USA > Maine > The story of the Great Salt Bay and Vaughn's Pond > Part 1
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01092 2257
THE STORY OF
THE GREAT SALT BAY
AND
VAUGHN'S POND
HAROLD W SASINER
£
Read June 14-1978
Castner, Harold W Story of Great Salt Bay Vaughn's pond (Maine )
Palm Beach
2000322
78 7310
11
PHOTO BY IVAN FLYE
Beautiful Damariscotta Lake from The Bunker Hill Meeting House in Jefferson
THE STORY OF THE GREAT SALT BAY and VAUGHN'S POND
HIS is a story of the early settlement and activity at the headwaters of the Damariscotta River, to- gether with an account of the first settlement at Damariscotta Mills, Maine.
Shipyards of the Great Salt Bay are identified, as well as those in the vicinity of the towns of Nobleboro, Newcastle and Damariscotta.
Early activity on Vaughn's Pond, now called "Damaris- cotta Lake" is included, as well as an account of the Canal which was never completed from Muscongus Bay to the salt water.
There are pictures of the various mills and factories which have used the abundant water power of the falls since the early days.
This narrative covers a period of 222 years, from 1728 through the active periods of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the present time.
PHOTO BY IVAN FLYE
Gathering Alewives at the "Middle" or "Mulligan Stream"
First Edition 1950 Second Edition - 1956
Copyright 1950 by HAROLD W. CASTNER
Printed by THE BOOTHBAY REGISTER Boothbay Harbon, Maine
PREFACE
T HE Great Salt Bay, about two miles above the vil- lages of Newcastle and Damariscotta, is the end of tide-water of the Damariscotta River. The little village of Damariscotta Mills is located on the northwestern shore of this Bay and also adjacent to Damariscotta Lake.
From the beginning of permanent settlement here in 1728, this little community became the center of great lumbering, shipbuilding, and fishing industries, owing to the abundance of alewives, salmon, shad, and smelts, in addition to the vast supplies of excellent lumber which could be obtained and transported from regions around the lake.
The Aborigines of prehistoric eras also occupied this area and partook of the great abundance of food, and the oysters which were so plentiful at the southern entrance to the Bay. The great mounds of shells which remain to this day are evidence that humans have frequented this region for many centuries.
Although the oysters had disappeared when the white man came, the other natural advantages were most suited to settlement, and the history of this location reveals that it was one of the most attractive in the District of Maine.
The present community of Damariscotta Mills continues to enjoy a profitable industry from the alewives and smelts, but all its ancient glory has gone. The never-ending supply of water power is now used to develop electricity, but the far more intensive activity of a previous era has passed into history.
That the reader may enjoy an account of these earlier beginnings of this historic region, is the hope of:
The Author.
LAKE
TTA
LAESA
DAMARIS
BAY
8
MADIGAN'S LANE
CHOST MULE
-SALT
RISCOTTA
NE
DAM
ROAD
M. C. R. R. ROAD
GUIDDEN'S POINT
LINCOLN ACADEMY $10
OYSTER BANK3
18.29
FIRST CONGREGATIONALYST CHURCH 1825
27
@ WISCASSET
DAMARISCOIJA ....
22
-TO BOOTHBAY
COPY BY IVAN FLYE
Map of The Great Salt Bay and Upper Damariscotta River Showing Location of Shipyards of Early Days
CYSTEN
GREAT.
..
OLD
NEW
JOHNVINY ORK
O
TO WALDUBUNO
Shipyards on the Upper Damariscotta River
1. John and Matthew Madigan.
2. Nathaniel Bryant 2nd and his son, Cushing Bryant.
3. James Kavanagh.
4. John G., Samuel, and his son, John Borland.
5. Joshua and Edward Lincoln, and Joseph Haines.
6. Samuel Rollins.
7. Merrill's.
8. George Barstow and his son, Benjamin Barstow.
9. William P. Harrington.
10. Abner Stetson and William Hitchcock.
11. John Hiscock.
12. Royal Chapman.
13. John Barker and Samuel Foster.
14. Col. John Glidden.
15. Col. John Glidden, Algernon Austin and Joseph Teague.
16. Abner Stetson's first yard.
17. Addison Austin, Algernon Austin and Joseph Teague.
18. Nathaniel Bryant 4th and Ebenezer Haggett.
19. Ebenezer Haggett and Thomas E. Gay.
20. George Barstow 1st.
21. Nathaniel Bryant 1st.
22. Woodward.
23. Joseph Day Jr. and Amoriah Curtis.
24. Joseph Day Sr., Joseph Day Jr. and Charles Merry.
25. Nathaniel Church and Joseph Day Sr.
26. Cyrus Cotter.
27. Metcalf and Norris.
28. Jonah D. Morse and Harry G. Marr.
29. Woodward.
DAMARIS COTTA LAKE
BAY
HO
DELVIDERE
X
SALT
NEWCASTLE?
GREAT
DAMARISCOTTA
M. C. R. R.
GLIDDEN'S POINT
COPY BY IVAN FLYE Map of The Great Salt Bay Showing Shipyards of the Nineteenth Century and Historical Places of Interest
Explanation af Map
Shipyards:
1. John and Matthew Madigan.
2. Nathaniel Bryant 2nd and his son, Cushing Bryant.
3. James Kavanagh.
4. John G., Samuel and John Borland.
5. Joshua and Edward Lincoln and Joseph Haines.
6. Samuel Rollins.
7. Merrill's.
8. George Barstow and his son, Benjamin Barstow.
9. Abner Stetson and William Hitchcock.
10. William P. Harrington.
Places of Interest:
S Cellar excavation of Colonel David Dunbar, 1735.
T Toppan's Island.
U House of Joseph Glidden, 1760.
VV Oyster Shell Heaps.
W St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 1803.
XX Garrison Houses.
Y Site of house of Colonel William Vaughn.
Z James Kavanagh's House.
JEFFERSON AND WHITEFIELD
£2TWEE2N 1770, John Ball, John Weeks, Ezra Parker, Jon- athan Fish, Jonathan Eames, Jonathan Linscott,
I Joseph Jones and Thomas Kennedy, came from Boothbay and Woolwich to settle the land at the northern end of Vaughn's Pond, at the Plantation of Balls- town. They purchased the land for 13c an acre. At that time the area was included in the "John Brown Tract". The Plantation was named for John Ball, who was with Gen- eral Washington at Valley Forge, only a few years later.
On February 24, 1807, Ballstown was incorporated as the 166th town of Maine and named for President Jefferson. The first settled minister was Elder William Allen in 1809. The Post Office was established in 1814. The early industries were a cheese factory; extensive lumbering; stave and shingle mills; wooden pump, carriage, and potash factories.
The General Court chartered Lincoln Academy in New- castle, on February 23, 1801 and endowed it with a grant of wild land on June 2, 1802. This gift was not acceptable to the original trustees and on February 12, 1803, another grant was substituted which was a large gore of land between the Kennebec and Waldo Patents. This included most of the present towns of Jefferson and Somerville. Many deeds trace back to this origin. There was considerable contention of title until 1814, when the disputes were settled and all land sold for 30c an acre.
Jefferson has had the First, Second and Third Baptist Churches, and the place on the lake called "Punk Point" was the birthplace of the famous General James A. Hall 5th who was the hero of the Battle of Gettysburg and command- er of the 2nd Maine Battery, which held back most of the Confederate Army during the first day of the battle.
On June 19, 1809, the western part of Jefferson was incorporated as the Town of Whitefield, being named for the Reverend George Whitefield and becoming the 178th town of Maine. The northern part of the new town was settled by Irish emigrants who founded St. Dennis Catholic Church and built the stone rectory and later, a convent. The first parish priest was Father Dennis Ryan.
11
THE GREAT SALT BAY
CHAPTER I THE GREAT SALT BAY
I T is very difficult to visualize the extent of the lumber and shipbuilding industries on the Great Salt Bay and Damariscotta Lake, which were so widespread and active in the early days, near the present village of Damariscotta Mills.
This little village is partly in Nobleboro and partly in Newcastle and the Great Bay presents a far different appear- ance than it did over 200 years ago. The natural discharge of water from the lake has gone on for centuries, with the result that sediment has filled the upper part of the river and changed it considerably. The once navigable channel is now so shallow that it permits no water traffic, except small craft. The shipyards which operated here would be quite impossible under the present conditions.
When the resourceful Colonel William Vaughn came to Damariscotta Mills in 1730, he soon made use of the excellent water power, by erecting saw mills and grist mills. A small settlement sprung up in this popular location and word reached the Massachusetts Bay Colony of the advantages and opportunities of this location, with the result that it began to attract settlers in increasing numbers.
Among the first to arrive in Newcastle was George Barstow, who came in 1740 and built a shipyard about one quarter of a mile below the present bridge at Damariscotta. He was followed by Nathaniel Bryant 1st, in 1770, who also began building ships on the next tract North of Barstow. Abner Stetson Jr., came from Scituate, Massachusetts in 1793 and located his shipyard just North of Bryant, where the Newcastle Congregational Church now stands.
It was not uncommon for industries and even settle- ments to move to nearby locations, where it was found to be more convenient or advantageous to whatever pursuits were popular. This was particularly true of shipbuilding due to the more accessible supply of lumber.
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THE STORY OF THE GREAT SALT BAY AND VAUGHN'S POND
In all this region it is quite evident that the very best of excellent timber could be obtained from the forests sur- rounding Damariscotta Lake. Great rafts of logs could be brought to Damariscotta Mills from remote distances up the lake and processed at Vaughn's Mill, or carried across to the salt water, where it was then taken to shipyards all along the river. Those who had established themselves in shipbuilding soon became aware of this advantage, and some building began on the Salt Bay previous to 1800 A.D.
William Vaughn held title to practically all the land at the falls and most of the area surrounding the lake. For this reason the lake became known as "Vaughn's Pond" and remained so for many years.
By 1790, ownership of much of this area had passed from Vaughn to James Noble Jr., thence to William Lithgow. In 1793, two resourceful Irishmen, James Kavanagh and Matthew Cottrell, came to these parts. They soon recognized the advantages of the area and began singularly and jointly purchasing various parcels of land in the vicinity (including the water power privilege at the Mills.) As they were now in a position to control all commercial activity, they estab- lished rates for lumber, as well as charges for moving it over the falls to the salt water below.
This proved quite profitable to them but a general feeling prevailed that rates were too high. We read with interest of the contention which arose and resulted in the organization of a group, who obtained an act of the Legisla- ture in 1821, to construct a canal from Muscongus Bay, down through the countryside to Oyster Creek and thence into the Great Bay and river below, a distance of about four miles. There can be but one explanation to this, which confirms the fact that all the most valuable timber lands were adjacent to Vaughn's Pond. This conclusion is further strengthened by noting that although Barstow, Bryant and Stetson, had established active shipyards below the present bridge, their sons moved all these yards to the Great Salt Bay shortly after 1800 A.D.
13
THE GREAT SALT BAY
Others who lived at Damariscotta Mills also established yards there, and soon a great many lined the shore of the Bay on the western and northern portions, which are now the shore lines of the present village.
Along this shore, directly East of the village, was what was known as "The Town Landing". This abutment of rocks and piling was used as a normal landing place where vessels and small craft were tied up at times.
The reader must visualize this area adjacent to the present fish stream and previous to the causeway which the Knox and Lincoln Railroad built, to carry the track across the inlet in 1870. Standing on the present bridge, near the fish house, and looking southeast, a margin of large split rocks may be seen which were the beginning of a man-made seawall. This extended around the little point of land, to protect the Town Landing. It is evident that the rushing waters from the falls, in passing along the stream and meeting the salt waters of the bay, would occasionally overflow the area and this barrier was constructed to prevent this condition.
As the flat and convenient land along this shore was most suited for shipbuilding, several yards were established here. This is all the present area between the North and South Railroad Crossings at the Mills. Proceeding on to the head of the bay we find the Merrill yard. Continuing East, and just beyond a little point of land in the bay, was the yard of Colonel George Barstow 2nd and his son Benjamin. Next South of this was the large William P. Harrington yard, between Oyster Creek and the bay. One ship was built at the location of the Nobleboro Baptist Church and hauled all the way to Oyster Creek, a distance of some two miles, and successfully launched.
South of this, near the bend of the river, where the great shell heaps are found, we come to the previous yard of Abner Stetson and William Hitchcock. They built many large ships, including the 400-ton "Wiscasset", which later brought Andrew Carnegie to America.
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THE STORY OF THE GREAT SALT BAY AND VAUGHN'S POND
If we could have stood at the head of the Great Bay shortly after 1800 A.D., we would have seen an almost continuous line of shipyards all around the shore and as far as we could see on the bay proper, an indication of the extent of the industry in those early days.
There is no record that William Vaughn built any ships during his ownership of the area. He died in England and James Noble Jr. inherited his house, but it burned, and with it, many valuable records of previous activities.
The shipbuilding era at Damariscotta Mills can be con- sidered as beginning when Kavanagh and Cottrell purchased 566 acres there about 1800 A.D. They established a yard and built about twenty-five ships. Their shipyard is shown as No. 3 on the map, just North of the Town Landing.
Nathaniel Bryant 2nd purchased a small portion of this land and began building ships. His son, Cushing Bryant, continued this business.
Nathaniel Bryant 3rd, brother of Cushing, had a daugh- . ter, Sarah E., who married Doctor Moses Call. Another daughter, Harriet S., married Captain Hendrick Wade, and Helen J., became the wife of Captain John Madigan. His son, Nathaniel 4th, built a saw mill at the falls but lived at location No. 18 in Newcastle. We note, therefore, the intimate connection of No. 1, No. 2, and No. 18, as well as the original tract of Nathaniel 1st in 1770 at No. 21.
Cushing Bryant, grandson of Nathaniel 1st, built the large square house which stands today, owned by a still later Nathaniel. Cushing married Arletta Myrick whose father built many ships at location No. 2 under the name of Joseph Myrick.
It was at location No. 1 that the Madigans built their great ships, one of which was "The Grand Turk". Some of the steamers were hauled here from the lake to the bay, including the great side-wheeler, "Jefferson". The "River Belle" and the "Lady of the Lake" were carried down the road through the village and put in the bay near the present railroad station.
15
THE GREAT SALT BAY
One of the larger shipbuilders of the Great Bay seems to have escaped the notice of several historians. This man was William P. Harrington, who lived at what we know as "Harrington's Corner". This is the junction of the old Rock- land road and the road leading around the bay to Damariscotta Mills. He built numerous ships of large size, which were frequently mentioned in the ship list. His yard was next South of Barstow's.
All this shipbuilding continued on the Great Bay for some 60 years. In 1845, Mr. James Mulligan 2nd, father of Maurice, stood at the head of the bay and counted 13 ships being built, around the bay, all within his vision.
The extent of the industry will explain in part, the reason for the interest in a canal from Muscongus Bay to Oyster Creek, the circumstances of which will be related in Chapter III.
On either of the two maps, elsewhere in the text, it will be noted that names occasionally appear in several places. This was due to the association of various individuals who joined together to build some of the ships.
The period from 1800 to 1900 was indeed an active era of shipbuilding throughout this whole area and map No. 2 lists most, but not all, of the yards at that time, when great fortunes were made which some of the present generation continue to enjoy.
Vaughn's Pond was so intimately connected with this shipbuilding activity, that we shall enumerate the owner- ship of the shore-line; the lumber industry, and the history of building the canal; with other data in Chapters II and III.
Although George Barstow 1st was the pioneer ship- builder of this whole region and his son, Colonel George, moved the yard to Damariscotta Mills, where it was con- tinued in turn by his son Benjamin; it is of more historical interest to note the arrival of Nathaniel Bryant 1st in 1770, as his activity, through his descendants, has continued to the present day.
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THE STORY OF THE GREAT SALT BAY AND VAUGHN'S POND
Nathaniel 1st purchased two tracts in Newcastle. One was at location No. 18 and the other at No. 21. He only built one ship and started another when he died on July 9th, 1772, being only 33 years old. His farm at No. 18 extended South to include No. 19 and in this day of 1950, it is of interest to note that a direct descendant, Mr. Creston Glidden Bryant, operates a shipyard at location No. 19, after 180 years in which this family has been identified with shipbuilding on the Damariscotta River.
Although Nathaniel 2nd removed to the Mills, the farms in Newcastle were still owned by the family and remain so to this day, with the exception of Nathaniel 4th's homestead, which was sold and converted into "The Lincoln Home for the Aged".
Every semblance of the great shipbuilding on the bay and river has gone. All these previously active yards are covered with vegetation and all that remains is the modern boatshop of Mr. Creston Glidden Bryant, on the Newcastle shore and the plant of Mr. Harry G. Marr, in Damariscotta. Thus has this great local shipbuilding industry passed into history.
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VAUGHN'S POND
CHAPTER II VAUGHN'S POND (Damariscotta Lake)
HEN the white man first attempted to settle this area in 1638, it was known that the Damariscotta River extended to a point where there were three falls. The first being called "Lower Salt Falls"; the second, "Middle Salt Falls"; and the third, "Upper Fresh Falls". The first being the present location of the Newcastle-Damaris- cotta bridge; the second, known as "Johnny Orr"; and the third, the falls which carry the water from Damariscotta Lake to the Salt Bay below.
Old deeds refer to the Bay as "The Great Salt Pond", or "Great Salt Bay". This Bay is mentioned in practically every deed of the area and was undoubtedly the scene of ancient aboriginal activity, owing to the fact that great oysters grew in abundance, in addition to the alewive run in the spring, and the smelts which could be taken in the winter.
The original falls from the lake came down over the section which is now the location of the Electric Power Station. This is a geological formation consisting of ledge which acts as a natural dam to hold back the waters of the lake for some 14 miles. It is, in a sense, one of nature's wonders.
We will not go into the various deeds and ownerships of this area and the misunderstanding of bounds which caused so much contention and strife in the early days, except to mention that one Walter Phillips purchased most of this tract in 1640 from the Indians. He later sold his title to Reverend Christopher Toppan. Toppan sold to Vaughn, and the Noble family inherited from him. They sold to Lithgow, and he to Kavanagh and Cottrell who were the owners at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
During the time of Toppans ownership about 1725, he sent his surveyor, Benjamin Cheney, or Cheyney, to lay out the boundaries of his claim. Cheney arrived in 1730, at which time there was an increase in the number of settlers
18
THE STORY OF THE GREAT SALT BAY AND VAUGHN'S POND
coming into the area. We could begin when Cornelius Jones and his wife walked all the way from New Hampshire to Damariscotta Mills in 1728, but the coming of William Vaughn and James Noble is of far greater historical sig- nificance, two years later in 1730. Vaughn purchased several parcels of land from Toppan, also some on the East side of the river from the Brown heirs and from others who were heirs of Sylvanus Davis and Kenelm Winslow, on the present Damariscotta side of the river, in addition to grants by Colonel David Dunbar.
In writing of Vaughn's Pond, now called "Damariscotta Lake", it was thought proper to present these facts con- cerning the Great Salt Bay at the end of the river, as it has been called "The Great Salt Pond". This will eliminate any confusion between the bay and lake.
The first arrivals at Damariscotta Mills became im- mediately aware of the great water power available. Vaughn was a graduate of Harvard College and a man of means. He soon appropriated this power for mills, and although he knew of the great run of alewives each spring, his inter- ests were commercial, and he left no provision for the fish to enter the lake above. For untold generations the Indians had gathered them for food and fertilizer, but Vaughn's mills of 1730 obstructed all ways by which they might carry on this annual process during the spring spawning season. From the fact that these alewives appeared all along the Maine coast in the spring and were able to propagate in other places, it is evident that they did not suffer greatly from this obstruction. A period of 80 years followed during which no fish could enter the lake. Let us elaborate somewhat on this statement.
Vaughn diverted the water through the mills in 1730, thus preventing the fish from entering the lake, but when James Kavanagh became a prominent man in the settlement, shortly after 1800, he noticed the great run of fish attempting to get up the falls. Realizing that nature's processes had
19
VAUGHN'S POND
been disrupted, he had some of his employees transport many of them in nets, to the lake above. He then built a lock stream by which some of the fish might enter the lake through natural climbing, but it was small and could accommodate only a percentage of the great number that tried to get in. It could, therefore, not be considered of any great value.
Being a man of influence, he started a movement to bring the matter to the attention of the two towns of New- castle and Nobleboro, as the stream was, and is now, the boundary of these two towns.
A matter of this kind involved the jurisdiction of the General Court and a petition was prepared and presented to that body relative to the matter of regulating conditions and specifying laws by which fish might be taken. The whole record of this act, and subsequent acts and amend- ments, is available at the Maine State Library in Augusta, to those who may be interested, but they are too long and involved to enumerate here.
Suffice to say that in 1809 the matter came to a final decision and the towns of Nobleboro and Newcastle con- structed a fishway during that year. The cost was $438 and was shared equally by each town. Supervision of taking the fish was then begun and still continues to this day, after 140 years, subject to various amendments to the original acts.
No fish were taken in the year 1809, but many were harvested in 1810. This, therefore, accounts for the period from 1730 to 1810, or 80 years of obstruction.
Aside from the water power facilities and supply of fish at the southern end of the lake, there were many other advantages of this great body of water which made it of importance to early settlers as well as of value in those same respects to the present generations. Leading far up into Jefferson, it afforded an excellent means of obtaining and transporting the vast quantities of lumber from the
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THE STORY OF THE GREAT SALT BAY AND VAUGHN'S POND
woodlands around the lake to the mills at the lower end, which produced a most profitable industry for inhabitants over a wide area.
As transportation in the early days was mostly by water, the lake afforded a convenient route for commun- ication to the industrial center at Damariscotta Mills, as well as access to the salt water beyond, and a profitable industry sprung up through these circumstances. The winter time offered speedy transportation over the ice from as far north as Jefferson and provided a time when huge quantities of logs could be cut and prepared for rafting down the lake after the ice went out.
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