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Scenes from Mural Two

This mural tells what life was like for the first settlers. In May, 1736, Captain John Phinney and his son Edmund came by canoe from Falmouth which, is now Portland. They cleared their land by cutting down trees, and built a log cabin. Early settlers often put a large log across the doorway probably to keep out small animals.

Since they couldn't get rid of the tree stumps on their land, they planted their vegetables in between them. Their first crops were peas, corn, and watermelon. They might have planted the watermelon by mistake thinking that it was pumpkin. But it turned out ok because they fed it to their hogs.

After the Phinney's house was built, Mrs. Phinney joined them and they later had a daughter named Mary. She was the first white person born in what is now Gorham.

A fort was built on Fort Hill some time before 1744. This spot was picked because it was the highest point and they could see all around them. This helped them look out for Indians. The new settlers needed a mill to grind their corn and grain, so the Blenham Grist Mill was built in 1743 to do that work.