2020 Midcoast Region

Maine’s History Magazine

FREE

Volume 29 | Issue 5 | 2020

15,000 Circulation

Midcoast Region

Major General Philip Sheridan Augusta parade in 1867 welcomes him

Freeport’s Mast Landing A trip to the summer of 1852

Rockland’s Hiram Gregory Berry

Maine Celebrates 200 Years!

Gentleness and undaunted courage

Midcoast Region

Inside This Edition

2

3 It Makes No Never Mind James Nalley

4 The Coast Artillery A bygone era of Maine’s defenses Charles Francis

Maine’s History Magazine

Midcoast Region

Publisher Jim Burch

Editor

10 Freeport’s Mast Landing A trip to the summer of 1852 Derek Brou

Dennis Burch

Layout & Design Liana Merdan

Advertising & Sales Manager

14 Unfortunate Incident In Bath Captain shoots Lieutenant Brian Swartz

19 Major General Philip Sheridan Augusta parade in 1867 welcomes him Brian Swartz

Tim Maxfield

Advertising & Sales Jennifer Bakst Dennis Burch Tim Maxfield

Distribution Manager Diane Nute

Field Representatives Jim Nute Don Plante

Contributing Writers

24 The Disappearance Of Fred Finnegan Eleven days in the Thomaston hole Brian Swartz

32 Rockland’s Hiram Gregory Berry Gentleness and undaunted courage James Nalley

Derek Brou Charles Francis James Nalley Brian Swartz Published Annually by CreMark, Inc. 10 Exchange Street, Suite 208 Portland, Maine 04101 Office: (207) 874-7720 info@discovermainemagazine.com www.discovermainemagazine.com Discover Maine Magazine is distributed to town offices, chambers of commerce, financial institutions, fraternal organizations, barber shops, beauty salons, hospitals and medical offices, newsstands, grocery and convenience stores, hardware stores, lumber companies, motels, restaurants and other locations throughout this part of Maine.

NO PART of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from CreMark, Inc. | Copyright © 2020, CreMark, Inc.

Front Cover Photo: Stringing alewives at a smokehouse in Damariscotta.

Item # LB2005. 24.20039 from the Boutilier Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

All photos in Discover Maine’s Midcoast Region edition show Maine as it used to be, and many are from local citizens who love this part of Maine.

Photos are also provided from our collaboration with the Maine Historical Society and the Penobscot Marine Museum.

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com

It Makes No Never Mind

by James Nalley

B

y the time of this publication, Mainers will have hopefully survived the mud season and are looking forward to the warmer summer months. Interestingly, late May is when boat tours begin offering passengers a rare glimpse of Atlantic puffins, which come ashore to breed and return to the sea in late August. In general, puffins can be found across the colder regions of the North Atlantic, including Newfoundland and Iceland, with Maine at the southern end of their breeding range.

In general, Maine’s puffins have had a difficult history. According to Maine Birding Trail, they were nearly “eliminated, since colorful birds were prized for their feathers and their eggs were gathered for the dinner table.” However, over the past 40 years, the National Audubon Society’s (NAS) Seabird Restoration Program, also known as “Project Puffin,” pioneered by Dr. Steven Kress, has restored breeding Atlantic puffins to islands off the coast of Maine. As stated by the NAS, the program’s innovative approach “uses decoys, mirrors, and recordings to attract birds to suitable nesting sites.” Despite the program’s success, the birds are still threatened by, for example, gulls, which often prey on puffin

chicks, and overfishing of herring and other small fish species, which puffins rely on for sustenance.

For those interested in taking a peek at these rare creatures in their natural habitat, there is the seven-acre Eastern Egg Rock, which is located approximately six miles from New Harbor. In fact, this island is the world’s first re-established seabird colony, which is owned by the state and managed

by Project Puffin. According to Maine Birding Trail, “This is one of the most-visited puffin islands, due to its southern location and nearness to shore…The island is less exposed to challenging seas and this can be a good choice for those prone to seasickness.”

As a bonus, the following two tour boats are the only ones with educators from Project Puffin who serve as narrators with first-hand experience in restoring puffin populations: Hardy Boat Cruises (www. hardyboat.com/puffin-watch) and Cap’n Fish (www.mainewhales.com). More specifically, Hardy Boat Cruises offers puffin cruises from May 16 to late August, with daily departures. In addition, a portion of each ticket sold is donated to Project Puffin to help continue its important work. To

date, Hardy Boat Cruises has contributed more than $125,000 directly to the project.

As for Cap’n Fish, they offer the Audubon Puffin and Scenic Cruise as well as the Whale/Puffin Combo Cruise. They also state that, not only is the cruise narrated by members of Project Puffin, but it also offers glimpses of many islands, three lighthouses, and an occasional whale.

Well, on this note, let me close with the following jest: Late one night, a burglar broke into a house and tiptoed through the living room. But he suddenly froze in his tracks when he heard a voice say, “Jesus is watching you.” After silence returned to the house, the burglar crept forward again. “Jesus is watching you,” said the voice again.

The frightened burglar looked around. In a dark corner, there was a bird cage with a parrot. He asked the parrot, “Was that you who said Jesus is watching me?” “Yes,” said the parrot. The burglar sighed in relief and asked the parrot, “What is your name?” “Clarence” replied the bird. “Well that’s a dumb name for a parrot,” sneered the burglar. “What idiot named you Clarence?” The parrot said, “The same idiot who named that large rottweiler behind you Jesus.”

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The Coast Artillery A bygone era of Maine’s defenses

by Charles Francis

I

n the winter of 1929 members of the 240th Maine Coast Artillery began appearing in towns like Bath and Rockland sporting a fine new medallion on their uniforms. The metal and enamel emblem featured a red scroll and azure mullets outlined in gray, on a field of silver. The red scroll around the border bore the words “Semper Primus Et Fidelis.” Unfortunately, the new emblems worn by the men of the 240th would represent one of the more significant expenditures for the state’s harbor defenses in 1929.

Today the Maine Coast Artillery is a forgotten component of Maine military history. Following World War I, however, it was as much a part of the

Maine military as the infantry companies making up the National Guard. At this time the Maine National Guard had two distinct divisions, the 103rd Infantry Regiment and the 240th Coast Artillery. Both had the sitting governor as their overall commander-in-chief, with the Adjutant-General of the Maine National Guard as their immediate commander. And while both were expected to pick up the slack in the nation’s defenses with the downsizing of the regular military following World War I, neither had much in the way of federal support. In Maine, what little funding that went to harbor defenses was spent on Portland, with the installations further east being ignored. Nevertheless,

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the installations of the midcoast continued to be a fact of life on the coast.

The main reason for the creation of a system of harbor defenses was to give people living on the coast a sense of security. The Great War had brought this need home when German submarines and other naval vessels prowled the east coast of North America from Canada to the Caribbean. Therefore, Washington authorized the construction or upgrading of fortifications at various points on America’s shores. These were for the most part manned by National Guard contingents or as they were still called — even after World War I — militia units. They closely resembled the militia companies of bygone days in

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com that they were basically made up of local volunteers.

In Maine the major Coast Artillery installations were at Portland and Sanford in the west, and Brunswick, Bath, Thomaston, and Rockland in the midcoast region. There were no harbor defenses further east than Penobscot Bay. Following World War I the most significant upgrading of Maine’s harbor defenses came as a result of the Washington Treaty of 1922. This treaty brought about a reduction in naval forces. To offset the reduction, Army ordnance — primarily 12-inch and 16inch guns — were turned over to states for coastal defense. In theory, the Militia Bureau of the War Department was responsible for deploying the weapons and training. It was up to states to provide Coastal Artillery units to man them.

In 1922 James A. Hanson was appointed Adjutant-General of the Maine National Guard. This also made him the Office of

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military head of the 240th Coast Artillery. The headquarters of the Coast Artillery was in Portland. Its commander was Colonel George Fogg. The battery commanders for the midcoast were as follows: Captain Alonzo Briggs, Brunswick; Captain James McClure, Bath; Captain Russell Gray, Thomaston; and Major Ralph Brown, Rockland. In addition there were, at various times, mobile units stationed at locations like Popham Beach and Camden.

For the most part, recruiting for Coastal Artillery batteries was conducted by the batteries’ officers. In some cases volunteers were members of the same family. For example, while Major Ralph Brown was commander of the Rockland Battery, his brother Major Freeman Brown headed the 240ths’ Medical Department.

The 240th Coastal Artillery began to take on a special significance in the later years of the 1930s as Germany began to become more and more of a threat

in Europe. One change that occurred was the training of specialized Coastal Artillery antiaircraft units. While most antiaircraft guns were deployed in and around Casco Bay some were positioned at strategic positions further east.

In the late summer of 1940, just two months after having completed the most intensive three-week summer training in its history, the 240th Coastal Artillery was mobilized. On September 16th it was mustered into federal duty.

This was even before the 103rd Infantry of the Maine National Guard was called up.

One of the Coastal Artillery’s first duties was to secure the entrance to the Kennebec. Besides moving mobile artillery to Popham Beach, it established an observation post at Small Point. Aside from the Kennebec with Bath Iron Works, however, the greatest attention was paid to the defenses (cont. on page 6)

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(cont. from page 5) of Portland Harbor with Forts Williams and Leavitt receiving permanent installations. The rest of the state was primarily reinforced with mobile artillery.

The War Department’s greatest fear was an attack by the Japanese on the west coast.

The close of World War II saw the end of the Coast Artillery units. The prevailing theory was that amphibious landing tactics and advances in air power had made them obsolete. This theory was further enhanced by the development of a missile defense system. The demise of the Coastal Artillery defense system, more than anything, marked the end of the local militia company not only in Maine but in the entire country. It was a tradition that dated back at least as far as the minuteman companies that responded to the battle cry of Lexington and Concord.

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Freeport’s Mast Landing A trip to the summer of 1852

by Derek Brou

L

et us step back in time now. Let us travel the ethereal space between memory and the immediate, between past and present, to cross the vast expanse of not only time but of experience, and take a deep, searching look into the eyes of our ancestors. Let us take a small open raft out the Harraseeket Marsh from the Sanctuary Falls where several busy mills operate, toward the landing. It is Mast Landing in the summer of 1852.

It is a busy place. Boats are coming and going. Stevedores are working at a hurried pace unloading goods like tea, tobacco, shoes, textiles, potatoes, flour, sugar and other goods from the ships

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out at moor for general merchants like the Curtis store up ahead or Kelsey’s store further down. They load products like bricks from the local brickyard, wool cloths processed at the fulling mill, milled wood products, local crafts like copper pots, and the raw materials needed for the tremendous shipbuilding boom which has recently hit this area. It is high tide and the men work quickly because this exchange must be done before the tide falls.

The sound of those mills up at the falls fills the air and mixes with the clamor of livestock and the clop of hooves on the bare hard ground and the squeak and rattle of wagons pulled by

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yoked oxen or draft horses. The smell is again of livestock and fresh fish and meats on display at the market across from the landing.

The salt marsh blends in its own strong flavor to the mixture. There are only about a hundred or so residents of this village, maybe a quarter of whom would be children. Downstream lay the towns of Porter’s Landing and further down, South Freeport.

The Harraseeket is not only crowded with these trading vessels but is teeming with fishermen (mostly net casting from small open boats). They search for estuary tommycod, smelt, and eel found just this side of Casco

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com Bay, or they are journeying back from the Mill Stream with their freshwater catch of the day to be sold in the market along with the sea fishes. There are trappers here in the marsh looking for beaver and muskrat for furs to trade and also for consumption. There may have also been a tide mill here. A few farmers are out here on their pole barges loaded with scythes and forks which in most cases are made by hand. They are heading out to the marsh to harvest the wild spartina grass for animal feed and bedding. Winter comes early and hard at this latitude and in this century.

These farmers and husbands will need to gather plenty of this grass before the first snow falls.

Once we reach the landing we disembark into the streets of the settlement. It was probably called Mast Landing because of the legend of the masting trade which took most of the giant white pines from the Maine sea-

coast in the 1700s, but no one knows for sure. By the 1850s the streets were already paved with stones but in some cases only roads of empty mussel shells were available.

We cross the center of the village and on into the market where we can get fresh seafood of all kinds, fresh vegetables from the local farming community, and other goods and crafts from the town’s residents. At the town’s two dry goods stores we can get clothes milled at Boston, New York, or as far away as Europe. We can get flour grown and ground in the American midwest. There is nearly any item that a resident of the settlement might want. If it is not here, he or she can easily send away for it.

We see a dressmakers’ shop, a cobbler, a blacksmith, a cooper, a school, and out of town the brickyards, and then the shipyards. Despite the vibrancy of the trade here, it is clear that the community is mostly made up of

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farmers. The ancestors of these farmers were probably attracted by the salt marsh because of the availability of the grass and the open land. But after two or three generations, the farmers here rarely use the marsh grass except for pasturage in the summer. It doesn’t grow fast enough for them to use it exclusively anymore so only a few of the farmers stubbornly stick to the old ways of gathering the hay from the marsh and barging it back to their homesteads.

The boatyard is fairly new here.

The workers don’t seem able to keep up with the demand for ships. The yard employs no less than seven fulltime workers including ship carpenters, joiners, caulkers, and a shipmaster. The work is steady and pays well. It is easy to see that it is a very important industry here at Mast Landing.

As we make ready to depart and make our way back to ‘now’, we breathe in once more the stillness of (cont. on page 12) You name it, we’ll do it!

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(cont. from page 11) the countryside, the idyllic pastoral splendor, the smells of the market and the tide, and we tell ourselves that the ‘good old days’ were indeed good, and how lovely it would be to go back there to stay. We chastise ourselves and our contemporaries for the destruction of this way of life. But we must remind ourselves that though the air is indeed clean from pollution from the mills that run on water power, and the hard work of these farmers, craftsmen, and laborers made them stronger, it is also true that the mills more often than not exploited children for labor and paid very little. The census shows that there were not enough residents of Mast Landing to sufficiently run the mills and the fact that the mills burned in the 1860s and were never rebuilt shows that the profit was not sufficient to support an adult

workforce. Diseases such as influenza could kill children, the elderly, or even healthy, young adults.

The hard work which made the men strong also was often the very cause of their premature death. Small towns like this one were like a mighty river which is calm on the surface but hides a raging current which drags the unprepared away into oblivion. The pace of life in these settlements was not leisurely but hurried and often frantic. The jobs of the summer simply had to be done by the fall. Failure would mean death, and worry often aided it. Remind yourself that 1852 is only a few short years before the outbreak of the war between the states and that slavery was still the law of the land.

Over the years we’ve forgotten about the vitality of the marshlands.

In some coastal regions the marshlands have been filled, causing great problems as well as reducing wildlife habitat, including that of the clams and crabs that we love.

It is so easy to either idealize the past as a better time and to forget the hardships and tragedies of those times, or to concentrate on the hardships of the past and to say that because we are so much better off today we can discount the warnings of environmentalists. A balance needs to be struck. Perhaps by putting ourselves in the homemade shoes of our ancestors we can divine solutions that are neither backward looking nor blindly chase progress.

Next time you go through Mast Landing in Freeport, travel back in time and see what you come up with.

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Unfortunate Incident In Bath

by Brian Swartz

Captain shoots Lieutenant

A

pistol fired accidentally — or not — in Bath on September 13, 1814 left a young husband and father dead and another man’s reputation in shambles, according to Zina Hyde, whose familial surname has long been associated with Bath.

During the War of 1812, British privateers sailing primarily from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia frequently captured American merchant ships in New England waters. Along with a leaky Royal Navy blockade, the privateers essentially neutralized Maine’s lucrative maritime trade and left wealthy merchants such as Bath’s William King feeling the financial pinch.

Throughout the war, Massachusetts paid minimal attention to defensive Fresh Seafood

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measures along the Maine coast, a neglect that led directly to Maine statehood in 1820. The Bay State left the protection of its easternmost counties to men like King and Zina Hyde, a Bath merchant and store owner.

Lincoln County militiamen recognized King as a natural leader. Born in Scarborough in 1768, he later became a successful businessman with a Brunswick cotton mill and merchant ships to carry his freight from Maine to far-flung ports. After representing Topsham and Bath in the Massachusetts House of Representatives at different times between 1795 and 1804, King represented Lincoln County in the Massachusetts Senate from 1807 to 1811.

By 1811 William King was a general of militia responsible for the various Maine units, including the Bath Light Infantry in which Hyde served.

That August 28th, Major Andrew Reed asked Hyde “if I will accept the appointment of adjutant of the 1st Reg(iment), 15th Brig(ade), 11th Div(ision),” Hyde informed his diary. Initially inclined to refuse Reed’s request, Hyde acquiesced after discussing it with other officers and became the regimental adjutant on October 28th, the day that the regiment mustered for inspection by General King and Colonel Denny McCobb.

The muster went well on an “uncommonly fine” day, according to Hyde, and “the officers were all invited to partake of a generous entertainment

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com at Gen. King’s” home in Bath. “About forty of us met and spent a part of the evening very pleasantly,” Hyde noted.

For General King, military responsibilities had already required him to develop a staff, so on September 13, 1811 he named Major Joseph F. Wingate as his aide-de-camp. “His uniform and equipments are truly elegant,” Hyde wrote about Wingate.

As the war dragged on, the militia regiments raised by the Volunteer Act disbanded after Congress unwisely repealed that law in January 1813. Rather than go home, patriotic Maine soldiers soon joined the newly formed 45th United States Infantry Regiment, commanded by Denny McCobb. Being local men, he and King established their respective headquarters in Bath.

British operations against American military posts in Maine commenced late in the war, not until the defeat of Napoleonic France freed regiments and warships for duty against the United States. In August and September of

1814, British forces captured Fort Sullivan in Eastport and Fort George in Castine, routed the Penobscot Valley militia at the Battle of Hampden, and briefly occupied Belfast.

Flushed with success, British forces moved west to threaten Lincoln County ports. Bath and Wiscasset merchants justifiably feared a British attack. In the History of Bath, Parker McCobb Reed reported that on June 20, 1814 the seventy-four-gun British frigate HMS Bulwark had anchored near Seguin Island, and barge-borne British troops had ventured into the Sheepscot River.

Four days later, several Bath residents gathered at the Lincoln Bank to petition King — who had started the bank some years earlier — to defend the town. Via Wingate’s signature, King ordered the by-now Brigadier General Denny McCobb to send an infantry company to Bath.

Events moved quickly in September 1814. Hyde officially became a brigade major at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Septem-

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(cont. from page 15) ber 10th. Three hours later, according to Hyde’s diary, “Gen. King returned from the east, via Wiscasset, with intelligence that the British had left Castine with seven ships and were proceeding westward.”

One British warship, the seventy-four-gun frigate HMS La Hogue, had already arrived off Seguin Island, which apparently was a favorite Maine landmark for the Royal Navy, as already evidenced by the marauding HMS Bulwark. The news shivered merchants’ timbers throughout coastal Lincoln County. On Sunday, September 11th, King “ordered out the entire [1st] brigade,” wrote Hyde, who “was occupied the whole day ... in viewing, inspecting, and ordering to their quarters the different corps of militia as they arrived.”

In this particular entry, Hyde erred by identifying “September 11, 1814” as Saturday, not Sunday. His other date/ week-day listings do coincide.

King planned to reinforce a small garrison holding a rudimentary fort at Cox’s Head on the Kennebec River in Phippsburg. During the weekend, “an alarm” had sent the militia cavalry “to the mouth of the Kennebec before being inspected,” Hyde noted, but the hard-riding cavalrymen returned to Bath in time for an afternoon inspection on Monday, September 12th.

“The battalion was accordingly paraded near the south meetinghouse, and with the rolls of the two respective companies in my hand, I took a stand with Mr. [Captain Nathan] Ames in front of the line and a little to the left” of the cavalry officers, Hyde wrote.

Both men were on horses. Ames was another aide-de-camp to General King.

Hyde and Ames summoned “the individual troopers ... for inspection,” which involved the two officers checking each cavalryman’s horse, uniform, and equipment. Suddenly realizing that “the [soldiers’] pistols were charged

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(loaded with powder and bullets),” Hyde objected to inspecting the loaded weapons.

A militia officer informed Hyde that “having returned with them (pistols) so [loaded],” the cavalrymen “had orders not to discharge them, and that the captains had just inspected them in that condition,” so Hyde and Ames should proceed with their inspection, protest or no protest.

Each time that a cavalryman handed Hyde a loaded pistol, “I turned the muzzle to the ground, but Capt. Ames turned those he took in hand up,” leaving each pistol pointed dangerously at nearby soldiers.

“In this way, we had nearly completed the inspection when one of the pistols in Capt. Ames’ hands went off, and the ball passed through the head of Lt. Baker, who was seated on his horse behind Capt. Ames,” Hyde described the horrific incident that occurred just as the militiamen were relaxing their

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com guard.

“This was an awful moment,” Hyde indicated. “On turning I saw one of our finest officers and a highly valued citizen fall upon the ground with no sign of life but a slight muscular quivering.

I was hardly more than conscious of the [pistol’s] report when all was over.”

Accompanied by an ostensibly shocked Nathan Ames, militia officers carried Baker’s body “to the house of C.A. Green,” Baker’s brother-inlaw. Hyde stayed at his post until the death-disrupted inspection ended, and the Lincoln County militiamen “retired in silent gloom, more depressed than if many had fallen from an attack of the enemy.”

In his diary, Hyde does not fully identify Lieutenant Baker, but the roster for a militia company raised at Bowdoinham by Captain Ebenezer Hatch lists an Ensign Caleb Baker in American and British regiments during the

View of Captain Donald MacMillan’s departure from Wiscasset in 1925.

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(cont. from page 17) Napoleonic Era. Ensigns were young men, sometimes just young adolescents. Hyde described Baker as “young and highly esteemed as a man and officer.” Baker left behind a wife and two young children, so Caleb Baker might have been Hyde’s “Lt. Baker.”

On Wednesday, September 14th, Hyde traveled to Topsham and attended Baker’s funeral, “an affecting duty and scene.” Among Baker’s children was a son named Daniel who, according to the History of Bath, later became a bank cashier.

Suspicions soon sharpened as to whether Baker’s death was accidental or not. A September 17th meeting between King and several officers established “that no blame was to be attached to anyone,” Hyde noted, but “opinions [soon] differed in regard to the innocence of Capt. Ames.”

He had “put on the semblance of sorrow, appearing on the streets in a

new suit of black, with his head down, handkerchief to eyes red with weeping, which led” many Bath residents to believe “that he was a sincere mourner,” the History of Bath indicates.

“But the boys one and all declared he (Ames) was ‘shamming it all, the old hypocrite,’” the History of Bath reports. This comment likely attests not to a belief that Ames had deliberately shot Baker, but to the suspicion that Ames felt little remorse at Baker’s “accidental” death.

On September 20th, Hyde and the other soldiers learned “news of the appearing of seven ships off Booth Bay, which induced the expectation of an immediate attack.” Sailing aboard barges powered by sails and sweeps, British sailors and marines probed coves and estuaries, even penetrating the Sheepscot River to raid seaside farms for livestock and provisions.

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mately resumed their civilian occupations when the militia “stood down” later that fall, after the British warships vanished from Lincoln County waters.

By 1815 many Mainers wanted a legal separation from Massachusetts, and William King led the effort when Lincoln County voters returned him to the Massachusetts Senate in 1816. Maine joined the United States in March of 1820.

As for Nathan Ames, his reputation never recovered after September 13, 1814. “Ames’ subsequent career proved that the boys were not far from right, for he became ... despicable by dishonesty and crooked ways,” reports the History of Bath. Perhaps Ames did not deserve such criticism. The wording suggests communal anger focused on a political scapegoat who had, after all, handled loaded pistols only when ordered to do so.

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Major General Philip Sheridan Augusta parade in 1867 welcomes him

by Brian Swartz

H

is organized whistle-stop tour of southern Maine fell apart so quickly that Major General Philip Sheridan was likely running late when he visited Augusta on October 29, 1867.

Famous for capturing the Shenandoah Valley in 1864, Sheridan was named commander of the Department of the Missouri by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Simpson in August 1867.

Although he was busy commanding all army troops and outposts from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River, Sheridan took time to tour northern New England that fall.

Governor Joshua L. Chamberlain and other state officials invited Sheri-

dan to Maine. He and his staff stayed in Portland on Monday, October 28.

His Tuesday schedule called for Sheridan to visit Augusta, leave that city at 12 noon, and arrive at Concord, New Hampshire at 6 p.m. His train departed Portland at 7 a.m., Tuesday and reached the Brunswick depot about an hour later.

A Brunswick resident, Chamberlain stepped onto the train and invited Sheridan to tour the town. A carriage carried the men to Bowdoin College and a short welcome from President Samuel Harris. “The General made a brief reply of thanks and then returned to the train,” commented a reporter.

Chamberlain accompanied Sheridan

as the train crossed the Androscoggin River and headed north. People stood along the tracks and at road crossings to lustily cheer Sheridan as he passed.

The train steamed past a Richmond depot mobbed with cheering fans.

“An enthusiastic reception” awaited Sheridan at Gardiner,” the press claimed. Detraining at the depot, Sheridan climbed the steps to a makeshift.

Welcomed by the mayor and “three hearty cheers” from the crowd, Sheridan apologized “that his stay could not be longer,” the reporter noted.

Re-boarding the train, Sheridan headed for Augusta.

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(cont. from page 19) pers, many people missed Sheridan’s appearance altogether. One press account suggests Sheridan arrived late; subsequent events at Augusta strongly support this theory.

“The most tumultuous cheering by an immense crowd” greeted Sheridan and Chamberlain at the Augusta depot at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, the reporter wrote. Across the river at the Kennebec Arsenal, artillery fired a salute, and Augusta Mayor Patterson stepped forward at the depot to greet Sheridan.

“It is with much pleasure that I meet you on this occasion, and in behalf of the citizens of Augusta, the Capital of Maine, I tender to yourself and staff, a most cordial welcome,” Patterson said.

“I am much obliged to you, Mr. Mayor, for the very cordial welcome you have given me,” Sheridan responded. “I am glad to meet you and your people, and to visit the Capital of Maine by invitation of the State authorities.

“I am ready to accompany you,”

Sheridan said.

Chamberlain, Patterson, and Sheridan climbed into a barouche, a stylish and expensive horse-drawn carriage.

Seated with the men was Maine Adjutant General John C. Caldwell.

Chamberlain knew that Sheridan was supposed to leave the capital in 90 minutes. Augusta residents would honor Sheridan, however, so the barouche slipped into position in the parade that kicked off on Commercial Street.

Brigadier General George Lafayette Beal, a wartime hero from Norway, led off as the parade marshal. Behind him came, in no particular order, companies A and B, Maine State Guards; the Bangor Cornet Band, the Augusta band; four Augusta-area firefighting companies; the mounted Knights Templar; carriages carrying various dignitaries; a “Cavalcade of Citizens”; and “veterans, on foot,” noted the press.

Turning east on Bridge Street, parade units turned almost immediate-

ly south on Water Street, turned west up Green Street, and swung north on State Street. This rectangular route encompassed much of what is Augusta’s “downtown” to this day.

At Bridge Street, Sheridan’s barouche turned east again. “Crowds of people thronged every street giving demonstrations of welcome to the gallant Sheridan,” a reporter noticed, but as he passed the cheering crowd on lower Bridge Street, did Sheridan suddenly realize he was seeing the same faces for the second time?

The parade turned south on Commercial Street and took a sharp right onto Winthrop Street. Uphill the barouche rolled to State Street, where Sheridan listened as more than 100 schoolchildren, “under the direction of Mr. Bangs, sung Sheridan’s Ride while standing on a rough stage, a reporter said.

Then the parade units headed south to the State House.

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com How such a large parade wound through downtown Augusta in enough time so Sheridan could catch the 12noon train is not clear in the press accounts. Participants on foot could only move so fast, but the sense persists that the parade units hurried.

Outside the State House, Chamberlain and Sheridan spoke briefly “to the large concourse that had assembled in front.”

Sheridan “was our country’s defender in time of war,” and “he has been true to her in time of peace,” Chamberlain said. “We bid welcome to the State and to this Capitol the hero who cut short the war one year.”

“I thank you very kindly for this cordial greeting. I regret that I cannot find words to express my gratitude,” Sheridan replied. He evidently looked directly at Chamberlain, then said, “The remarks you have made in regard to my record are the more highly prized

because [they are] coming from a soldier with a record like yours.”

Some parade units promptly escorted Sheridan and Chamberlain to the Augusta depot, and people cheered as the Conqueror of the Valley departed the city.

Afterwards a reporter thought that “the General looks like the man of pluck and energy that he is, but his trip seems to be having its effect on him.

He says himself that this is the hardest campaign he ever had.”

Scheduled to reach Concord Tuesday night, Sheridan arrived at “the Granite Capitol” at 6:30 a.m., Wednesday, after “all the military companies and visitors had returned to their homes,” groused a New Hampshire paper.

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The Disappearance Of Fred Finnegan Eleven days in the Thomaston hole

by Brian Swartz

A

uthorities wondered if Fred Finnegan had pulled a disappearing act at the Maine State Prison in Thomaston when he vanished on Saturday, July 13, 1946.

Finnegan was a down-on-his-luck, small-time Portland hood when he arrived at Thomaston in 1944. Other men had gone to battle the Axis Powers while Finnegan had lingered in Maine, causing minor trouble and making himself known to law enforcement officials before he was arrested and convicted for robbery. A judge threw Finnegan into the Maine State Prison for fiveto-ten years. If Finnegan behaved, he would likely leave on parole earlier than later.

Perhaps he realized that he should have behaved instead of playing Harry Houdini on that July Saturday.

While conducting an inmate headcount on July 13th, prison guards came up one finger short. They rechecked their charges, compared numbers, and agreed that someone was missing. That someone was Fred Finnegan, who although not quartered near an outside wall, had missed the enforced roll call.

Maine prison authorities do not treat escaped prisoners lightly. A case in point is the furor in Bangor when a parole violator bolted from court in early June of 1998. Hounded by relentless pursuers, he stayed on the lam for only a few days before calling his attorney

and surrendering to the police.

Fred Finnegan had called no one.

Even if they could not account for the missing inmate, the Thomaston guards could vouch for the use of every phone

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com in the sprawling prison that borders Route 1. Warden Francis J. McCabe ordered extra guards to the prison walls — perhaps Finnegan was only hiding while planning to escape in the confusion surrounding his disappearance — and sent teams to turn over every loose brick within the prison.

“Finnegan’s got to be here somewhere,” McCabe told his men.

The guards thoroughly searched the prison. They interrogated some prisoners, especially those known by Finnegan, but learned nothing about the Portland con or his whereabouts.

Sunday dawned, and then Monday. By midweek, even McCabe wondered how Finnegan, not known as an escape artist, had given prison officials the slip.

Another Saturday passed at Thomaston. Still suspicious that Finnegan lingered in the area, McCabe slightly relaxed the complemented wall guard and resumed his normal administrative duties inside the prison. (cont. on page 26)

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(cont. from page 25) Those duties included hiring new guards. McCabe had already offered a guard’s position to Walter Curtis Jr., a former Rockland firefighter seeking steady employment with the state.

Curtis started working at Thomaston a few days after Finnegan had exited his cell. Imagine Curtis’ thoughts when, after hearing the traditional spiel about a guard’s responsibility to keep inmates confined within the prison, he heard theories as to how Finnegan had fled the prison.

Rather like closing the proverbial barn door…

Curtis quickly adjusted to his new work routine. As a new guy on the prison block, he expected to work weekends, holidays, and nights. He was assigned the shift stretching from Monday night, July 22, into Tuesday morning. July 23.

Making his rounds early Tuesday, Curtis detected a tap-tap-tapping near the prison plate shop. Sure, someone

might be in there making noise during daylight, but not at night (actually the wee hours of Tuesday, when all good inmates were supposed to be asleep).

Intrigued, Curtis quietly tracked the noise.

His ears led him into a dead-end corridor measuring twenty-five feet long and four feet high that ran between the prison plate-shop walls. Faint cries for help buttressed the tapping, indicating the noise was not someone creating mayhem within the Thomaston walls, but rather someone signaling for help.

Curtis followed the weak voice to a corner stacked with debris (crushed rock, a wooden frame, and sheet metal). He nervously announced himself to the individual concealed by the debris. After all, a voice speaking from the bowels of prison earth was not routine — not in any prison guard’s manual.

To Curtis’ surprise, the voice introduced itself as belonging to Fred Finnegan, long thought to be AWOL! Cur-

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com tis summoned other guards who helped him remove the debris to uncover a tiny hole occupied by a gaunt Finnegan.

The hole, apparently excavated in the past, abutted a drain pipe.

The guards pulled Finnegan from where he lay stuck in the hole. He attempted to stand, almost collapsed, and asked for water. Guards commented on his haggard condition, sporting an eleven-day beard. Starved except for the ginger cookies and candy bars he had secreted in the hole, Finnegan had shed more than ten pounds during his voluntary imprisonment within the prison.

Guards had not searched for the hole because the debris had not appeared disturbed during prior searches. Learning about Finnegan’s apprehension, McCabe assumed another prisoner had covered the hole after Finnegan had crawled into it. The warden ordered the hole filled, the debris removed, and Finnegan’s accomplice found.

In fact, Finnegan had never left the hole, which might have become his im-

promptu grave if the sharp-eared Walter Curtis Jr had not heard his desperate taps for help. Guards found Finnegan wedged so tightly in the hole that he could not crawl out. Covered by heavy debris, his only air supply drawn from the partly clogged drain pipe. Finnegan was suffering from dehydration and malnutrition. A visit with the prison doctor set him back on the road to health.

So the Harry Houdini of Maine State Prison surfaced after eleven days.

Glad to be alive, Finnegan swore off crawling into dead-end holes. Curtis received a citation for finding the missing inmate, and McCabe told his men they had restored the public’s confidence in the supposedly escape-proof state penitentiary.

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Maine’s oldest independent dragway...since 1967 Open May-October On race days, call us at 207-223-3998 Airport Road  Winterport, ME www.winterportdragway.com

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Old fort in North Edgecomb. Item # LB2007.1.101818 from the Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co. Collection and www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org

Lakeview Lumber Co. Complete Building Materials & Hardware for the Homeowner and Contractor Great Arts & Crafts Department!

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Midcoast Region

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Rockland’s Hiram Gregory Berry Gentleness and undaunted courage

by James Nalley

O

n July 21, 1861, approximately 18,000 poorly trained troops arrived in Prince William County, Virginia, to fight in what was to become the first battle of the U.S. Civil War. Known as the First Battle of Bull Run, the day ended in a Confederate victory. Among the Union Army, there was a young colonel from Rockland who valiantly led the 4th Maine Volunteer Army, despite the odds.

Hiram Gregory Berry was born on August 27, 1824, in Rockland. The fourth child of Jeremiah and Frances Gregory Berry, he came from a long line of soldiers. For example, his grandfather, Thomas Berry, was an officer in the Revolutionary War, while his

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After the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Berry went to Augusta and offered his services to the governor, after which he was ordered to recruit a regiment. Meanwhile, the Northern public pressured the Union Army to bring an early end to the Confederacy by taking the capital of Richmond, Vir-

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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com ginia. Under such pressure, Brigadier General Irvin McDowell led his unseasoned Union Army across Bull Run to face the equally inexperienced Confederates led by Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard. McDowell’s plan was to simply flank the Confederate forces.

When Colonel Berry’s 4th Maine Volunteer Army arrived, it was held in reserve for the morning’s fight. According to the book Major General Hiram G. Berry by Edward Gould, “At 2 p.m., Colonel Berry received orders to advance at double-quick and engage the enemy. However, the run of more than two miles in the broiling sun took a toll on his inexperienced soldiers.

Some fainted and fell by the wayside.

The tired soldiers arrived around 3 p.m., when the tide of battle had already turned against the Union Army.”

Subsequently, Berry’s men began to fall from the enemy’s small arms and artillery fire coming from all sides. As stated by Gould, “Sergeant Major Ste-

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phen Chapman was shot in the heart by a rifle ball; B.W. Fletcher had an arm shot off; Lieutenant Clark was killed by a shell as he was cheering his men on; and P. Henry Tillson had both legs shot off by a cannon ball. He died almost instantly.” Moreover, in all the chaos, some of the men forgot to “cap their pieces” when reloading their weapons, which “damaged those who held them more than the enemy at whom they were aimed.” Regarding Sergeant Major Chapman, Berry wrote the following in a letter home: “The ground was covered with men and horses. Chapman left me only one minute before he was shot. He came for orders to my post. I gave them, he extended his hand, we exchanged blessings, he cautioned me against unnecessary exposure, and we parted for the last time. He was shot through the heart immediately upon resuming his post.”

Meanwhile, Berry continued to encourage and direct his men with discre-

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tion. According to Gould, “When the color bearer was shot, Colonel Berry seized the fallen standard and waved it aloft through the fray, making him a conspicuous target for the enemy. After his horse was shot, the sight of so many of his men killed overcame him and he wept.” As the Union troops began to withdraw, many panicked and the retreat turned into a rout. Berry, however, managed to collect his scattered companies and meet in Alexandria. Apparently, the war was going to be much longer and bloodier than either side had anticipated. For his actions during the battle, Berry was promoted to Brigadier General.

After his promotion, Berry was reassigned to command the 3rd Brigade, which included the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Michigan Volunteer Armies as well as the 37th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. On May 5, 1862, following the Confederate retreat from Yorktown, Virginia, Brigadier General Joseph (cont. on page 34)

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(cont. from page 33) Hooker of the Union Army encountered the Confederate rearguard near Williamsburg. It was the first pitched battle (i.e., a battle in which both sides choose the fighting location and time) in the Peninsula Campaign. Following Hooker’s attack, he was met with brigade after brigade of Confederate troops, led by some of the best generals. Knowing that Hooker was in trouble, Berry led his men through the muddy fields and thick forests. By the time he arrived, Hooker’s division was out of ammunition and using bayonets in close combat. Berry’s men then deployed onto the field and fired at the enemy forces, taking rifle pits and a significant number of prisoners. According to Gould, “Berry’s timely arrival had saved General Hooker from being overwhelmed…From that time on, General Hooker had the strongest admiration for General Berry and was ever after his steadfast friend.” However, such actions took a toll on Berry. For example, in a letter dated June 14, 1862, Berry wrote the following: “I have just come in from the front and have passed over a portion of my fighting ground in the last battle. Many are yet unburied. One thing is certain. I never in all my eventful life endured so many sufferings as I have over the past 10 months. I hope, however, to come out all right.” On November 29, 1862, Berry was promoted to Major General and placed in command of the 2nd Division of the 3rd Corps, thus guaranteeing further involvement in the war.

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On April 30, 1863, the Battle of Chancellorsville pitted Major General Hooker’s Union Army against General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, which was half the size of the former. In this one-week battle, Lee made the risky decision of dividing his smaller army in the face of superior numbers. Despite the objections of his subordinates, Hooker withdrew his men to the defensive lines around Chancellorsville, giving Lee the initiative. Meanwhile, Berry’s brigade of 2,500 men was ordered to support the front, after which he detached several companies to flank the enemy.

Over the next several hours, there were heavy casualties on both sides, as the Union Army pushed the Confederates further and further back into the woods.

However, according to Gould, “General Berry had driven the enemy back so far that he had serious fears of being flanked by the heavy masses of infantry opposing him.” After finding that the general of the division had ordered the other regiments to fall back, Berry ordered his men to do the same.

On May 3, 1863, Berry performed his usual action of communicating with other high-ranking officers in person.

According to Gould, after conversing with General Gershom Mott, Berry crossed the road and “had nearly reached his staff officers, when from the trees in which a North Carolina sharpshooter was posted, came the sharp crack of a rifle. The mini-ball struck Berry in the arm close to the shoulder, passing

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down through his vitals and lodging in his hip. At 7:26 a.m., a tremor passed over his body and he peacefully died.”

Subsequently, when General Hooker arrived, “He asked the officers, ‘Whom have you got there, gentlemen?’ When told it was Major General Berry, he got off his horse, knelt, kissed the general’s forehead, and wept.”

As Berry’s body lay in Washington D.C. for transport back to Rockland, “President Lincoln sent a beautiful wreath to be placed on his body. At his funeral, it could be seen resting on the right shoulder of the fallen warrior.”

Moreover, at his burial at Achorn Cemetery in Rockland, “The lid of his burial case bore a silver plate with the following inscription: Major General Hiram G. Berry, Killed at Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 3, 1863. Aged 38 Years, 8 Months, 6 Days.”

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DIRECTORY OF ADVERTISERS

BUSINESS

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BUSINESS

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BUSINESS

PAGE

44 Degrees North Architects, LLC........................22

Genuine Automotive Services...............................26

Oakland Park Bowling Center................................27

Advanced Quality Water Solutions...........................4

Grandpa's Kitchen Specialty Smoked Meats.........27

Ogunquit Beach Lobster House................................8

Affordable Well Drilling Excavation & Forestry.......9

Granite Hall Store....................................................24

P&P Roofing...........................................................18

American Awards Inc. ..........................................19

Gray-Stone Photography.........................................29

Patterson's General Store........................................33

Andy's Auto Repair.................................................34

Griffins - The Other Place.........................................33

Pen-Bay Glass, Inc. .................................................32

Augusta Tool Rental...............................................19

Grimaldi Concrete Floors & Countertops..................9

Penobscot Marine Museum.......................back cover

Bailey Island General Store....................................14

Haggett Hill Kennels...............................................30

Pepper's Landing Lobster Co. ................................13

Balmy Days Cruises................................................31

Haley Power Services..............................................28

Perry's Nut House....................................................28

Bean Maine Lobster..................................................8

Hammond Lumber Company..................................12

Petrillo's Food & Drink..........................................10

Big House Sound LLC............................................29

Hampton Inn - Bath..................................................15

Philbrook & Associates...........................................26

Bill's Garage............................................................16

Harbour Towne Inn..................................................23

Pinkham's Gourmet Market....................................23

Bisson's Center Store................................................5

Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Company................11

Prock Marine Company...........................................26

Black Bear Media Blasting & Construction............29

Hatch Well Drillers..................................................30

Pro-Rental of Rockport...........................................32

Blood's Garage........................................................27

Helen Watts Engineering PLLC...............................11

Quick Turn Auto Repair & Towing..........................22

Brillant & Son's Inc. - Auto Repair & Restorations...4

Hoppe's Tree Service..............................................25

R.A. Seger Paving...................................................33

Busted Knuckle Tires & Repair................................31

Indian Trail Antiques...............................................22

R.J. Energy Services, Inc. ..........................................7

C&J Chimney & Stove Service, LLC.......................3

Island Candy Co. ....................................................14

Red's Automotive....................................................29

C&S Market..............................................................7

J&H Marine.............................................................32

Red's Eats................................................................17

Cahill Tire Inc. ........................................................13

J. Edward Knight & Co. ............................................4

Regional Rubbish Removal, Inc. ...........................21

Cameron's Lobster House.......................................14

Jack's Property Service............................................10

Rob's Hardware.......................................................27

Cantrell Seafood.....................................................12

Jensen's Pharmacy...................................................25

Rolfe's Well Drilling Co. .........................................19

Canty Construction.................................................18

Jerry's Hardware......................................................33

Roots 2 Remedies......................................................9

Capital Area Tree Service.........................................7

JM Automotive........................................................23

Salt Cod Café..........................................................14

Carl M.P. Larrabee Insurance....................................6

John's Ice Cream Factory.........................................27

Santana Excavation.................................................32

Cayouette Flooring, Inc. .........................................32

K.V. Tax Service, Inc. ...............................................6

Scott Ranch Canvas & Upholstery..........................3

China By The Sea....................................................31

Katahdin Clapboard Company..................................4

Shaw's Fish & Lobster Wharf Restaurant.............24

Clark Auto Parts.....................................................22

Katahdin Cruises.....................................................21

Spinney's Restaurant...............................................16

Coastal Maintenance Painting................................23

KC's Collision.........................................................25

Sprague & Curtis Real Estate.................................19

Coastal Property Care.............................................22

Kirkpatrick's Service & Repair................................7

Sprague's Lobster....................................................17

Coggins Road Auto.................................................23

Lake Pemaquid Campground..................................21

St. Pierre Concrete Services...................................12

Cornelia C. Viek, CPA..............................................5

Lakeview Lumber Co. ...........................................30

Steve Brann Building..............................................10

Creamer & Sons Landwork, Inc. ...........................16

Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern..........8

Stone's Earthwork...................................................34

D.C. Thomas Logging & Firewood.......................27

Linda Bean's Maine Wyeth Gallery..........................8

Strong-Hancock Funeral Home...............................22

Daryl Horak Logging.............................................20

Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Vacation Rental.............8

Thai Garden Restaurant...........................................11

Dave's Auto Repair & Towing Inc. .......................28

Macomber, Farr & Whitten Insurance.....................30

The Cabin Brick Oven Pizza....................................5

David Murray Home Repair & Cottage Care........23

Maine At War...........................................................21

The Chimney Doctor.................................................4

Dews Door Garage Door Services..........................10

Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife............13

The Driftwood Inn..................................................14

Donald E. Meklin & Sons......................................31

Maine Historical Society...........................................3

Tim's Heating & Cooling Sales & Service.................6

Doug Fales Selective Cutting & Landshaping Inc. ..24

Maine Instrument Flight..........................................20

Tri-State Staffing Solutions.......................................7

Downtown Diner.......................................................7

Maine Lobstermen’s Association............................26

Union Area Chamber of Commerce........................32

Dow's Eastern White Shingles & Shakes.................3

Maine Maritime Museum........................................15

Unique Spiral Stairs.................................................29

Driscoll Tree Service...............................................11

Maine State Prison Showroom................................25

Vasvary Electric.........................................................6

Elmer's Barn & Antique Mall...................................6

Maine-ly Pawn Antiques Furniture & More...........20

VintageMaineImages.com........................................3

Erica's Seafood.......................................................15

Masters Machine Co. .............................................24

Wardwell Construction & Trucking Corp. ..............29

Evergreen Self-Storage...........................................26

Mattson's Flooring & Window Treatments.............18

Waterfront Flea Market.............................................5

Fairground Café......................................................12

McNaughton Bros. Construction............................19

Weaver's Roadside Variety......................................33

Far Meadow Construction......................................24

McNaughton Construction......................................20

Wilson’s Drug Store..................................................5

Five Islands Lobster Co. ........................................17

Metcalf's Submarine Sandwiches...........................21

Windsor Preventive Dental Care............................20

Five K - First Class Landscape Arborist..................21

Mobile Home Parts Unlimited Sales & Service.......18

Winterport Dragway................................................28

Freeport Antiques & Heirlooms Showcase................8

Mobile Home Parts Unlimited Camper Supplies....20

Yankee Yardworks...................................................11

Fresh Off The Farm Natural Foods..........................26

Monhegan Boat Line...............................................25

Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce............................4

Fuller Logging........................................................28

MorWell Builders....................................................34

Young's Lobster Pound............................................28

G&G Cash Fuels.....................................................18

Mr. Tire & Company...............................................25

Gardiner Apothecary...............................................18

NewGen Powerline Construction..............................9

36

~ 2020 Midcoast Region ~

Midcoast Region

Own a piece of history!

Visit our collection online www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org Route One Searsport, Maine 04974 207-548-2529 www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org