FACTORYDALE

By Gina Easson 2-W, Age 8 of Factorydale

I live in the community of Factorydale which is 186 years old. It was named in 1840 but the land was granted to three men in 1810. It is a small quiet community now but it got its name because it is down in the dale and there were so many factories here many years ago. When it was first named it was spelled using two words - Factory Dale. The factories that have been here over the years are:

Saw mills starting in the 1850's
Shingle mill 1864
Stave mill 1902
Lumber mill 1900
Furniture factory 1870's
Sash and dowling factory 1860's
Carding mill
Blacksmith
Grist mill 1860's
Shoe shop
General Store
Cooper shop 1900's
Box factory 1945

When doing this project I learned a lot about my family. The Grist mill from 1860 and a stave mill was owned and operated by my great-great-great grandfather, Thomas Easson. The first cooper shop was also owned by him and his son William Easson. Thomas Easson was given land in Factorydale to move here if he would start the mill, and that is what he did.

In 1872 a post office came to Factorydale. From 1888 to 1913 my great-great-great grandfather ran the post office out of his home. This house is still across the street from my house and still has the post office in it but it closed in 1913 and mail went to Aylesford. Mr. and Mrs. Veno now own the house and still have the stamp roller, the letter opener and old newspapers which were in the post office. She showed me the names of the families who lived in Factorydale in 1888 and there were about thirteen families. Factorydale is a rural route of Aylesford and our mail comes to our mailbox from the Aylesford post office.

Telephones came to Factorydale in 1894.

In 1920 the town of Berwick built an electric power station and dam at Factorydale pond and this is all beside my house. The land that the power station is on was sold to the town of Berwick by Thomas Easson. The power station is still used today and it is the landmark used to locate Factorydale.

School started in Factorydale in 1839 and the first building burned down in 1858 and the new school was built in 1862 and was where the Morristown Hall is now.

Now in 1996 it is hard to find out what the actual boundaries are for Factorydale. Kings county have boundaries for 911 but they are not true boundaries. We think there are about thirty houses and about 70 people living there now.

There is the power station, a local hairdresser, and farming (with apple orchards, high bush blueberries, chicken barn) in our community of Factorydale but that is all the businesses. We are surrounded by Nicholsville and Morristown. The community church we go to is in Morristown.

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