The
"Isles" and Early Exploration .
Deer
Isle is split from the mainland by the Eggemoggin
Reach waterway, or as its called, "the Reach."
The core of Deer Isle is three significant islands,
Little Deer Isle to the north, linked to the mainland
today by the suspension bridge and home to early
settlers, and the main North and South islands separated
at their centre by a tidal causeway that empties,
respectively, into the Northwest and Southeast Harbors.
Atop the causeway at the inner mouth of Northwest
Harbor rests the town of Deer Isle, the main municipal
hub until the 20th century . Multiple
harbors and coves pool into the granite inlets of
Deer Isle. Of the harbors, Southeast Harbor is the
most significant. It is sheltered by a spread of
islands to the north and northeast, Greenlaw and
Stinson’s Neck, the villages of Mountainville
and Sunshine located on the former and latter respectively.
The island that covers the harbor’s southern
mouth was once known as Babbidge’s Neck and
is home to the seaside village of Oceanville, once
a busy salthouse port for the hauls of the local
fisherman. To the south lay a maze of smaller islands,
Saddleback, Devil’s, Green — pure granite
outcroppings that must have seemed treacherous to
the seafarer but for the surprisingly deepwater
channels traversing them. One of the most notable
is Crotch Island, once a major source of granite
for Deer Isle’s bustling industry and subject
of a diorama at Stonington’s Deer Isle Granite
Museum. Stonington, known as Green’s Landing
for most of the 19th century, is located
at the most southern point of South Deer Isle and
is now the largest town — a title that can
be traced directly to the boon the granite quarries
brought to the region. Until 1874, the rugged beautiful
Isle au Haut, now a part of Acadia National Park,
was also a piece of the Deer Isle "mess"
… Though the history of coastal Maine’s
habitation has only recently come to light, it was
the sighting of these outer islands where the recorded
history of the region began.
George Hosmer ~ |
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Road Construction ~ |
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Little Deer Isle ~ |
Modern archeological digs have shed light on the
first explorers to the region. Edith Spofford-Watts
talks of the Goddard Site just across "the
Reach" in Brooklin, which yielded evidence
of Norsemen dating to the 11th century.
No physical proof yet places the intrepid Vikings
on Deer Isle, but it’s generally accepted that
this hearty set might have explored, encamped, even
traded along what is today the coast of Maine. In
Hosmer’s day, the first explorers were thought
to be Europeans. Both he and Spofford-Watts detailed
this litany of early explorers. Cabot explored the
Maine coast in 1497, Verrazano in 1524 — the
latter leaving his mark in naming Isle au Haut.
The first extended interior exploration occurred
in 1556 under the direction of a French Catholic
priest, André Thevit. But it was in the early
1600s that serious exploration began. Reports of
the density of natural resources and a surely inexhaustible
yield of fish and game could no longer be ignored,
driving a rush of financed expeditions to the area.
The purpose of the expeditions were equal parts
land claim and the potential profits from trade.
Englishmen Bartholomew Gosnold’s 1602 and Martin
Pring’s 1603 expeditions found their way into
the Penobscot Bay area. In 1604, French explorers
Champlain and Sieur de Monts journeyed from modern-day
Philadelphia to Nova Scotia, the expedition ending
with the failed settlement at St. Croix in Passamaquoddy
Bay separating Maine and New Brunswick. English
explorers George Weymouth and James Rozier laid
claim to the region that would be Maine the following
year. The grudge match for territorial control between
the two powers was underway and would grow to envelop
this region and the "New World" until
the 1760s. Almost eclipsed by this growing dispute
was John Smith’s 1614 exploration, from which
he produced a landmark map of the region —
the first real atlas of the coast of Maine.
The
First Inhabitants and the First Settlers .
All
the early explorers encountered the natives. Their
experiences surely varied, but most often fell in
line with the prevailing attitudes of European superiority
— Martin Pring having taken five Indian captives
back to England as "oddities." Edith Spofford-Watts
provided us a few more objective details of the
earliest inhabitants. She highlights state archeological
finds that have estimated human habitation dating
to 11,000 B.C., writing of possible descendents
called the "Red Paint People" due to their
use of ochres in burial traditions. Digs have shown
them to be an advanced race of adept toolmakers
who made the area home from 8,000 B.C. to within
a few millennia of Christ’s birth. Ample evidence
of thriving sedentary communities that engaged in
trade have been unearthed, the frequent discovery
of clamshell heaps confirming an obvious reliance
on the sea. These long periods of general cultural
knowledge begin to come more clear, more refined
by the time of Norse and later European exploration.
By the 16th century, Deer Isle was the
heart of the Eastern Abeneki, an Algonquin speaking
people composed of a multitude of sub-tribes —
such as the regional Penobscot and Tarrantine. But
fratricidal conflict was prevalent and the native
population had been "greatly depleted by the
forays and massacres of long Indian wars" by
the time of the first whites, according to Spofford-Watts.
Those that were left were ill-equipped to resist
the white man, and the diseases he brought.
The
first permanent white settlers of Deer Isle were
William Eaton and his wife Meribah. They arrived
in 1762 at the head of a number of pioneers. Records
show over a dozen men, including Eaton, petitioned
the state of Massachusetts [which laid claim to
and governed the lands of Maine until 1820] for
land titles as early as August of that year. As
mentioned, wild game, mostly deer, was abundant.
The settlers named their new home for the thriving
herds. But it would be the harvest of the ever present
sea that would always be the predominant provider.
The Eatons and others, such as Jonathan Greenlaw,
a man of importance among the early settlers, put
up their dwellings along the shores to take advantage
of the sea. The first settlers lined North and Little
Deer Isles along "the Reach." Only after
the lands to the north were claimed did new settlers
begin to move into the interior and southern reaches
of the islands. As is requisite of local history
narratives, Hosmer provides us a testament to the
hardships of these settlers’ daily lives:
"the
history of the early settlement of any country is
the history of toil, privations, and suffering,
and of these the persons … here have had their
share."
1794 Headstone ~ |
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On the road to Oceanville ~ |
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Bay at Stonington ~ |
Rustic log cabins with thatched or bark roofs containing
a stone fireplace, sometimes a cellar, sometimes
just a dirt floor, was the standard dwelling. The
plentiful banks of clams and the profusion of fish,
gathered with hand-drawn lines from dugouts on the
many inlets, bays and straits, were the staple.
These were augmented by game hunted on the interior
of the islands, herring and smelt caught from the
numerous clear freshwater sources inland, and waterfowl.
"Duck-driving," the driving of large flocks
during molting season, when the birds were unable
to fly, across the southern bays towards waiting
hunters at a pre-arranged inlet was a popular sport
that yielded sustaining quantities of meat. On land
acreage was being cleared for dairy cattle and freeranging
sheep. Sheep’s wool, along with the flax plant,
produced the fiber required for use in "spinning"
clothing and blankets. Corn was the staple vegetable.
It was supplemented by wild nuts, strawberries,
blueberries, raspberries and planted apple trees.
Whale oil was used in lanterns, seaweed used for
fertilizer, the ingenuity of relying on available
resources evident … The settlements slowly
became grounded communities. The first child was
born to the Timothy Billings family in May of 1764,
beginning a long lineage that can still be found
in the many modern-day descendents of original settlers.
In the curious wisdom of his day, George Hosmer
said of the original settlers: "We can show
them no gratitude, but we can respect their memories."
The
Early Days of Revolution and Civilization .
Hosmer
records a Benjamin Weed as the only known resident
of Deer Isle that was a veteran of the "Old
French War," or the French and Indian War —
the North American theatre of the Seven Years War
between France and England. In 1759, British victory
at Quebec led the way towards The Treaty of Paris,
which ended the war and ceded most French claims
to the British. Until then wrote Spofford-Watts,
"eastern Maine was unsafe for settlement, [but]
thereafter expeditions rapidly began and hundreds
of people from Massachusetts began exploring the
coast." Once a border wilderness, Maine became
a focus for pioneers and settlers. It drew William
Eaton and Jonathan Greenlaw. Others followed in
droves and the population of Deer Isle grew. The
traits of a civilized culture began to replace backwater
characteristics. Nathaniel Kent opened a gristmill
in 1768, which he sold to Joseph Tyler who then
opened a sawmill. Ezekiel Morey is said to have
built the first frame house on Deer Isle in 1771.
The first meeting house was constructed in 1773
and couples were being "properly" married,
"according to Protestant forms," by an
ordained minister at the nearby British fort. It
seemed that life here was all that many could have
hoped for. But peaceful times soon revealed internal
dissent. Difficult days lay ahead.
With
the beginning of the Revolution in 1775, inhabitants
were forced to declare their political leanings
— or hide them well. From what has been written,
it seems that Deer Isle was a divided community.
The majority were in favor of the new country. Those
who openly defied the British presence were in danger
of being turned in by local "Tories" and
punished through forced labor details, whippings
and ostracism. Many residents were forced to build
up the British defenses at nearby Castine, or "working
out their tour," as described by Hosmer. The
British commanding the area required either a pledge
of allegiance or neutrality to the crown from all
area residents. Though there were undoubtedly many
loyalists, there are many more defiant colonials
on record. William Eaton and others refused to take
an oath of loyalty and left. Vernal Hutchinson,
who as well as his Civil War narrative wrote a volume
that documents the region during the Revolution,
names a dozen residents as serving in the Continental
Army — from the siege of Boston on. Some of
the more notable were Caleb Haskell, who was in
the ranks of Benedict Arnold’s ill-fated 1775
expedition into Quebec, Joseph Tyler and George
Grouse who fought at Saratoga and Courtney Babbidge
who was on hand at Cornwallis’s surrender at
Yorktown. The only fighting that occurred in the
region was at Castine in 1779. A poorly executed
plan designed to take the British fort by amphibious
assault proved a complete failure. Over 30 Deer
Isle men were involved in the colonist’s raid.
It has not been recorded how many fought from within
the Castine defenses. This minor fight would be
the only regional threat posed to the empire’s
comfortable hold on the Maine coast during the Revolution.
Yet with Cornwallis’s stunning capitulation
in 1781, local loyalists were quite suddenly without
a country. The British, per terms that officially
ended the war, gave up their sovereignty over the
colonies. Loyalists, now fearful of reprisals or
unwilling to accept the new government, packed up
and moved out taking up residence in the "Provinces."
Many areas of northeastern Canada can trace their
lineage directly to this influx of Tory refugees
in the early 1780s — Saint John and Fredericton
in New Brunswick and Shelburne in Nova Scotia being
towns that were literally created from this exodus.
Yet to those who’d cast their lot with the
American cause went the spoils. And Deer Isle was
a rich reward.
The Ferry, 1930s ~ |
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Town of Deer Isle, turn of 20th century ~ |
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Salome Sellers ~ |
With the regular pace of civilization restored,
the 1780s proceeded where it had left off. William
Eaton, who returned after the Revolution, sold his
land to Nathaniel Scott in 1786. Scott would start
a ferry service in 1792 that provided mainland access
across "the Reach," a service that ran
for over 150 years until the opening of the suspension
bridge in 1939 rendered it obsolete. On January
30, 1789, the town of Deer Isle was incorporated.
As previously mentioned, it claimed the entire network
of islands, and Isle au Haut. The first selectmen
were seated in April, 1789: T. Stinson, moderator,
R. Peters Powers, clerk, Captain Ignatius Haskell,
treasurer. Captain Thomas Robbins, William Foster,
Nathan Haskell and Joseph Sellers were the remaining
officials. Deer Isle became a part of Hancock County
that June. Soon after, the first land survey was
conducted. The original petition by William Eaton
and others was, for reasons unknown, denied. All
repeat attempts were also denied, wrapped up in
discrepancy and perhaps state and ownership politics.
After a wait of well over 20 years, residents were
finally accommodated. Lots were laid out in 100
acre plots and granted to 58 existing residents.
A grant of remaining lands to Joseph Tyler, agent
to the state, was received poorly by residents who
suspected speculation. Regardless, the grants were
voided within a few years due to a failure to pay
the expenses of surveyors. The drawn out procurement
of legitimate rights to land would not to be resolved
until 1810.
With
or without official land titles, daily life continued.
Organized religion had arrived in 1773 with the
founding of the First Congregational Church. Residents
were allowed to earmark their local tax dollar for
the minister of their choice, as per state law.
A split in the Congregational church, brought on
by ministerial politics, resulted in the formation
of the First Baptist Church, which was founded in
1809 and originally located across route 15 from
Mt. Warren Cemetery. Early schooling was conducted
at home. But in 1789, five school districts were
created for organized public education. Civic improvement
ushered in the advent of road-building, a large
allotment appropriated towards this end at the first
town meeting. As was often the case, old Indian
trails were graded, widened and spanned with floating
bridges at water-crossings. Nathaniel Scott’s
ferry was an essential addition to Deer Isle’s
transportation network. The following statement,
made prior to the ferry’s launching, spells
out town officials’ desire for such a service:
"…
a county road should be laid out in the Township
of Deer Isle & a Ferryway established …
for the General conveniency of the Citizens of this
Commonwealth …"
In
winter, "the Reach" was often frozen solid,
allowing residents to carefully walk across to Sargentville
on the coast. Across this route traversed the first
public mail services, the original postmaster being
Major Pearl Spofford — early inhabitant and
ancestor of Edith Spofford-Watts. The 1790 census
recorded 682 residents. With the influx of settlers
that the post-war years brought, that number nearly
doubled by 1800. 1800 also welcomed one of the great
lives in Deer Isle history. On October 15, Salome
Sylvester was born. A direct descendent of a Mayflower
pilgrim, Salome would live to see the 20th
century, would become a matriarch in her community
and in the 1990s would be the subject of a fiction-based-on-fact
work by Caroline Smith Rittenhouse called, An
Island Woman … The Salome Sylvester Sellers
house in Sunset, appropriately placed on the west
side of South Deer Isle, is now home to the Deer
Isle-Stonington Historical Society.
By
the early 19th century, this isolated
"mess" was a thriving community. The sea
and its yield remained the most trusted resource,
mainly the fishing of cod, haddock and mackerel
from hand-hewn boats or canoes — as well as
the gathering of shellfish. In addition to simple
stockpiling the islanders had become renowned as
established traders. Their seafaring tendencies
and the general location, complete with its rich
natural resources, made the practice a natural fit.
But despite the thriving markets abroad, politics
was registering ominous tones towards the former
and still reviled "mother county." Once
again, trouble was brewing. The antagonistic measures
of British commerce boiled the blood of American
leaders in the new capital of Washington City. The
War of 1812, and the actions leading up to it, would
soon wreck maritime commerce, interrupting the peace
and island lives in the process.
Next
Page
A History of Deer Isle, Maine - Table of Contents
~
Introduction
The Isles and Early Exploration
The First Inhabitants
and the First Settlers
The Early Days of Revolution
and Civilization
Another War and Another
Peace
The Civil War in this
Maine Town
Island Life and the Coming
Prosperity
A New Century
Sources and More Info
