We departed Houghton Maine and ended our stay My Brother’s Place campground with Walter and
Betty this morning. Since we are traveling with another couple, we headed down
Interstate 95, toward Bangor.
We crossed the Captain Ambrose Bear Stream and I made the
assumption that it was named after a military man. Well, it was … but, not for
any of the branches of service I thought! It used to be known as B Stream in
Houlton. Bear, who grew up in Lewiston, is the nonvoting tribal member of the
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians in the Maine House of Representatives. Captain
Ambrose Bear Stream was named in recognition of the role one of his ancestors
played in the American Revolution. Ambrose Bear was a Maliseet chief in 1777,
and historical records show he served under Col. Jonathan Eddy, an officer in
George Washington’s Continental Army. Bear is credited for his efforts during
the Second Battle of Machias, in which he and other members of the tribe were
among the soldiers who fended off an attack of British war ships on the town in
what is thought to be one of the first naval engagements of the war. According
to the historic records, Bear led a party of 100 canoes and was instrumental in
beating back the British as they sought to attack Machias with war ships. Bear
also was credited with serving in a raid on British-held Nova Scotia a year
earlier. With State lawmakers making requests to rename bridges for other
Mainers who played significant roles in the state’s military history, it is
fitting to have the stream in Houlton renamed for an American Indian.
We are back in the US … into another season in the states …
the Construction season!
Mount Katahdin is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of
Maine at 5,267 feet. Named Katahdin by the Penobscot Indians, which means
"The Greatest Mountain", Katahdin is the centerpiece of Baxter State
Park. Percival P. Baxter was governor of Maine during the years of 1921-1924.
He enjoyed fishing and vacationing in the Maine woods throughout childhood and
his affection for the land and Maine’s wildlife were instrumental in his
creation of a park for people of the State of Maine. He began with the purchase
of almost 6,000 acres of land, including Katahdin, Maine’s highest peak. In
1931, Baxter formally donated the parcel to the State of Maine with the
condition that it be kept forever wild.
Over the years, Governor Baxter
purchased additional lands and pieced his park together, transaction by
transaction. He made his final purchase in 1962. Since then, additional
purchases and land gifts have increased the Park’s total size to 204,733 acres.
Demonstrating not only enormous generosity, but admirable foresight, Baxter
left a trust of nearly 7 million dollars to ensure that Park managers would
have sufficient funds to maintain the Park without ever having to compete for
Maine taxpayers’ dollars from the general fund account.
The Penobscot River, including its branches, is the longest
river entirely in Maine. Its branches originate along the Canadian border in
northwestern Maine and then flows 70 miles south to the head of tide in Bangor.
The watersheds associated with the Penobscot’s four branches are forested and
only sparsely settled and developed. The variety of habitats found throughout
the Penobscot drainage support many game fish species, including brook trout,
landlocked salmon, smallmouth bass, white perch, and chain pickerel. Anglers can
select sections of river to fish based on their preferences for species they
desire to catch. The West Branch is noted for both wild brook trout and
landlocked salmon. Unlike most Maine landlocked salmon populations, West Branch
salmon are unique for spending their entire lives in the river environment. The
East Branch of the Penobscot boasts wild brook trout and landlocked salmon
fisheries. The Main Stem of the Penobscot offers good fishing for small mouth
bass. In addition to the resident smallmouth bass, anadromous game fish species
such as Atlantic salmon and striped bass have access to the free flowing
section of river.
The Penobscot Tribe (Panawahpskek) are an indigenous people
in North America with members who reside in the United States and Canada. They
are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations
band government in the Atlantic Provinces. They are part of the Wabanaki
Confederacy, along with the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Mi'kmaq
nations, all of whom historically spoke Algonquian languages. Their main
settlement is now the Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, located along the
Penobscot River. The word "Penobscot" originates from a
mispronunciation of their name for themselves: Penawapskewi. The word means
"rocky part" or "descending ledges," and originally
referred to their territory on the portion of the Penobscot River between
present-day Old Town and Bangor. They had a hunting-gathering society, with the
men hunting beaver, otters, moose, bears, caribou, fish, seafood (clams,
mussels, fish), birds, and possibly marine mammals such as seals. The women
gathered and processed bird eggs, berries, nuts, and roots, all of which were
found throughout their native lands.
At Exit 185, on I-95 in Bangor, Betty and Walter continued
south … and then there was one! We started as one RV on the 26th of
May, we became a three vehicle convoy on the 29th of May, when we
met up with Jack & Jackie and Walter & Betty. On the 4th of
June, we joined the Yankee RV Caravan and traveled as a group of 20 rigs for
the next thirty days. As we all went our separate ways, the three rigs we
started with stayed together for a while … we lost Jack & Jackie at the New
Brunswick / Quebec border yesterday. And today we lost Walter & Betty and
we became one again ….
In Bangor, we had a late breakfast or an early lunch …. Depending
on what you ate … with Don & Donna London at Dysart's Truck Stop.
It was great to visit with them!
We have heard about the hard work that they have completed on their home and it
was great to see it! They should be very proud of the end result! It was a
short visit, but so glad we did it!
We are back into Moose Country! We never saw any Moose, just
the signs!
The Kennebec River flows through the heart of Maine, from its
origin at Moosehead Lake for more than 100 miles downstream to the head of tide
in Augusta. You'll find a variety of environments in which to fish for stocked
and wild brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, stocked and wild landlocked
salmon, smallmouth bass, striped bass and anadromous shad, which return to
freshwater to spawn. The uppermost portion reaches flow through a deep gorge
noted more for its whitewater rafting than its fishing. Access to the gorge is
limited. Below the gorge the gradient moderates, and although access to the
river is still limited, you'll find more opportunity to fish this forested,
undeveloped stretch. Although you'll be traveling through a very populated area
of Maine, you'll be isolated while you're on the Kennebec River in a canoe or
kayak.
We transitioned onto 104W. There is a 104 in NY too … have
we traveled that far that fast? I doubt it … but it is a nice thought!
According to state records, the entire area now known as
Fairfield was originally the Fairfield Plantation. Settlement in the plantation may date back to
1771 when Jonathan Emery built a house on Emery Hill near the banks of the
Kennebec River. Other settlers established themselves nearby and a small
community began to develop. In 1780,
William Kendall purchased the mill of an earlier settler (Jonas Dutton) as well
as much of the land in the area. The entire village area came to be known as
Kendall's Mills. While the Kendall's Mills settlement was developing, a second
population center was established. Nearby,
a group of Quakers under the Bowerman brothers established another settlement
in North Fairfield in 1782. With one area of the town being primarily industrial and the
other primarily agricultural, it is not surprising that differing priorities
led to debates and arguments. The dispute came to a head in 1856 and the towns
separated. Through the years, the boundaries and size of the town have changed.
Land has been offset to Norridgewock and to Bloomfield and land has been added
from Benton. Today the town covers nearly 55 square miles and includes the
geographic areas of Fairfield Center, Nye's Corner, Hinckley, Larone, North
Fairfield, Shawmut, and the downtown area (formerly called Kendall's Mills).
We turned onto Route 139 W and into the town of Norridgewock.
It was situated on the New England and Acadia border. The area was once
territory of the Norridgewock Indians, a band of the Abenaki nation. English
colonists suspected Father Sebastien Rale, the French missionary at the village
since 1694, of abetting tribal hostilities against British settlements during
the French and Indian Wars. During Father Rale's War, soldiers left Fort
Richmond in whaleboats until they reached Taconic Falls, then marched quietly
to Norridgewock Village, arriving on August 23, 1724. Battle of Norridgewock
was "sharp, short and decisive," leaving 26 warriors slain, 14
wounded and 150 survivors fleeing to Quebec, Canada. Father Rale was among the
dead. The British settled the area in 1773, then called Norridgewock
Plantation. In 1775, Benedict Arnold and his troops marched through on their
way to the Battle of Quebec.
A sawmill was built to manufacture the region's abundant
hardwoods, used in local factories to make carriages and furniture.
Norridgewock also had a gristmill and granite works. Built in 1849 and replaced
in 1929, the 600-foot Norridgewock Covered Bridge across the Kennebec River was
the second longest covered bridge in Maine after the 792-foot Bangor Covered
Bridge, which was built in 1846 across the Penobscot River to Brewer.
We moved onto Route 2, which will carry us through Maine,
New Hampshire and Vermont!
We saw a jeep with a GR8Top … It offered coverage of
the two people in the cab, but leaves the back end open like a pick-up truck …
very interesting concept!
We arrived in Farmington, Maine our destination for today. This area was once territory of the Canibas tribe of Abenaki
Indians. They had two camps located near Farmington Falls, with fields cleared
for cultivation of maize and potatoes. Their fort's stockade enclosed about an
acre at the center of what is today Farmington Falls village. A group from Topsham
arrived in 1776 to explore the area and lay out a town, called Plantation No. 1
or Sandy River Plantation, but permanent settlement was delayed by the
Revolutionary War. In 1781, the first settlers arrived, the same year a sawmill
was established. On February 1, 1794, Sandy River Plantation was incorporated
as Farmington, named for its unusually fertile soil. Beginning with a cluster
of log houses at Farmington Falls, the town grew quickly and prospered.
Agriculture was an important early occupation, with hay a principal product.
Orchards yielded apples and other fruit. Farmington became one of the largest
wool producing towns in New England, with many herds of sheep grazing the
hills. |
| Photo credit: Farmington Community Library |
The town's water power attracted industry, including five
lumber mills, two sash, blind and door factories, two brickyards, a foundry, a
rake factory, three gristmills, nearly a dozen carriage factories, a cheese
factory, two corn canning factories, two reaper machine factories, a spool
factory and a tannery. In 1879, the town became the southern terminus for the
narrow gauge Sandy River Railroad, making it a gateway to the Rangeley Lake and
Sugarloaf Mountain areas. Farmington suffered a devastating fire on October 22,
1886, when thirty-three houses, nineteen stores, three churches, the county
jail and the post office were destroyed. Today Farmington is a college town,
home to University of Maine.
We camped at Wayne & Phyllis Nickerson’s house for the
night. We had our own private campground in the woods at their log home! 
We were
treated to a homemade chicken dinner, a driving tour through town and some ice
cream at Gifford’s Homemade Ice Cream stand. Wayne even had a Facebook lesson!
It was great to spend the afternoon and evening with them. We hear so much
about our friends lives and homes in the north, it is nice to see them all!
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