lies on the shores of Moose River and the township is bordered on the North by Lowelltown Township, on the West by Merrill Strip Township, on the South by Kibby Township, on the Southeast by T5 R6 BKP WKR, and on the Northeast by Appleton Township. The South Branch Moose River has it's headwaters in the South of the township near Kibby Mountain and flows northward to the junction with the main branch of the Moose River. Most of the township is encompassed by the Passamaquoddy Trust Land of Western Maine. According to the US Census, there are a total of 4 people who live within the boundaries of the trust land near Skinner Township.

Etymology

The origin of the name of Skinner goes back to the family who first settled in Corinth, Maine. They settled on what is now called Skinner Settlement which is in the National Register of Historical Places. The original settler of the area was named Daniel Skinner who settled in Corinth in 1793. It is believed that a relative moved in roughly the 1880's or 1890's to the Moose River area to become a lumberjack in the region's growing industry.

History

Horses at logging camp in Skinner (Early 1900s)

Skinner was platted out as a square parcel of land in 1860 simply called Township 1 Range 7. As the area started to seize the large vast expanse of forest and Portland Metropolitan Area's growing population who needed wood to build their homes. Just as it was with Skinner's close neighboring township Holeb was with forestry. The region started seeing successful usage of the river to ship timbers by boat down Moose River, through Wood Pond in Jackman, down the river to Moosehead Lake where they would then go down Kennebec River to the mouth near Phippsburg, then they would be shipped to Portland by sea. The first settlements which sprung up in the Moose River area were Holeb, Forsythe, Attean and Lowelltown which at the time was just called Lowell. Even more success in forestry occurred when Canadian Pacific Railway proposed an extension of their rail lines from the ending point of their line in Lac Megantic through Maine to Mattawamkeag, then ending back in Canada in Saint John in New Brunswick. The task was taken on by Chief Engineer James Ross and track was laid from the border in Lowelltown through Skinner which was at the time still Unincorporated, then through Holeb into Jackman and from there left the Moose River Valley connecting it with the rest of Maine. The innovation of the railroad saw a bit of a boom for the region and saw the incorporated towns of Jackman and Eustis setting up lumber mills. Eventually in about 1900 was when the settlement of Skinner in the northern edge of the Township 7 Range 1 was settled as a logging camp near where the railroad is. Around 1914 it grew to about 10 families of loggers and became another small lumber town. As the years went by, the lumber industry started to change and the locals began to move as trains were fading and a new way to transport lumber became more prevalent. Trucks began to make shipment much easier and quicker. Many people started to move from the smaller settlements to the bigger Jackman and Eustis as living in the smaller towns were becoming less ideal. Now there are four homesteads still by the abandoned railway and river in Skinner.