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    The Machias Bay Region
    The Machias Bay Region
    The Machias Bay Region
    Ebook164 pages28 minutes

    The Machias Bay Region

    By Jim Harnedy and Jane Harnedy

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    About this ebook

    The Machias Bay Region has a rich multicultural heritage. For eons, Native Americans of various tribes journeyed to the shores of the Machias River
    each September for an annual gathering. The earliest European visitors to the region may have been Norsemen in the eleventh century. The French set up a trading post in 1605-1606 and the Pilgrims established an ill-fated trading post in 1733. Another early Machias settler was the infamous pirate Captain Samuel Bellamey. In 1763, Machias was successfully settled by a group of pioneers from Scarborough, who found in Machias an abundance of marsh hay, extensive forests, and a sheltered harbor. These brave pioneers later became American patriots when they fought and won the first naval engagement of the Revolutionary War on June 12, 1775.
    This wonderful photographic history captures how much, and yet how little has changed over the years. These photographs chronicle not only the rich
    historical traditions of the area but also the shared sense of life's unbroken continuity in the towns of the Machias Bay Region: Cutler, East Machias, Jonesboro, Machias, Machiasport, Marshfield, Whiting, and Whitneyville. The book features old vessels docking for shipments of lumber, fishermen plying the waters for a catch, lumberjacks running logs, horses hauling timber through the snow, the Cross Island lifesaving station, women doing their wash at Schooner Brook, cattle contributing to the workforce, and folks raking blueberries, and tipping balsam branches and making wreaths. The legacy of our churches, schools, general stores, and county buildings are featured, as well as school sports teams. Photographs of our communities and people at both work and play depict an artistry of another era and a glimpse into the way life was.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateApr 12, 2001
    ISBN9781439627518
    The Machias Bay Region
    Author

    Jim Harnedy

    Jim Harnedy is an octogenarian and a native of Brookline, Massachusetts. He has resided in his adopted state of Maine for four decades. He is a retired computer executive, and in his third career, he has authored ten books, as well as a number of articles for both local and national publications. He did his college preparatory work at St. Sebastian's School and received his Bachelor's Degree in history from Boston College. He did postgraduate work at Georgetown University and at Framingham State College. Among his many interests have been organic gardening, raising and showing Kerry Blue Terriers, camping, reading and enjoying the changing seasons that New England provides. Jim has been active in both his community and church. Since a health issue required him to downsize his medium-sized canine companions, he has acquired a wonderful little Scot, named Duncan, a West Highland White Terrier. Jim is the father of two daughters and has four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Jim and Duncan live way Down East in Bucks Harbor, Machiasport, Maine.

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      Book preview

      The Machias Bay Region - Jim Harnedy

      House)

      INTRODUCTION

      Before the arrival of Europeans to the Machias Bay Region, Native Americans of various tribes made an annual September pilgrimage to the shores of the Machias River at Clark’s Point. Here have been found extensive clam heaps, providing evidence of their gatherings.

      The first Europeans to set foot in the Machias Bay Region were most likely Norsemen. The Picture Rock at Clark’s Point in Machiasport and the man-made Norse Pond at Cutler provide some evidence that Norsemen may well have had a settlement here as early as the 11th century.

      The French explorer De Montz left the first tangible proof of discovery of the Machias River. There are records that document that some of De Montz’s sailors established a trading post at Clark’s Point, Machiasport, in 1605–1606.

      An ill-fated trading post was established in the Machiasport area in 1733 by the Pilgrims, but the French who claimed the area sent a ship to confiscate the goods and take the occupants prisoners. Later, the French killed two of the Pilgrims, took four prisoners, confiscated all the goods, and burned the post.

      Legend says that a Capt. Samuel Bellamey, an infamous pirate, was the next to settle in Machias. After he built a fortified settlement, he and his men took to the sea in their ship the Whidah in a quest to capture women for their new settlement. The ship was wrecked off Cape Cod. It is still unknown whether their rich treasures are buried along the banks of the Machias River or lie on a sand bar off Cape Cod.

      In 1763, Machias was successfully settled by a group of pioneers from Scarborough who had seen their fields and forest lands devastated by drought and forest fires during the summers of 1761 and 1762. In Machias, they found an abundance of marsh hay, extensive forests, and a sheltered harbor.

      In 1775, the Burnham Tavern was the meeting place of the settlement. Standing near the head of Main Street in Machias, this gambrel-roof building, built in 1770 by Job Burnham, was a hostel for weary travelers as well as the spot where the local men came to drink. The tavern also served as the home for the Burnham family.

      When news of the battles of Lexington and Concord reached the local men at the Burnham Tavern, they decided to erect a liberty pole on the village green. The townspeople selected a tall tree from which they stripped branches, save a tuft at the top. After erection of the liberty pole, the local citizens pledged themselves to the defense of the colony.

      Captain Jones, a trader, had been involved in trading with Machias since the early days of the settlement. In early June 1775, he arrived in Machias from Boston with two sloops, the Unity and the Polly. It is believed that Jones’s mission was to move his family and possessions away from the activity leading up to the Revolutionary War to the safety of this remote outpost. He planned to trade supplies for lumber and sell the lumber to be used to build barracks for the British in Boston. To insure that Captain Jones would get a king’s tender for the lumber, the Margaretta, under the command of Captain Moore, was sent as an escort. The local citizens were asked to vote whether or

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