Naples, Maine, USA
1886 - Naples

Naples is situated in the north-western part of Cumberland County, between Bridgton and Lake Sebago. It is bounded on the north by Bridgton, Harrison and Otisfield, on the east by Otisfield and Casco, south by the latter, Lake Sebago and the town of Sebago, west by the last and by the south-western part of Bridgton. The town was made up from parts of Otisfield, Harrison, Raymond, Bridgton, and Sebago. It contains about 20,000 acres of land and water, the latter amounting to about 3,300 acres. The date of its incorporation is 1834. About one-third of Long Pond is within its limits, together with Brandy Pond, continuous through a short narrow with the former, and Trickey Pond. The streams are Songo River, 6 miles long, connecting Brandy Pond with Lake Sebago; Crooked River, which forms the larger portion of the eastern boundary of the town; Muddy River, outlet of Holt’s Pond and Cold Stream Creek, connecting Cold-rain Pond with Peabody Pond.

The rock formation of Naples is granitic, having many dikes of quartz and trap rock. The granite is coarse and of little value as a building material from the preponderance of mica and felspar. There are localities, however, where a good quality of gneiss is quarried. There are also scattered over the surface many granite and gneiss boulders, much worn and some very large. These afford a limited quantity of building stone, and fine specimens of flesh colored felspar The surface of the town is pleasantly diversified with hill, valley, plain, and sheets of water. The soil varies from arid sand to tough clay; but the larger portion is a gravelly loam, containing many pebbles and bowlders. The uplands afford excellent grazing, and hay is the principal crop. There is a canning factory of the Portland Packing Company at Naples Village, which creates a considerable demand for sweet corn. Other manufactures of the town are carriages, cooperage, Ipen’s and boy’s clothing and boots and shoes. The strait uniting Long and Brandy ponds is spanned at Naples Village by a drawbridge. Except by a single lock on Songo River, navigation between the northern parts of Bridgton and Harrison and all parts of Sebago Ponds, a distance of about 25 miles, is uninterrupted. Naples is the terminus of the stage-line from the station of the Grand Trunk railway at Oxford. It is also on the stage-line from Portland to Bridgton. A narrow gauge railway projected between the latter places will also pass through Naples, if constructed.

There are a Methodist, a Congregationalist and a Union church in the town. Naples has eleven public schoolhouses, valued at $4,000. The valuation of estates in 1870 was $268,645; in 1880, $242,618. The population in 1870 was 1058. In 1880 it was 1008.

A Gazetteer of the State of Maine By Geo. J. Varney Published by B. B. Russell, Boston 1886

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