The geographic situation of the township, now Garland, having been originally described as township number three in the fifth range of townships north of the Waldo Patent, the inquisitive reader will desire to know something of the history of that patent.

In March, 1630, John Beauchamp of London, England, and Thomas Leverett of Boston, England, obtained a grant of land from a company acting under the authority of the government of England. This grant was first known as the Muscongus Patent from the river that formed a part of the western boundary. From the seacoast, it extended northerly between Penobscot Bay and River on the east, and the Muscongus River on the west, to the line that constitutes the southern boundary of the present towns of Hampden. Newburg and Dixmont.

This grant or patent embraced a territory of thirty-six miles square. It conveyed nothing but the right of exclusive trade with the Indians, to promote which a trading house was built and supplied with such articles of exchange as were necessary to a successful traffic. This traffic was carried on without interruption to the mutual advantage of the whites and natives until the opening of the first Indian Wars in 1675, a period of forty-five years.

About the year 1720 this patent passed into the hands of a wealthy family of Boston of the name of Waldo and from that time it was known as the Waldo Patent.

In the year 1759, a very sad event occurred in an attempt to find the northern limit of this patent.

When the work of building Fort Pownal had been fairly inaugurated Governor Pownal ascended the river with a large escort. The object of this expedition seems to have been for the purpose of a conference with the Indians. He was accompanied by General Samuel Waldo, a representative of the interests of the Waldo family, who had taken great interest in the construction of the fort, believing that its presence on the river would be of great advantage to the proprietors of the patent. Arriving at the southern limit of the present town of Hampden, the expedition landed. General Waldo having withdrawn a short distance from his companions, suddenly turned and exclaimed, ÒHere is my bound!Ó The exclamation was followed by an event intensely tragical. Scarcely had it escaped his lips when he fell and expired instantly.

Gen. Waldo was held in high esteem for his sterling qualities of mind and heart. His sudden death produced a profound impression upon his companions. He was buried near the fort where his body remained for some years, but was ultimately removed to Boston.

It has been noted that the exterior lines of the present town of Garland were run by Ephraim Ballard and Samuel Weston in 1792. In the year 1800, Moses Hodsdon, a resident of the present town of Kenduskeag, assisted by David A. Grove, Daniel Wilkins and a Mr. Shores, surveyed the township into lots. Isaac Wheeler, Esq., who was afterwards a prominent citizen of the town, accompanied the surveying party.