The surface of the town is rough and hilly, its soil rocky but fertile for farming. Chief crops were grain and hay. Mills were built at pond outlets and on the South River. The largest water power source was on the Ossipee River at Kezar Falls, where the village of Kezar Falls straddled the stream into Porter. Parsonsfield had seven sawmills and seven gristmills. In 1880, John Devereux and George W. Towle built the Kezar Falls Woolen Mill, a woolen textile factory which became the most important business in Parsonsfield.