The town, and its Burnham Tavern, was the site of anti-British plotting resulting in capturing the schooner Margaretta. The Tavern was built in 1770, the only building in eastern Maine directly connected with the American Revolution. The Washington County seat, it is located on the Machias River, the engine of its earlier lumbering and shipbuilding industries. Once a haven for pirates, and now a commercial center, it is home to the University of Maine at Machias.
The town lies primarily on the west side of Machias Bay as the Machias River enters the Bay. It offers many sheltered harbors including the well known Bucks Harbor. Machiasport was at the center of controversy in the late 1960’s when an oil terminal was proposed, unsuccessfully, for the quiet coastal community.
in Washington County, incorporated 1826. Benjamin Foster built a house here in 1765 and served in the Revolutionary War. Washington Academy, a private boarding school serving grades 9-12, was established in 1792 and is one of the oldest academies in Maine. See photos.
(1762-1841) was born in Epping, New Hampshire, brother of Thomas Chandler and uncle of Zachariah Chandler, both penniless and illiterate. A U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and a U. S. Senator from Maine, he served in Congress in the following years: 1820-1823; 1823-1825; 1825-1829 as a Democratic-Republican, Crawford Republican, and a Jacksonian, precursors to the Democratic…
I, James Boaz of Portland in the County of Cumberland, on oath declare and say that I was born in Plymouth in Massachusetts which was my place of residence when I enlisted at Cambridge in the year 1780 or thereabouts and joined Capt Abraham Watson’s Company which belonged to Col Graton’s Regiment and Gen1 Glover’s…
On this fourth day of December A.D. 1832 personally appeared in open court before the Hon. John Dickinson Judge of the Court of Probate now sitting, Benen Foster a Resident of the Parish of Wakefield, County of York Province of New Brunswick aged seventy two years, who being first sworn according to law doth, on…
I Caleb Gordon, aged Sixty three years, a citizen of the United States, born in Brentwood in the State of New Hampshire on oath testify & declare (being now resident in Augusta in the District of Maine) that in April 1775 I enlisted as a private soldier for the Continental Service into what was called…
I Jonathan Knox of Berwick in the County of York, and State of Maine, aged Eighty years, do upon Oath declare, in order to obtain the benefit of a Resolve of the Legislature of Maine passed March 17 1835, entitled a “Resolve in favor of certain Officers and Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, and the…
The Declaration of Independence, essentially in following format, was printed and distributed by order of the Massachusetts Legislative Council. Each Maine town received a copy and had it read to the assembled inhabitants. This was their official notification of the Declaration. Since it was a type-set print, no signatures were included in this version. IN…
is the name for Township T2 R6 WBKP, which contains the Chain Lakes, a waterway that provided Benedict Arnold’s expedition with the final passage to Canada on October 25th and 26th in 1775. The North Branch of the Dead River flows south from the lakes and provided the expedition with a path to them. Above…
The bulk of Flagstaff Lake (maps on right) cover Flagstaff, Bigelow, and Dead River townships in western Somerset County. See also Bigelow Township.The North Branch of the Dead River (maps on left) flows through the town of Eustis. Comparing the course of the Dead River in 1928 (upper maps) with that in 1956 (lower maps),…
Appalachian Trail routes from details of a 1956 Historic Topographic Map preserved by the University of New Hampshire (see below). This township is technically known as T2 R3 BKP WKR. The latter initials mean Bingham’s Kennebec Purchase West of the Kennebec River. The township (Not to be…
The township is immediately west of the Kennebec River, across from Caratunk, host to the next northerly section of the Appalachian Trail. Access by road begins across the river from Bingham. A right turn brings one to the Carry Pond Road, which proceeds north and becomes a gravel traveled way. The right fork about three…
in Somerset County lies 40 miles north of Skowhegan on the Kennebec River, where both Pierce Pond Stream and Pleasant Pond Stream enter. The Appalachian Trail crosses the river aided by a canoe shuttle. Benedick Arnold marched through on his way to Quebec. See video and photos.
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 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.
Recorded as Skwahegan in early reports, the name means “watching place for fish,” drawn from the falls in the Kennebec River that harbored salmon. See photos. Local Indians speared them as they attempted to scale the falls. Textile and shoe manufacturing were major employment options for local residents during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Once home to Camp Modin, a camp for Jewish boys and girls until 1992, Lake George Regional Park is split between Skowhegan and Canaan.
Winslow is on the east side of the Kennebec River, across from Waterville, on Routes U.S. 201 and Maine routes 32, 100, 100A, and 137. See photos. A reconstructed blockhouse of Fort Halifax, which incorporates many original timbers, stands on the fort’s original site.
has sufficient space to support farming as well as serving as a residential area for people working in Augusta and Waterville. See video and photos. Benedict Arnold stopped here to obtain a canoe on his way to Quebec. Site of Oak Grove Seminary in 1844, then Oak Grove Coburn school in 1970, then the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in 2001.
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.