Otisfield Historical Program

OTISFIELD — The Otisfield Historical Society will be honoring the nation’s 250^th birthday this year by presenting programs relating to town history during the Revolutionary War era. 

The first program for 2026 will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 20, at the Edes Falls Community Hall, 319 Edes Falls Road, Naples. Dr. Jean Hankins, archivist for the Otisfield Historical Society, will focus on the early history of the town. Otisfield’s first settler was George Peirce Jr. (1734-1807), a native of Watertown, Mass., who arrived in 1774 shortly before the start of the American Revolution. He had been hired by the proprietors to serve as surveyor of this new territory that now includes the towns of Naples and Otisfield. He settled in Edes Falls (now part of the town of Naples) and was responsible for dividing, laying out, and even selling the new township. During all the years of the American Revolution, Peirce spent laying out lots and establishing town lines as settlers, many whom had fought in the War, trickled in. Although the grist and saw mills that he built on the Crooked River at Edes Falls were well constructed, they lasted only a few years before a spring flood wiped them both out. They were rebuilt about 1877 but they also eventually fell into disrepair.