Settled in 1772, known as Brookfield, Seven Mile Brook Plantation, and Titcomb Town, it is named for British Lord George Anson. In 1775, Benedict Arnold’s expedition camped at Norridgewock Falls, near the current town office.
The village straddles a bend in the Kennebec River at the junction of Maine Routes 8 and 139, and U.S. Routes 2 and 201A. See photos. The Sandy River empties into the Kennebec in the town. Benedict Arnold’s expedition passed through in 1775. Norridgewock was the home of author Rebecca “Sophie May” Clark, and U.S.Representatives Cullen Sawtelle and Stephen D. Lindsey.
The site of many mills in its history, its largest has been a paper mill at the dam where U.S. Route 201 crosses the Kennebec River from Anson. Until the end of the log drives in 1976, the river was often choked with pulp logs destined for this mill and others. The Lakewood Summer Theater, opened in 1901 in East Madison. Benedick Arnold passed through on his way to Quebec.
In 1625, the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims sailed to the Kennebec River in hopes of establishing a trading relationship with area Indians. By 1628 the Pilgrims were operating a year-round trading post just south of where Fort Western now stands. The Pilgrims made the voyage in a 38-foof open-hulled, single-masted sailing vessel called a shallop. A…
The Reuben Colburn House in Pittston, Maine is the site of one of the original settlements in Maine. Built in 1765, it was one of the first on the east side of the Kennebec River in an area later known locally as Colburntown. See photos. The house and carriage house is now owned by the Arnold Expedition Society. The village of East Pittston is located on the Eastern River near the town line with Whitefield. Route 194 serves the village and the Pittston Fair Grounds nearby.
is site of the 1761 Pownalborough Courthouse, the first built in Maine, visited by future President John Adams, Daniel Webster, and Benedict Arnold on his way to Quebec. The Earle R. Kelley Wildlife Management Area and the Dresden Bog are here in the area first settled in 1752.
is the marker for dividing East Penobscot Bay from West Penobscot Bay. It includes North and South Islesboro connected by a narrow segment of land, See chart and photo. Seven Hundred Acre Island, Job Island. The 129 acres of forested Warren Island hosts a state park with a dock and moorings. Grindel Point Light Station in Gilkey Harbor on Islesboro was established in 1850.
in Hancock County, incorporated 1830, requires ferries or water taxis to access. The 200 acre cranberry marsh on Great Cranberry Island influenced Governor Bernard in 1762 to name the town as it is. Little Cranberry hosts the Islesford Historical Museum; The Baker Island and Bear Island light stations provide navigation assistance near Acadia National Park. See map.
Settled in the early 1800s, the island had a population of 19 in 1820, when fishing and some logging sustained the community. Other than for a period of pulpwood harvesting, few roads were constructed outside Lunt Harbor. See amateur film, video and photos. While many Maine islands struggle to maintain a critical mass of population, Frenchboro experienced a substantial reversal of three decades of decline when the 2010 U.S. Census confirmed sixty-one people as resident.
in Hancock County is southeast of Mount Desert Island, accessible by ferry from Bass Harbor in Tremont. See amateur film clip. Beaches and picnic areas may be found at the villages of Minturn and Atlantic, in addition to Swan’s Island village.
John Steinbeck on Deer Isle: “There is something about it that opens no door to words.” Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge links the island to the mainland. See photos. The town, in Hancock County and incorporated 1789, includes nature preserves and 77 coastal islands. .
Samuel de Champlain apparently named it in 1604 from the French for “high island.” About half the island is incorporated into Acadia National Park. Isle au Haut is both a lobstering community and a retreat for seasonal cottage owners. It has also been home to author-fisherman Linda Greenlaw.
Located in Penobscot Bay, it is accessible via the State Ferry Service from Rockland, with connections to Vinalhaven. See video and photos. Fishing was the major industry on the island for many years, with a brief venture into canning. Boat building emerged as a major economic activity producing both fishing vessels and yachts for summer people. Long a resort community, it has few permanent residents. The “Turner Farm Site,” on the National Register, is a treasure of artifacts from Maine pre-history. Calderwood Island nature preserve is here.
[muh-TIN-ih-kuss] is an island plantation, organized on October 22, 1840, in Knox County in the Gulf of Maine 20 miles south of Rockland from which it is accessible by ferry. Its name, says Lawrence Bond, means “far off island,” from the Abenaki “metin” meaning “cut off, separate” and “nic” meaning island. The Indians supposedly gave…
Attractive to artists since the late 19th century, its first draw was fish. See video and photos. After early European explorers passed by (Cabot in 1497, Weymouth and Champlain in 1605), the abundance of fish soon became apparent. Botanists have identified over six hundred varieties of wildflowers on the island. Monhegan Light was commissioned on July 2, 1824.
Just south of Booth Bay, the island was one of the earliest places along the Maine coast inhabited by Europeans. Even before the Pilgrim’s Mayflower arrived, fishermen from England, France, Spain and Holland caught and dried cod, which was shipped to Europe. By 1605 the English were fishing near the island. In 1622 when the…
[BAY-lee iland] The island is in the town of Harpswell on Casco Bay. For over two centuries of European settlement, Bailey Island was unconnected from the mainland. Though proposed as early as 1872, a bridge…
(1813-1906) born in Lewiston on May 6, 1813, was Maine governor from 1879 to 1870. Educated at academies in Monmouth, Waterville, and Newcastle, he worked his way through Bowdoin College by teaching school, graduating in 1836. After attending medical school at Dartmouth and the Medical College of Ohio, he returned to Lewiston to open his…
(1811-1870), Governor of Maine from 1864 to 1867, was born in Augusta on February 27, 1811 in a politically active family with a military tradition. His father, General Samuel Cony, was the first Adjutant-General of Maine, holding that office for a decade, and was a representative of Augusta to the Massachusetts General Court. Educated at…
December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1775 Benedict Arnold expedition collaborates in a two-pronged assault on the Quebec, which failed, seriously wounding Arnold. 1859 Joseph Hall, a Jacksonian member…