The Bangor Daily News from Bangor, Maine • 19

Bangor Daily News Friday August 5 2005 B3 Local Regional The Corriveau Mill in Frenchville was razed Wednesday and Thursday The equipment inside some of which dates back to 1800 is being moved to the Acadian Village in Van Buren On Thursday morning workers (above) from the Acadian Village were at the site taking equipment apart Historic Corriveau Mill in Frenchville torn down Roy of Frenchville was operating a huge log loader and dismantling the building The wood some of it more than 125 years old was being piled several hundred feet away from the Corriveau home At some point a huge bonfire will be fed by the pile of dilapidated wood The Corriveau Mill was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in the State of started working in that mill when I was 13 years old I have many emotions watching this Gedeon Corriveau BY BEURMOND BANVILLE OF THE NEWS STAFF FRENCHVILLE Gedeon Corriveau was pensive Thursday as workers removed the machinery and tore down the all too County familiar red building at the Corriveau Mill The building housing the 150-year-old wool-carding mill and gristmill has been falling down It was to the point that it was no longer safe for anyone to enter the structure one of Corriveau 's daughters said as her father walked around the area About 10 years ago local volunteers shored up the building with 6-by-6-inch beams held in place by railroad rails but even that effort could not stop the aging process Half a dozen workers were at the site Thursday moving machinery to the Acadian Village at Van Buren In the meantime Clarence Some of the old gristmill equipment is visible Thursday si the Corriveau Mill in Frenchville Maine in 1994 The carding side of the mill had a Schofield Wool-Carding Machine The machine was manufactured in the United States around 1803 It was moved several times and was last used by Mrs George Corriveau mother in the mid-1960s Corriveau 79 stopped processing buckwheat in the gristmill in 1981 started working in that mill when I was 13 years old" he said have many emotions watching not known exactly when the was built but it may have been in the early 1900s The Rev Thomas Albert mentioned it in his 1907 history of the St John Valley Five families owned it before family purchased it in July 1912 The equipment inside the mill was much older It is unknown where the apparatus for the gristmill came from mary reason was the lack of parts but the number of farmers who grew buckwheat had also dwindled In its heyday the gristmill operated 24 hours a day processing up to eight barrels of flour per hour It ran under steam power with a gasoline engine for backup Corriveau changed it to electrical power in 1958 When Corriveau stopped operating the mill it was the only gristmill operating in the United States Family members said they know the gristmill was operating as far back as 1845 It is known that the carding mill operated in Fort Kent before being moved to Canada and then to Frenchville at the turn of the 1900s At its peak the carding mill processed as much as 70000 pounds of wool a year It still carded as much as 300 pounds of wool a day in the 1960s When Corriveau stopped operating the gristmill the pri At one time there were 13 gristmills in the St John Valley Farmers harvested 11000 acres of buckwheat when the industry flourished By 1980 the acreage had dropped to 4000 acres and the acreage dropped dramatically two years later wish someone would interview my father and record all the history he has in his Monique Pelletier daughter said Thursday morning knows so much about agriculture the mills making paper and so many Corriveau retired from Fraser Paper after working there 33 years He was operating the family farm at the same time He is a veteran of the US Army and a charter member of the Frenchville Volunteer Fire Department He was feted for 55 years of service two years ago Corriveau and his wife Aline raised eight children on their family farm The farm located on US Route 1 at Frenchville is an original land grant farm Gedeon Corriveau Hospital blood drive scheduled Aug 15 PRESQUE ISLE The Aroostook Medical Center will host a blood drive at 6 pm Monday Aug 15 at AR Gould Memorial Hospital on Academy Street To schedule an appointment contact TAMC at 768-4032 Courts Presque Isle District Court Cases May 1-31 2005 Dennis Barnes Jr 19 Fort Fairfield possession tobacco products by minor filed without cost Melissa Bartlett 22 Washburn assault violating condition of release jury trial Andre Begin 24 St Francis operating vehicle while license suspended or revoked $500 community service 75 hours Kenneth A Beich 47 Fort Fairfield criminal threatening with dangerous weapon transferred to Superior Court fugitive from justice dismissed Joshua Bell 23 Westfield operating vehicle while license suspended or revoked $250 violate condition of release $200 Boralex Co Fort Fairfield two counts disposing of lighted material filed without cost Brooks Brewer 23 Mars Hill violating protective order $200 Garrett Brewer 27 Mars Hill assault dismissed Michael Brown 28 Presque Isle assault obstructing report of crime aggravated assault transferred to Superior Court Roger Dennis Burby Jr 21 Ashland theft by receiving stolen property jail four days restitution $100 violating condition of release jail four days Abigail Capon 37 Goffs-town NH negotiating worthless instrument transferred to Superior Court Stephen Leslie Carvell 49 Presque Isle possession of marijuana $200 Paul A Cavallaro 57 Boston Mass driving to endanger $500 license suspended 30 days Kenny Chanthamala 23 Fort Fairfield operating vehicle without license $150 Eric Charette 21 Presque Isle two counts sexual abuse of minor jury trial Angela Chasse 30 Fort Fairfield assault jail five days Shane Cole 26 Winslow violation of fishing rule $140 Jennifer Cote 19 no resi dence listed harassment by telephone $200 William Dairyko 33 Presque Isle assault jury trial Ann Day 31 Mars Hill operating vehicle while license suspended or revoked $250 attaching false plates $100 Tabatha Decambra 25 Caribou criminal trespass $300 Joshua Doughty 21 Presque Isle assault jail 60 days all but 48 hours suspended probation two years Brad Drost 19 Bridgewater sale use of drug paraphernalia $100 Mitchell Dufur 17 Maple-ton operating ATV on public way $100 Andrew Dwyer 38 Presque Isle negotiate worthless instrument jail five days Bill Elliott 22 Easton operating unregistered ATV $100 Shane A Forbes 29 Washburn operating vehicle while license suspended or revoked $1000 community service 100 hours Randy Lee Fulton 16 Mars Hill possession tobacco products by minor community service 40 hours James Gorman 26 West-field operating vehicle while under influence of intoxicants $500 license suspended 90 days Douglas Gough 37 Castle Hill operating vehicle while under influence of intoxicants transferred to Superior Court Andrew Grivois 21 Mars Hill unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs unlawful possession of scheduled drug transferred to Superior Court Don Hanson Jr 24 Presque Isle sale use erf drug paraphernalia $100 Henry Hartsgrove 41 Presque Isle operating motor vehicle while under influence of intoxicants $500 jail 48 hours license suspended 90 days Jerid Hendrickson 21 Presque Isle violating protec five order jail 10 days Joshua Henry 24 Presque Isle operating vehicle while license suspended or revoked $250 Christopher Jean 22 Hamlin attaching false plates $100 Jonathan Jeffers 22 Easton unlawful possession of scheduled drug $500 Tracy Jones 32 Fort Fair-field allowing dog to be at large $75 Raymond Kennedy II 40 Easton operating motor vehicle while under influence of intoxicants jury trial Shayne Kinney 24 Presque Isle burglary of motor vehicle $300 Keith A Kitchen 49 Masardis operating motor vehicle while under influence of intoxicants $700 jail seven days license suspended 18 months Heidi Knowles 30 Chapman theft by unauthorized tak ing or transfer jury trial Brian Leary 21 Presque Isle operating vehicle while license suspended or revoked filed defendant paying court cost $200 Floyd Legassie 56 Presque Isle sale use of drug parapher nalia $100 On the leffStmn every weekend move See Paqe B4 for more Local and Reqlonal News.