Kezar Falls is a small village on the Ossipee River in the town of Porter in Oxford County, Maine, United States.
History
An eighteenth-century settler in the area was George Kezar. Kezar's hunting ability became the a subject of local folklore. One tradition says Kezar survived hand-to-hand combat with a bear, another that he sent a pack of wolves "scampering towards Canada" by hanging a bell around the neck of one of them. Although neither George Kezar nor his progeny lived in what became the village of Kezar Falls, he established a rock-to-rock footbridge across the Ossipee River, resulting in the nearby falls being named Kezar Falls, as was the village settlement that grew up around the falls.
Kezar Falls proved a good source of water power, which eventually was harnessed to drive woolen mills, and to generate electricity for the village.
Kezar Falls was incorporated as "Porter Kezar Falls Village Corporation in the Town of Porter" by the Maine State Legislature. A portion of Hiram, Maine also in Oxford County was added to the Porter Kezar Falls Village Corporation in 1913 as an amendment to Chapter 217 to increase the corporate limits of the Porter Kezar Falls Village Corporation.
Historically, there were two Kezar Falls Village Corporations: one at Porter and the other at Parsonsfield in York County, across the Ossipee River. However, the Parsonsfield Kezar Falls Village Corporation was formally repealed by the 107th Legislature of the State of Maine and accepted at Parsonsfield Town Meeting in 1975.
References
- Dearborn, Jeremiah W (1888). A History of the First Century of the Town of Parsonfield, Maine. Portland, ME: Brown Thurston & Company. p. 180. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
- Dearborn, Jeremiah W (1888). A History of the First Century of the Town of Parsonfield, Maine. Portland, ME: Brown Thurston & Company. p. 239. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
- Dearborn, Jeremiah W (1888). A History of the First Century of the Town of Parsonfield, Maine. Portland, ME: Brown Thurston & Company. p. 464. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
- Chapter 217 of the Acts and Resolves of the Seventy-Fifth Legislature of the State of Maine, 1911, pp. 497, Augusta, Kennebec Journal Printers, 1922.
- Chapter 197 of the Acts and Resolves of the Maine Legislature, pp. 589, 1913.
- Chapter 216 of the Acts and Resolves of the Seventy-Fifth Legislature of the State of Maine 1911, pp. 496, Augusta, Kennebec Journal Printers, 1911.
- “Porter , Maine, 200 Years (1807-2007)” published by the Parsonsfield-Porter Historical Society, 2006 on page 61, Porter, Maine
External links
- "Kezar Falls". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
| Municipalities and communities of Oxford County, Maine, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| County seat: Paris | ||
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| Plantations | ||
| Unorganized territories | ||
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| Other villages | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county | |
| Municipalities and communities of York County, Maine, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| County seat: Alfred | ||
| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities and villages | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county | |
43°48′30″N 70°53′20″W / 43.80833°N 70.88889°W / 43.80833; -70.88889
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