Arthur R. Gould

Arthur Robinson Gould ( born March 16, 1857 in Corinth, Penobscot County, Maine; † July 24, 1946 in Presque Isle, Maine ) was an American politician and entrepreneur. From 1926 to 1931 he was a member of the U.S. Senate.

Arthur Gould visited the East Corinth Academy and then became an independent businessman. After some unsuccessful companies he worked from 1875 in the grocery store of his elder brother in Bangor. From 1877 he was a successful commercial agents in the valley of the Penobscot River and in the north of it Aroostook County and soon became a partner in his brother's company. At that time, the area around the Aroostook River was indeed already inhabited and some places had already municipal law, but a bank did not exist. Therefore, Gould settled in November 1886 in Presque Isle and founded a shop and a bank. His previous stores he handed over to his younger brother.

In the following years he acquired large stakes in two sawmills and at the Presque Isle Electric Company. From 1906 he was director of the Maine and New Brunswick Power Company. Aroostook County was developed at that time by the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad from the direction of Bangor, and by a branch line of the Canadian Pacific Railway from Canada railway technically. The City of Washburn north-west of Gould's adopted home of Presque Isle was still entirely without rail connection. Gould had the idea to build an electric railway between Presque Isle and Washburn and founded in 1902, the Aroostook Valley Railroad, which was finally opened in 1910. The current moved the train from Gould's own power station. Gould's investment in Aroostook County ensured a significant upturn in the area.

In the following years, Gould's interest in politics grew. He was a member of the Republican Party and in 1921 elected to the Senate from Maine, where he remained until 1922. When the U.S. Senator Bert Fernald died in August 1926, Gould received the right to fill the post until the end of the term. He assumed his new position as U.S. Senator on November 30th of the year. After the end of the term of office on March 3, 1931 Arthur Gould returned to Maine. During his time in the Senate he was chairman of the Immigration Committee for the 71st Congress of the United States. Arthur R. Gould died on July 24, 1946 in Presque Isle, and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor.

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