Lincoln, Maine

Responses from students in Mr. Koscuiszka's class can be viewed below:

Amanda McIntyre
"Research your topic and summarize the ‘who, what, when, and where’ in the form of a few paragraphs"

W.A. “Will” Brown, O.D., was the owner of a Main Street business in Lincoln for many years. His wife’s name was Margery (Weatherbee) Brown, and his son’s name was Gardiner Brown. He bought his first business building on Main Street in November of 1904. Here, he was involved in jewelry sales, watch repair, optical work, and was a Ford dealer from 1910 to 1928 on Mechanic Street. Will Brown was one of the first drivers of a Model T in the area. He bought his first Model T in 1904. He invented a tire hook chain, a rim stretcher and a temple joint for eyeglasses. That is how W.A. Brown was a part of Lincoln, Maine and what he did to be a part of this community.

Carly McDonald
"How does this topic connect to you in your life today?"

If Mr. Brown didn’t have all these stores, would we have the stores we have now? The supply of goods we have now might not be around without him. Have you ever thought about how this affects your life? You know, all the old business that were here before you and your parents and maybe even your grandparents? W.A. Brown had some of the biggest businesses, so he kind of paved a path for other businesses in Lincoln. Like his car dealership, did that kick start all the other dealerships in Lincoln? This connects to my life today because we have at least four car dealerships in Lincoln and without the first car dealership we might not have a dealer at all. He also had one of the first glasses stores. Where would we get our eyes checked and glasses in Lincoln if he hadn’t had a glasses store. Without the first jewelry store, maybe I wouldn’t have a necklace to wear everyday.

Nathaniel Peters
"How does this topic impact you? Your life? The town? The town's future?"

W.A. Brown was a car dealer; he was a dealer for Ford. This impacts my life in a large way because he started the first Ford dealership for Northern Penobscot County in the town of Lincoln. My family is full of Ford fans, all we drive is Ford. Without the dealership being started in the area my family would have to travel south to get a vehicle. It affected the future because starting the dealership brought other dealerships to town in the future, and making larger plans for car dealers and the people who wanted to buy them. I believe this has affected the town because it brought more people to Lincoln, including people from the north so they could purchase a vehicle. It brought rivalry dealerships to the area, allowing the town to grow and have bigger companies come here. This has raised money and profits in the town with more people moving in, and has allowed better transportation in the north.

Works Cited

Lincoln Historical Society, ed. "Will Brown in 50th Year in Business on Main Street." Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine) 1954, Lincoln Historical Society ed.: 285-86.