Shipbuilding has been a way of life along the Kennebec River in Bath since 1743 when Jonathan Philbrick launched a schooner with the help of his two sons. Smaller fishing and sailing craft had been built for years, but a new industry was now emerging. In 1762 the Earl of Bute, the first full-rigged ship…
in Hancock County, incorporated in 1817. Its Cape Rosier recalls James Rosier who accompanied George Weymouth in explorations of 1605. Brooksville boasts one of the best harbors for small boats: Bucks Harbor. Helen and Scott Nearing lived here. See photos.
Electric power generated from Maine’s rivers provided an early source of energy for large pulp and paper companies and other sectors of the economy. Later oil fueled electric generation emerged, followed in the mid-20th century by nuclear power. Later still in that century, biomass (primarily wood) generators were added to the mix. The early 21st…
In the 1970s Easton was the site of a failed attempt to establish a sugar beet refinery to diversify dependence on the potato economy. The McCain Foods, U.S.A. facility and the J. M. Huber Corporation’s Engineered Woods plant provide local employment. Easton, in Aroostook County, incorporated in 1865.
National Register of Historic Places – Listings Katahdin Iron Works [Northwest of Brownville Junction at Silver Lake] Katahdin Iron Works Township, T6 R9 NWP, is an unorganized township northwest of Brownville and just east of Gulf Hagas and The Hermitage. Red iron oxide from Ore Mountain is believed to have been the source of paint…
Mining has been significant part of the Maine economy at different times in different places, thanks to its geologic composition. Granite, slate, and gem extraction have been important local industries at certain points in the state’s history. The Mt. Mica mine in Paris, Maine was the site in 1820 where amateur naturalists Elijah Hamlin and…
The Maine Yankee Atomic Power plant was built between 1968 and 1972 at a cost of $231 million in Wiscasset. The Central Maine Power Company, its largest shareholder, selected Wiscasset because of its fresh water and ocean access, a nearby railroad and highways, proximity to electrical load centers and transmission lines, and excellent bedrock for…
“Quoddy is an example of a project planned by private capital and supported by pressure groups, but which could not be financed without public aid.” So noted Lincoln Smith in his analysis of the long-studied but never funded tidal hydroelectric project in Washington County. Conceived in the early 20th century by Dexter P. Cooper, the…
Ripogenus (Abenaki for “gravel) is the name given for the dam and the lake created by it. Ripogenus Lake is essentially a human-made extension of Chesuncook Lake. The dam [N45° 52′ 47.64″ W69° 10′ 32.56″], completed in 1920, provides water power for McKay power station through an underground tunnel. In 1989…
is both an unorganized township and a lake created by the Seboomook Dam. Just north of Moosehead Lake, half the township and all of the lake are in Maine Public Reserved Land protective status. The 6,880-acre lake has over 69 miles of shoreline, with the dam at its eastern end where it spills into the…