Ed. Note: Information in the following article was secured from Dr. F. E. Weeks, who wrote a "Pioneer History of Camden Township," a few years ago and who is an authority on the historical events which occurred in pioneer days.
"For some reason, Camden was not settled as early as the adjoining townships. Brighton was settled in 1820, Henrietta in 1817, Pittsfield in 1819, but the first permanent setters came to Camden in 1833. Some transient settlers came earlier but made no permanent settlement. In March 1833 appeared the first permanent settlers, when William Scott and John Johnston, natives of Scotland, settled on the farm now occupied by the May family. Others came in quite rapidly after this time, Gideon Waugh, Thomas Lee, Robert Douglas, Thomas Sigsworth, William Hawkins, Burtis Bayless, Platt Squires, the Gagers, David Wells and Reuben Eddy.
"The pioneers erected log cabins for their first residences, both on account of the short time required for the erection, and the labor required for the hauling of logs to some distant sawmill, to obtain the necessary lumber for an improved type of building. When a man had cut and hauled to the site of his house the required number of logs, the neighbors gathered and proceeded to place the logs. These were notched at the proper places for the corners and a man at each corner would carry it up. Sometimes, in rolling up a log it would slip and an accident occur. For the roof, poles were laid and perhaps covered with bark temporarily, until splits hingles, or "shakes" could be prepared. The windows were generally made of oiled paper and the doors were made from boards split out by hand. The floor was made of puncheons, that is, logs split in the middle and laid with the split surface on top. They were smoothed with a broadax. Roswell Babcock started the first frame house on the Violetta Cook farm, but did not complete it. This was in 1837. Edwin Gager and Ezekiel Arnold soon erected frame dwellings. The first frame barn was erected in 1836 by David Wells and Reuben Eddy. It is still standing on the Henry Hand farm.
Dr. Week’s records show that Moses Pike felled the first tree in the township for purposes of improvement. The first child born was Betsy, daughter of Herod and Eliza Pike. The first male child was James, son of Gideon Waugh. The wife of Gideon Waugh died in 1837, the first death in the township, and the first marriage was that of Hannah Sigsworth and Reuben Eddy in 1835. The first tavern was built in 1845 by Levi Forbes. It was made of logs and located at Samtown. The first store was in the woodhouse of Samuel Morgan [Jay Whitney home] in 1841.