The young men who volunteered for service in the Union Army included many who gave their lives. and many more who settled elsewhere in the postwar years. In addition to this. the call of the West began to take its toll. in the 1870s and 1880s. and the buildup of industry in neighboring districts had a similar depopulating effect. The resulting decline in local population figures was not checked until the arrival 45 years ago of Polish immigrants from New York who took up a number of the abandoned farms and helped to stabilize the community by their industry. In the glory days. Sandisfield had at one time six tanneries. two mills making fiaxseed oil. a larger maple sugar production than any other town in the State. a silk mill. a woolen mill. a hattery. a cooperage. a wagon factory. and numerous saw and grist mills.
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immigrants