History Committee

Welcome to the Carrabassett Valley History Committee’s web page. The timeline on this site is a work in progress, and we hope that many of you will offer information, suggestions and corrections, so that we can develop as complete and accurate a picture as possible explaining how Carrabassett Valley came to be the fascinating place it is.

This attempt to capture our town’s past began with the work of the late Dick Crommett. Dick, who spent his career in the paper industry and was a retired captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, moved to his ski camp in Campbell Field after his retirement and became interested in the town’s history while researching his family’s genealogy. He spent several years digging extensively into the historical record of this area. Unfortunately, he died in 2004 before completing that work. Shortly before his passing, he wrote an introduction to his timeline in which he said, “As the author is not immortal, he hopes that others will assume the continuing task of collecting, presenting and preserving town historical information.” Our committee has now taken up his effort, filling in as many gaps as possible and expanding the scope of his timeline from prehistoric times up to the present day.

This history is not in strict chronological order, because some of our town’s eras overlapped with others, and sometimes information just seemed to fit better in a non-sequential manner. We’ve tried to compile this timeline in ways that are both easy to follow and provide as much context as possible.

A note on names: Carrabassett Valley was formed from two townships, Jerusalem to the east and Crockertown (named for Isaac Crocker, an early landowner) to the west, both of which have had several other names over the years. To avoid confusion, we will refer to the two unorganized territories by those names throughout this history until the formation of the actual town of Carrabassett Valley from Jerusalem in 1971 and its merger with Crockertown (then officially known as the Township of Sugarloaf) four years later. Also, the spelling of Carrabassett has varied significantly over the years. Up until the early 21st century, a directional sign in Kingfield still spelled it with one “t” (the accepted form until the early 20th century), and the map on cans of Boothbay Craft Brewing’s Route 27 lager released in 2017 uses a single “r.” For purposes of clarity, we’ve employed the current official spelling, except when quoting historical documents.

As you peruse this timeline, you’ll notice that we still have a lot of work to do. If you’d like to join in, please email us at [email protected] or contact any member of the committee.

We look forward, with your help, to enlightening and entertaining everyone who, like us, feels a deep attachment to this town. And now, here’s what we’ve learned so far.

Town of Carrabassett Valley History Timeline

History Committee email address:  [email protected]

Committee Members

Last Update
January 11, 2022