TURNER ME

TURNER ME

Rtes #117 & #4

Built - c. 1880

You could drive right past what looks like an old building with windows which resembles a French gatekeeper's house at the corner of Routes #117 and the old Route #4 in the small town of North Turner, Maine. However, this now 100+ year old building once was used as a "band house' where the once proud 23 member North Turner Cadet Band stored their instruments and sometimes played in. Much practice took place in this small building over the years but, for the most part, concerts were given outdoors in front of the structure. The historical feature of this building and small plot of land at this intersection is revealed in records that state that bands played here before the Civil War and after for nearly three quarters of a century.

Turner was noted for its many fine musicians over the years when its bands flourished. However, in the 1920s the bands stopped playing and the "band house" was then turned into a social club where games and sports became a big part of the community with the building becoming a focal point of community games and events.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:

"Lest We Forget" - Barbara Merrill Fox, author