[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10831-10832]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             FREEDOM, MAINE

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to wish the town of Freedom, 
ME, a very happy 200th birthday. The people of Freedom are proud of 
their hometown and the generations of hard-working and caring people 
who have made it such a wonderful place to live, work, and raise 
families.
  The name of this town is more than a word; it describes its history. 
Originally part of the Plymouth Patent,

[[Page 10832]]

this community can trace its roots to the brave Pilgrims who came to 
the New World to secure freedom. Its first permanent settler was 
Stephen Smith, a soldier of the American Revolution who fought for 
freedom. When the town was incorporated in 1813, American independence 
was again under attack, and the town's name--first Smithtown, then 
Beaverhill Plantation--became Freedom.
  Decades later, when the Civil War threatened to divide our Nation and 
condemn millions to continued slavery, many young men from the town 
enlisted in the Union Army to fight for the freedom of all. One of 
them, Daniel Franklin Davis, became the 37th governor of our great 
State of Maine.
  And when the town's oldest citizen, Roy Ward, is recognized at the 
bicentennial celebration on July 5th, his friends and neighbors will 
honor his courageous Navy service during World War II in freedom's 
cause.
  Through the years, the people who built this community demonstrated 
the qualities that make freedom possible--determination, energy, and 
self-reliance. They harnessed the waters of Sandy Stream to power mills 
for grain, lumber, and textiles. They turned the untilled soil into 
productive farms. In 1836, they established Freedom Academy, the first 
secondary school in their region and a milestone in the history of 
public education in Maine.
  The energy that so many have devoted to this year's exciting 
bicentennial celebration is but one example of the spirit that has been 
nurtured there for two centuries. The restoration of such landmarks as 
the Stephen Smith gravesite and the Mill at Freedom Falls, and the 
dedication of the gazebo at Freedom Academy all demonstrate widespread 
commitment by the people of Freedom.
  Thanks to those who came before, Freedom has a wonderful history. 
Thanks to those who are there today, it has a bright future.

                          ____________________