The Mitchell garrison was an important building in what was, at the time, North Yarmouth, Province of Massachusetts Bay."Mitchell Garrison" - History of Yarmouth ME
Built in 1728, on the town's lot number 91,Yarmouth History Center newsletter, p.1 – Spring 2024 it stood at the rear of today's Holy Cross Cemetery on a bluff around immediately above the Royal River. It was used as a blockhouse, within a stockade, during the Indian wars. A tunnel was built from the home's cellar to the river. The dirt path that looks like it leads to the water is actually the town's original stage road, formerly lined with elm trees. As North Yarmouth's stagecoach travel increased in popularity, the stockade was removed and the home was enlarged to accommodate overnight guests. The original structure was made of clapboard; the extension, added on the northern side, was clad with shingles.
The home's first owner was Jacob Mitchell (–1744), a dean and a founder of the nearby Meetinghouse under the Ledge, which stood between 1729 and 1836. His son, Jacob III, also became a deacon there. Mitchell's family lived in the house between around 1729 and 1799, when one of Mitchell's sons, David, owned it.
The building later became the home of the Whitcombs, whose name is preserved on a street off Princes Point Road. It was demolished about 1900, and the farm land was purchased in 1916 to be replaced by the cemetery.Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636-1936: A History, William Hutchinson Rowe (1937) Riverside Cemetery and Holy Cross Cemetery occupy what was the northern end of today's Smith Street.Annual Report Town of Yarmouth 2007 – The University of Maine
See also Historical buildings and structures of Yarmouth, Maine
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