1865 Saco Maine Municipal Payment Order Highway Fund Bradbury Hogg Ephemera
$ 6.86
Description
1865 Saco Maine Municipal Payment Order Highway Fund Bradbury Hogg Ephemera. This 1865 municipal payment order from Saco, Maine, documents a routine yet historically significant transaction in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War. Dated June 26, 1865, the document directs Town Treasurer John C. Bradbury to pay James Hogg the sum of twenty-two dollars and twenty-five cents from the Highway fund for work performed on a new county road, officially authorized by Selectman David Fernald. The item represents a tangible piece of municipal finance and public works administration in York County, Maine, during a period of national reconstruction and local infrastructure development. Its format as a pre-printed order, filled out by hand, exemplifies the bureaucratic ephemera of 19th-century American town governance, featuring a formal structure with spaces for payee, amount, purpose, and official signature. The document's material characteristics reveal its functional history, displaying expected age-related wear including fading, creasing, and staining consistent with archival handling. A prominent handwritten X marked across the Pay to section suggests the order was either voided or processed, adding a layer of procedural provenance. The substantial handwritten content, comprising approximately seventy percent of the text, provides a direct connection to the civic officials involved, with legible cursive script detailing the transaction's specifics. This piece of fiscal ephemera serves as a primary source for understanding postbellum municipal economics, public works funding mechanisms, and the material culture of small-town administration in mid-19th century New England. PLEASE NOTE: This item may be folded in order to fit the mailer. Whenever possible, it will be folded using folds or creases that were already in the document.
