Milo Historical Society given blacksmith property

    MILO — The Milo Historical Society officials are very pleased to announce that the organization has been presented with a historic piece of property located along the Sebec River near the West Main Street bridge.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

    A PIECE OF MILO’S HISTORY — Lorinda Annis Schrager and Eric Annis stand next to an engraved marker on a piece of property along the Sebec River in downtown Milo their family has given to the Milo Historical Society. The parcel is the former home of the blacksmith shop operated for many years by their grandfather W. Lawrence Doble, and the Milo Historical Society plans to preserve the land as a small park.

    For many years the parcel was the site of a blacksmith shop operated by W. Lawrence Doble, with the building standing until the middle of the 20th century. The children of Doble’s daughter Jane Doble Annis, Eric Lawrence Annis and Lorinda Annis Schrager, have donated the former site of the W. Lawrence Doble Blacksmith Shop to the Milo Historical Society.
    The lot located next to the dam and across West Main Street from the Joseph P. Chaisson Post 41 American Legion Hall has been maintained, to a limited extent over the years, by conscientious citizens. The goal of the Milo Historical Society is to preserve the property as a small park.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

    RIVERFRONT PARCEL — The former site of the W. Lawrence Doble Blacksmith Shop in Milo has been given by his grandchildren Eric Lawrence Annis and Lorinda Annis Schrager to the Milo Historical Society. The small parcel by the Sebec River and West Main Street will become a green space for the community for years to come.

    An engraved stone marker has been installed by the Annis family, which includes an image of the blacksmith shop and identifies the site as the former location of Doble’s shop. The marker states that the property was given in 2013 in loving memory of Mr. Doble, his wife, Olivia Johnston Doble, and their children Benjamin, Lora, Jane and James by the children of Jane — Eric Lawrence Annis and Lorinda Annis Schrager.
    The Milo Historical Society is very appreciative of this thoughtful gesture by the Annis family and hope it will serve as a source of pride for the community.