Blanchard Township

This township in Piscataquis County was incorporated as a town on March 17, 1831 from T3 R3, BKP.

Named for one of the early proprietors, Charles Blanchard,* it became a township in 1985 and is home to Russell Mountain and Whetstone Pond.

The village, near the Piscataquis River, is accessible from Monson. Thomas Davee, lived here in the early 19th century, served in the Maine House of Representatives, was Somerset County Sheriff, a member of Congress, and postmaster.

In the early 1950’s the Trail tracked several miles south of the Piscataquis River until crossing it at the village, after facing steep slopes on the northern edge of Russell Mountain. (Click to enlarge the map above.)

In the northern portion, the Appalachian Trail crosses the township following Bald Mountain Stream and the Piscataquis River, passing just north of the village.

60-acre Spectacle Pond ** is in an isolated spot, not often visited, in the southwest corner of the township. (See the lower section of the map above.) It consists of two separate, shallow basins separated by a narrow thoroughfare.

The forest extends right to the shoreline around most of the pond. Access is over a rough gravel road which ends at the shore.

---

About 50 years in the 20th century one small camp was at the pond. The owners invited visitors to share the quiet, the fishing, and the good-natured conversation over cards.

 

The pond is so shallow that water temperatures at times exceed the limits considered tolerable by brook trout. Spring areas in the pond become very important in sustaining the brook trout. The shallow water (about four feet) provides good grazing opportunities for moose.

According to a report of a 1979 lake survey, “the only tributary to Spectacle Pond is a meandering dead-water area that passes through several old beaver flowages. No suitable trout spawning areas were found in this brook. The outlet flows through an old beaver dam. The brook trout population is maintained through natural reproduction that occurs within the pond, and in the outlet.”***

**Not to be confused with Spectacle Ponds in nearby Monson.  Pond photos with moose by Francis B. Henderson.

 

Additional resources

*See Glossary, source number 7.

** There are at least five other Spectacle Ponds in Maine: King and Bartlett Township also in Somerset County, Porter Township in Oxford County, Vassalboro and Augusta in Kennebec County, and Osborn Plantation in Hancock County.

***Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. “Spectacle Pond.”  Published under Appropriation No. 4550 A Contribution of Dingell-Johnson Federal Aid Project F-28-P, Maine. http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/lakesurvey_maps/piscataquis/spectacle_pond.pdf  (accessed June 12, 2014)

Topographic maps were created from the University of New Hampshire Dimond Library, Documents Department & Data Center, Historic USGS Maps of New England & New York, accessed 1/14/2008: Kingsbury, ME Quadrangle (1950), http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/Kingsbury.htm; and, Greenville ME Quadrangle (1951) http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/Greenville.htm.

All 2007 photos courtesy of Brady G. Williams.

<= South       Appalachian Trail – click a boot      North =>