At the College, we all find ourselves part of Waterville’s community. We all work and study on the College’s campus. We’ve driven over Ticonic Falls and alongside the Kennebec River. We’ve been to the Alfond Athletic Center and the Bill & Joan Alfond Apartments. We’ve all walked past The Lockwood Hotel; maybe our parents spent a night there. We’ve seen the giant Hathaway Creative Center building. We’ve grown accustomed to these words and the way they sound aloud. We know what these things are today, but we don’t know why. To start, we can look at the name of the place where it all happens: Waterville.
Waterville
Waterville was first home to the Canibas people. It wasn’t formally considered a city until 1888. In 1754, English general John Winslow arrived at his destination after traveling up the Kennebec River. This destination was where he would begin the construction of Fort Halifax. General Winslow was ordered by the government in Massachusetts (which included Maine at the time) to build a fort along the Kennebec River to defend the upper Kennebec River Valley from possible attack by the French. This fort initially prompted 11 families to settle in the area; however, numbers grew over time. The community then became the town of Winslow, after John Winslow. The community on the west side of the Kennebec grew in popularity and eventually demanded its independence. The name “Waterville” is suspected to simply have come from the fact that the community was near an abundance of water. It is suspected that the simple name was selected because it could be understood in English and French, appealing to the English American settlers, and French Canadian immigrants.
Colby
Colby College was founded in 1813. Originally, the College was called The Maine Literary and Theological Institution. It then became known as Waterville College. In 1864, as a result of the Civil War, Waterville College found itself in financial trouble. Then, a Baptist preacher named Gardener Colby swooped in. He made a generous donation to the College, and it was then named “Colby University” and now “Colby College” after him.
Alfond
The name Alfond is seen all over the College’s campus. Harold Alfond is the name of Colby College’s athletic center. Harold Alfond was born in 1914 and followed his father into the shoe manufacturing business. In 1939 he bought his own factory after selling his car. This launched the Norrwock Shoe Company. In 1944, he sold the company for 1.1 million dollars. In 1950, Harold Alfond and his wife established the first private foundation in Maine. In 1958, Harold Alfond bought a vacant woolen mill, founding the Dexter Shoe Company. This company made annual sales exceeding $250 million. He then sold this company to Warren Buffet for $420 million in Berkshire Hathaway Stock. Bill Alfond was Harold’s son, and Joan Alfond was Harold’s wife, hence the Bill and Joan Alfond Apartments downtown. Today, Alfond’s name is found all over Maine, especially in schools. The Alfond Foundation also gives out grants. Harold Alfond believed that higher education was imperative, hence why his name is seen all over both Colby and Thomas College’s campuses.
Lockwood
The Lockwood Hotel on Main Street is named after Waterville’s first major center of industry: The Lockwood Mills. Amos Lockwood designed the mill in the 19th century. The mill was a producer of cotton and was powered by a dam in Ticonic Falls. In the 1950s, Waterville local Charles Hathaway moved Hathaway Shirt Company into the mill. This mill brought jobs and revenue into Waterville. The mills stopped operating decades ago, and now serve other purposes such as creative centers, apartments, and offices.
Kennebec
The Abenaki are a Native American tribe within the Wabanaki Confederacy that has lived around the Kennebec River for centuries. The Kennebec River runs for 170 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, and contains a lot of curves and twists. The Abenaki tribe gave the river the name “Kennebec” meaning either “snakey monster” or “long quiet water.”
Ticonic Falls
Before European settlers came to what is now Waterville, the Canibas tribe of the Wabanaki were the only ones who lived here. The village and falls were named after Chief Teconnet. The village sat on the eastern side of the Kennebec, and the western side, now Waterville, was their burial grounds. The names Teconnet and Ticonic are used interchangeably.
Thomas
Thomas College was founded in 1894. Originally, the college was called The Kiest Business College. Then, in 1896, a man named William Morgan bought and renamed the school Morgan Business College. Then, in 1911, the college was purchased by New Hampshire-based railroad administrator John L. Thomas Sr., who had graduated from the college. From there, the college developed the simple name of Thomas College.
~ Molly Garvey `28
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