CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Deb Bowker, recreation director for Carrabassett Valley put together the following information when the Narrow Gauge Pathway opened in 2001.

The Narrow Gauge Pathway in Carrabassett Valley in 2001. Screenshot

HISTORY

1894: The Kingfield & Dead River Railroad, a two foot narrow gauge line, was extended and placed in service from Kingfield to Carrabassett with the new station located near the former Red Stallion. The railroad was built primarily to haul timber and lumber but also carried passengers and freight.

1900: The rail line was extended to Bigelow Station, the site of the Russell Remick Birch Mill and the huge Prouty and Miller steam sawmill. Prouty & Miller had purchased the mill from the Crockertown Lumber Co. which was owned by Isaac Crocker, the namesake of Crockertown. Bigelow was a busy community with nearly 100 people employed at the saw mill. The community also had a boarding house, private homes, general store and schoolhouse. The original railroad depot is now a private residence.

1908: A great forest fire in July burned from Burnt Mountain across the north side of Sugarloaf and west of the Caribou Pond Road, toward Crocker Mountain with a total loss of about 5,500 acres. It nearly burned the village of Bigelow and the railroad had a rescue train standing by to remove the residents and their possessions if necessary. The fire came only within one-half mile of Bigelow. This fire provided some of the above tree line skiing on Sugarloaf Mountain which we enjoy today.

1927: The narrow gauge rails were removed from the 5.4 mile section between Bigelow Station and Huston Brook during July/August.

1927-28: The first state highway, now Rt. 27, was built linking Kingfield and Eustis with a good road and replacing a previous county road.

2001: [Carrabassett Valley], with financial assistance from the state, voted to approve a major reconstruction project along the entire length of the pathway from Bigelow Station to Huston Brook for non-motorized multi-purpose use.