There is a book on Lee, Maine, titled, Story Of An Old New England Town. It includes a chapter on The Mattakeunk Cabin Colony which starts: In 1916, Mr. Francis Mallett, a former Lee boy, and an ex-consul general to Budapest, Hungary, returned to Lee and assumed control of his father’s property. The Mt. Jefferson House was remodeled for a summer hotel and several cottages erected on the Mallett lot on the shore of Mattakeunk pond. Frank and Hilya’s first daughter, Elena, was born in Norway, their second, Esther, and their third, Linda, were both born in Maine. above, c.1921     The Mattakeunk Cabin Colony was incorporated in 1920 and by 1924 owned property in Maine, in New York City, and in the “picturesque region between Paterson, New York and Sherman, Connecticut.” (above) In the 1920’s the Colony was faced with likely foreclosure due to rising debts and dissension among the shareholders. A receivership was formed to consolidate claims and free the interests of stockholders from jeopardy, but the troubles dragged on into the forties when most of the property was finally sold, at no apparent profit to the Colony. The Becket Hill property was bought after the receivership had been formed and was then sold to an individual investor, Dr. J.J. Mackeown, thus saving it from the fate of the other property. It was incorporated as the Becket Hill Corporation, with Frank Mallett as majority shareholder, and with a different plan of operation – to sell lots (as opposed to leasing them) so as to make money to pay off debts.   <NEXT>