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Orland
Orland started as Plantation
#2 at the same time Bucksport was settled. When it was
incorporated in 1800, most likely it was named by its first
Town Clerk Joseph Lee who owned several ships, one of which
was named Orland.
He found virgin timber here when
England was running out of tall timber for ship‚s masts
(thus Mast Hill Road, Bucksport and Orland). Members of
Orland Historical Society George Swayer and Don Bowden have
written parts of the town’s history in preparation for the
bicentennial celebration coming in the year 2000. Their work
may be read at the Society museum. Sawyer describes the
first sawmill and grist mill at the lower falls near the
present Orland village dam in 1773, adding information on
fishing, grist mills, quarries, shipbuilding, lumber, laths
and brick making. Don Bowden’s 44-page history of the
Hardscrabble community (South Orland along the Penobscot
River) describes fishing, brick yards, stone quarries,
schooners and a sawmill. When alewives (large bellied
herring) run up the Narramissic River, otters, osprey and
other wildlife are frequently seen in the river and along
its shores.
Deer Isle
Two towns occupy a large island on the east side of
Penobscot Bay. One town and the island share the same name.
Deer Isle is reached by a high suspension bridge over the
Eggemoggin Reach from Sedgwick to Little Deer Isle and then
by causeway to the larger island. State route 15 traverses
the island and runs through several villages along the way.
One would be hard pressed to find views and scenery to equal
those along the rugged coastline with its bays, and
peninsulas.
The town of Deer Isle occupies
about the northern two thirds of the island and all of
Little Deer Isle. Stonington covers the southern part of the
island. Stonington Harbor is a protected haven and is a busy
fishing port. A cannery, marketing co-ops, and a major boat
repair facility line the shore. The ferry to Isle Au Haut
and part of Acadia National Park leaves from the town dock.
Both Stonington and Deer Isle retain many historic
buildings.
This island that is literally at
the end of the road has much to offer. Ames Pond in
Stonington is noted for its water lilies that bloom in the
late Spring. In Deer Isle is the Haystack Mountain School of
Crafts situated on the end of a long narrow peninsula. Deer
Isle-Stonington High School, while fielding the usual
interscholastic sports teams, also fields a powerhouse Chess
Team that is game to take on all comers.
Castine
Castine’s colorful past has left many imprints in the
town; from place names, to archeological sites, to the
remains of a fort, to old buildings, to a modern maritime
academy. Situated as it is on Penobscot Bay, with a deep
harbor and easy access to the interior, Castine has been a
prize worth fighting for and from the beginning of European
contact many people have strived to control its strategic
position. It was for many years a pawn on the chess board of
European politics as the English, French, and Dutch vied for
its possession.
The English from the Plymouth
Colony established a trading post at what they called
Majabagaduce. They soon were displaced by French traders
who had friendly relations with the native people. They
called the site Pentagoet and established a fort. A young
French trader Jean St. Castin married the daughter of a
local sagamore and lived in the area until 1701. It was his
name that was ultimately applied to the town.
Castine was a booming lumbering
and ship-building town in the first half of the last century
but its fortunes faded as railroads expanded and the demand
for ocean shipping declined. Toward the end of that
century “rusticators” discovered the beauty of the area and
built many summer “cottages” thus bringing prosperity to the
town again.
In 1942 the Maine Maritime
Academy occupied the buildings of the Eastern State Normal
School. The Academy offers a broad maritime curriculum
and its alumni are employed worldwide.
Castine offers views into the
past and glimpses into its future. |
