Page 18 - John Anderson

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Construction of the railroad was considered one of the engineering
marvels of the time because the gradient from Bartlett to the
Crawford House was significant. The station at Crawford House was
over 1,200 feet higher than the station in Bartlett. Much of the way,
it was necessary to carve a shelf out of the mountainside for the
track. In the beginning, all work was done with hand tools and horse
drawn carts. Later, before dynamite was developed, blasting the tons
of rock was accomplished using very dangerous black powder.
Dynamite, a much more stable explosive, was invented and patented
in Sweden in 1867, but was not available in the United States until
about 1885.

The P&O RR, chartered in 1867 was intended to extend from
Portland, Maine to Ogdensburg, NY, thereby connecting the seacoast
and the Great Lakes. The 18.5-mile section from Bartlett to Fabyan,
through Crawford Notch, is the portion that was most familiar to John
Anderson. Many exciting family stories were told about this great
undertaking as John reached early adulthood. As a young man, John
actively participated every chance he could, as construction of the
P&O Railroad inched its way through Crawford Notch in the White
Mountains of New Hampshire.

John Anderson was graduated from the Portland High School in the
class of 1872. Founded in 1821, as a boy’s school, Portland High
claims to be the second oldest operating public high school in the
United States and is now located in downtown Portland. A separate
school for girls was added in 1850, and in 1863 the school moved to
Cumberland Avenue, its present location. The original school building
on that site, which is now the middle wing of the modern school, was
originally divided into two by a brick wall running from top to bottom
of the building to divide the girls from the boys. Much of the wall has
been removed, but its remains can still be seen in the basement.

On July 4th of 1872, as Captain of the Portland Cadets, the crack drill
company of Maine, a company he had himself organized two years
before, he won the championship and held it against the eleven other
organized military companies of the State. Great rejoicing ensued
because "the boys" on that occasion beat the famous and time-
honored organization known as the "White Coats." It should be said

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