4/11/2022 COVID Update: The State of Maine no longer requires masking or proof of vaccination to attend any public events, but individual venues are free to do so. For the latest information, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention or the State of Maine’s COVID site.
- This event has passed.
The Rise and Fall of Axe Making in Maine
August 15, 2018, 6:00 PM
Howard Hardy, a local historian and tool collector, will present a talk and display. The presentation will focus on how and why axe making became so big in Oakland and around the state. You will learn about the advantages Oakland had in the making of axes as well as scythes since the scythe’s history parallels that of the axe.
Howard will trace the progression and improvements in axes and examples will be on display from primitive axes to more modern refinements. You will learn about the life of a salesman on the road and a show of some of the paperwork: invoices, letters and communications with salesmen.
Howard will discuss competition between manufacturers in Oakland (there were 18 in all), price fixing and how companies competed and cooperated, buying steel, selling polls, trading employees and outsourcing handles( Lemuel Cotton and others).
The library will display its collection of axe labels.