Burgess Poultry Farm
By 1900, poultry farming was one of the leading industries in Cumberland, with the principle breeds being White Wyandottes, Plymouth Rocks, and Rhode Island Reds.
An average poultry business in the area, like the Shaw Brothers in West Cumberland, wintered about 600 hens and hatched from 1,000 to 2,000 chicks each season. Eggs were also shipped for hatching.
There were at least three main poultry dealers and processors in town whose product was processed, packed in ice, and shipped to Boston and other urban markets by express rail shipment through Cumberland Junction.
George Burgess and his wife lived on one such poultry farm, with living quarters in the two-story central structure and chickens in the two wings. In 1966, the Burgess farm was burned during a Fire Department training exercise, and became the site for the new Mabel I. Wilson School.
