Maine

Agry Point
Arnold Trail
Cathedral Pines Historic Site
Colonial Pemaquid State Historical Site
Cross Over Place
Fort George State Memorial
Fort Halifax
Fort Popham Historic Site
Fort Pownall
Great Carry Sites
Height of Land
Kittery
Machias Bay
Montpelier (Knox Home) Replica
Old Fort Western
Skowhegan Falls
Solon (Carratunkas) Falls Portage Site

Maine's historic sites, most of them coastal forts, are maintained by Maine's Bureau of Parks and Land. This state agency has pertinent information on nearly all of the historic areas concerning Maine during the American Revolution and is a practical place to begin a specific search. The feature "Find Parks and Lands" on its website is particularly useful for obtaining information. The Bureau of Parks and Land is headquartered at 22 State House Station, 18 Elkins Lane, Augusta, Maine 04333. Phone: (207) 287-3821; website: www.state.me.us/doc/parks/. Another good general source is the Maine Office of Tourism. It publishes a helpful travel guide, Maine Invites You, which is billed as the state's "official travel planner" and includes information on numerous historic areas. Phone: (888) 624-6345; website: www.visitmaine.com. The Maine Historical Society, located at 489 Congress Street in Portland, offers a wealth of information on the state's role in the Revolutionary War. It maintains a well-staffed research library and displays a variety of museum exhibits and historical programs. Phone: (207) 774-1822; website: www.mainehistory.org.

State highways, 201, 4, and 17 are now designated as National Scenic Byways and dozens of interpretive panels, most of which pertain to the American Revolution, can be viewed. Designed by Nancy Montgomery, they are usually located at rest areas and road pullouts.

There are many books written on the American Revolution in the fourteen states, such as James S. Leamon's outstanding Revolution Downeast: The War for American Independence in Maine (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1993). With Maine, however, attention has focused particularly on Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec in 1775. Kenneth Lewis Roberts, author of the popular 1933 novel Arundel, collected diaries and letters from the expedition in March to Quebec (New York: Doubleday, 1940). Stephen Clark's Following in Their Footsteps: A Travel Guide and History of the 1775 Secret Expedition to Capture Quebec (Shapleigh, Maine: Clark Books, 2003) provides a description of the landmarks and topography of Arnold's march while also providing canoeing and hiking maps for anyone willing to duplicate his incredible journey. Thomas Desjardin has written a narrative of the expedition, Through a Howling Wilderness, due from St. Martin's Press in 2006.

Agry Point

Agry Point, Kennebec River, short loop of old Maine 27 about 2 miles south of the Gardiner-Randolph bridge. The site is clearly visible from the river for those fortunate enough to have this means of sightseeing. Motorists should start at the point about 2 miles south of the Kennebec River bridge between Gardiner and Randolph. Here the landmarks are Arnold Road coming in from the east to new Maine 27 and a loop of old Maine 27 going off to the west.

Easily spotted on the right of old Route 27 as you drive north is a cemetery close to the road. The most conspicuous monument is to Major Reuben Colburn, whose home and shipyard site you will come to in a moment. He happened to be at Cambridge (Washington's headquarters during the siege of Boston) when the Arnold Expedition was planned. Within a period of eighteen days he made the trip home and had two hundred bateaux built and waiting for the Arnold Expedition when it arrived here by ship on 22 September 1775. (Another twenty were requested by Arnold after his arrival and were promptly built.) In addition, Colburn assembled flour and meat, packed these provisions in kegs, sent two scouts to reconnoiter the route, and furnished Arnold with fifty artificers to accompany the expedition.

A short distance north of the cemetery and near the road is the Colburn House on the left. Acquired by the state in 1972, it is leased by the Arnold Expedition Historical Society (AEHS) and serves as its headquarters. The AEHS is not as active nowadays as it has been in the past, but it does provide tours by appointment during the weekend in July and August. Phone: (207) 582-7080. The Colburn House, built in 1765, is a simple, two-story frame structure of traditional New England design with a central chimney, ridged roof, and large attic. The clapboard siding is painted brown, and the tall, narrow windows trimmed in white. Down the hill from the Colburn House and slightly south is a flat area along the river where the bateaux were built. The attractive little white house that looks like a national historic landmark is modern. Behind it and on somewhat higher ground is a frame building that was a tavern when the thirsty bateaux builders were at work and when Arnold's troops bivouacked here. In an overgrown area of higher ground just to the north of the tavern is a cemetery where the grave of Thomas Agry can be found.

Arnold Trail

Arnold Trail. Many of the principal landmarks of the march led by Colonel Benedict Arnold through Maine in September and October of 1775 can be found along U.S. 201 and Maine 16 and 27. The Appalachian Trail goes by the three Carry Ponds along the general route followed by Arnold, although the portion of the hiking trail from Caratunk to the East Carry Pond was not Arnold's route. Meanwhile, the road-bound traveler must backtrack from the vicinity of Bingham, start of the Great Carry, to Solon, take Alternate U.S. 201 to North Anson, and Maine 16 north to Stratton. Here one may pick up Arnold's trail on the portion of Dead River not flooded by Flagstaff Lake, and on Maine 27 can follow the general route to the vicinity of Coburn Gore, on the Canadian border.

The line of time-worn Indian trails, portages, and waterways followed by the Arnold Expedition in 1775 had been explored by a number of men in colonial days. A British army engineer, Captain John Montresor, reconnoitered it in 1761 and submitted a report that it was a militarily feasible route. The Patriots followed Montresor's route. In retracing their steps historians have been aided by the fact that so many of Arnold's officers and men kept diaries and journals.

Washington himself conceived the plan of sending a battalion of crack Continental troops over Montresor's route to seize Quebec by a surprise attack before the British could organize its defenses and while they were coping with the major effort being made along the Lake Champlain avenue of approach into Canada. Colonel Benedict Arnold had already impressed Washington and other authorities as being the kind of leader for such a desperate venture, and events proved that he was the ideal commander in this case. But they did not give him much time for preparations before the great white cold descended. As luck would have it, a Kennebec boatbuilder named Reuben Colburn happened to be in Cambridge, Massachusetts when initial preparations were being made in Washington's headquarters, and he agreed to furnish Arnold with two hundred light bateaux on short order. (A bateaux was a flat-bottomed boat with tapering ends used on rivers for carrying heavy and bulky loads.) Colburn sped ahead to start their construction at his shipyard (see agry point).

A call for volunteers was meanwhile issued among the lines of bored Patriot troops besieging Boston, and a good many venturesome soldiers stepped forward. Washington's order specified that all volunteers be "active woodsmen and well acquainted with batteaux." As things happen in military service, many of Arnold's men did not have these qualifications, but foolish optimism was not a shortcoming of the first American commander in chief, and Washington had directed that men be ordered to fill the ranks of the expedition if not enough volunteered.

About 1,100 men sailed with Arnold from Newburyport, Massachusetts in "dirty coasters and fish boats," as one described it. After a day and a night of stormy weather they reached the mouth of the Kennebec on 20 September, picking up the pilot near Fort Popham (see fort popham historic site). Modern development has somewhat changed the 35 miles of the beautiful Kennebec River through which they wound their way to Colburn's shipyard from the way Arnold's men saw it in 1775. Yet, some of the original natural splendor remains, and visitors stand a very good chance of spotting an eagle.

At Agry Point, a short distance south of modern Gardiner, the bateaux and provisions were waiting. Subsequent landmarks of the Arnold Trail are covered under the following headings: old fort western, fort halifax, skowhegan falls, solon falls portage site, cross over place, great carry sites, cathedral pines historic site, and height of land. See arnold trail under Canada to continue the trip.

Among the landmarks obliterated by dams along the Kennebec are Ticonic Falls, Five Mile Falls, and almost all of the "fearsome" Norridgewock Falls just above Skowhegan. What the diarists and subsequent writers commonly call "falls," incidentally, were rapids rather than true falls, except at Skowhegan and Solon. A reasonable facsimile of the rapids negotiated by the Arnold Expedition is furnished by the Carrabassett River at North Anson.

As you retrace this route remember that Arnold had the misfortune not only of starting too late in the season and of underestimating his distance (see below), but also of encountering one of the most severe winters in Maine history.

Arnold had figured 180 miles from Agry Point to Quebec, whereas the route was 300 miles. He estimated that the march would take twenty days and started with food for forty-five. The expedition took forty-six days to get from Fort Western to Quebec, but because of spoilage and losses the men were on starvation rations at the end of a month. At this time, 25 October, Arnold stripped his command of all but those who could be given fifteen days' provisions. About seven hundred men made the last leg of the journey across Height of Land and on to Quebec.

The romance and travail of the Arnold Expedition can be experienced two centuries after the event because so much of the primary source material is in print and because most of the terrain is as the Patriots saw it in 1775. Literature is available from official agencies of the state of Maine. Readers with more than a casual interest should get in touch with the Arnold Expedition Historical Society (AEHS), or refer to either Desjardin's or Clark's above-mentioned books.

Cathedral Pines Historic Site

Cathedral Pines Historic Site, Arnold Trail on Dead River (Flagstaff Lake). A great stand of Norway pines overlooked a curve of Dead River when the Arnold Expedition came this way in 1775. Flagstaff Lake has flooded about 20 miles of his route along the river, including the Indian village that was the home of the mysterious Nantais. Arnold landed at the latter place and erected a flag, and the white settlement subsequently established there was named Flagstaff. A historical marker was moved about 9 miles west to New Flagstaff (part of Eustis) in 1948 when old Flagstaff village was flooded, and is now in front of the Flagstaff Memorial Chapel, just north of Cathedral Pines Park.

The latter site, about 4 miles north of Stratton on Maine 27 and about 2 miles south of Eustis, has a number of plaques commemorating the Arnold Expedition. One honors Colonel Timothy Bigelow (1739–1790), a battalion major who climbed a 4,150-foot mountain in the area for Arnold to find out whether Quebec was in sight. It wasn't, but the mountain bears Bigelow's name. The Appalachian Trail runs over the top of Mount Bigelow.

There had been 4 inches of snow around the Carry Ponds when the Patriots came through; then it started raining heavily, the temperature dropped further, and a tremendous hurricane struck on 21 October after they reached Dead River. So called because of its slow, meandering character most of the time, Dead River was flooded to a width of 200 yards soon after Arnold's men started battling their way up it.

For today's traveler, however, the most scenic portion of Arnold's trail is along Maine 27 from Cathedral Pines to the Canadian border. The highway closely parallels the historic trail, passing running water and the picturesque Chain of Ponds to the Height of Land.

Colonial Pemaquid State Historical Site

Colonial Pemaquid State Historical Site, Pemaquid River mouth, about a mile west of New Harbor, which is about 13 miles south of Damariscotta on Maine 129 and 130. A large circular stone tower was reconstructed in 1908 as a replica of the third and fourth forts (of 1692 and 1729) on this picturesque coastal point. At its top, the stone tower has, along with a gorgeous view of John's Bay, a fascinating artifact display. Around the masonry wall on the second floor are thirteen exhibits giving the history of the site and surrounding area. The center well is encircled by displays of colonial tools and utensils, including artifacts found in archaeological explorations of a settlement just north of Fort William Henry, which is now reconstructed. (Excavated cellars at the "Pemaquid Diggings" may be visited.) Some authorities believe this community dates back to about 1620, and that it achieved considerable importance. The site of Fort William Henry was first occupied by Fort Pemaquid, a stockade built around 1630 as a defense against pirates. In 1632 it was captured by the pirate Dixie Bull. The second fort, a wooden structure called Fort Charles, was put up in 1677 and destroyed in 1689 by the Penobscot Indians. Sir William Phips had Fort William Henry built in 1692, at which time it was the largest and strongest stone fort in America. French and Indian forces under Baron de Castine and d'Iberville flattened this one in 1696, their attack being supported by three men-of-war. In 1729 Fort Frederick was built on this embattled site, and the Patriots themselves destroyed this one in 1775 to keep it from being taken over by the British during the Revolution.

Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site features a recently repaired Fort House that holds an archeology lab and a research library. The site's visitors' center has a museum with hundreds of Revolutionary War and prewar artifacts. It is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Admission for adults is $2. Phone: (207) 677-2423. The site also has a public boat-launch facility.

Cross Over Place

Cross Over Place, Kennebec River. A scenic and historic site turnout and small picnic area is at the point on the Kennebec where the Arnold Expedition left the river and started the Great Carry (see great carry sites). This wayside park is midway between Bingham and Caratunk on scenic U.S. 201. A plaque erected by the DAR commemorating the episode can be found there. Approximately a mile up the highway is a rest area, and one of the interpretive panels referenced earlier can be found. Bear in mind, however, that the river as it was in 1775 has been transformed into a lake by the Wyman Dam, built in the 1920s. Also, the terrain over which the marching column of Arnold's Expedition approached the bank from the east has been altered by the construction of U.S. 201.

Fort George State Memorial

Fort George State Memorial, Penobscot Bay, Castine. The British fort of 1779, a large rectangular work covering about 3 acres (with a softball field located unceremoniously in the middle of it), is in an area of exceptional beauty and interest. The site is state owned; however, the town of Castine manages it. French, Dutch, and English flags have flown over this picturesque piece of American territory, and it was visited by famous European explorers, perhaps even the Vikings, before it became a bone of imperial contention in the Colonial Wars. During the Revolution the British built Fort George, gave the Patriots a humiliating beating in the Penobscot River, and held the fort until 1783. They reoccupied it during the War of 1812. Castine has more than one hundred historical markers and many old houses in addition to its beautiful coastal scenery and recreational facilities.

The French settlement called Pentegoet was here in 1625. The eventual name was bestowed in honor of Vincent de St. Castine, one of the many French explorers of Penobscot. When the British acquired the region by the Treaty of 1763 Castine became the northernmost settlement of any significance on the seaboard of the Thirteen Colonies.

In the summer of 1779 a British force of about 750 troops under General Francis McLean and three sloops of war arrived at Castine from Nova Scotia and started building Fort George. The area was a source of timber, which the British needed for their shipyards at Halifax. Fort George was also to be a base for the forward defense of Nova Scotia and for operations against American coastal waters. The Massachusetts authorities reacted quickly. Without consulting Congress or the Continental army they mounted the largest amphibious operation of the Revolution: about 20 fighting ships and 2,000 militia troops aboard 20 trading vessels. The roster of commanders included some of the proudest names in New England. Generals Solomon Lovell and Peleg Wadsworth (grandfather of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) commanded the militia. Lieutenant Colonel Paul Revere had charge of the American artillery. Captain Dudley Saltonstall of the Continental navy was overall naval commander.

This amateur effort failed to achieve surprise, and the God of War called Strike One. The Patriots then failed to make a coordinated attack with sea and land forces, which should have succeeded because the British had only their three sloops, and Fort George had not been completed. For almost three weeks the Patriot force made elaborate preparations to attack, and Strike Two was called. At the worst possible moment, just as the ground troops had debarked for their attack, the British relief force arrived. From Sandy Hook with 10 vessels, including a 64-gun ship, and 1,600 men came Captain Sir George Collier (1738–1795). Collier was a brilliant naval commander, but he needed no particular genius to destroy the entire American flotilla. Saltonstall, who had favored aggressive action against the three British sloops and the incomplete fort on 25 July, did not have a chance on 12 August. The troops scrambled back aboard, and the fleet made a show of resistance before heading up the river, beaching their ships, and escaping into the brush. It was Strike Three and out.

The Massachusetts legislators struck back by blaming Saltonstall for the fiasco, praising their militia generals, and putting in a claim to Congress for part of the $7 million the affair had cost them. (Congress awarded Massachusetts $2 million.) Saltonstall was dismissed from the Continental Navy and returned to his business as a privateer and merchant captain. Paul Revere was accused of disobedience, unsoldierly conduct, and cowardice. More than two years later his case was tried and the court-martial acquitted him of all charges.

During the War of 1812 the British took possession of all of the present state of Maine east of the Penobscot River. They repaired Fort George, and Castine was a popular town for the British forces and a bustling center of trade. On 25 April 1815, almost four months after the Treaty of Ghent ended the war, the British blew up the works and decamped for the last time. The Castine Historical Society serves as an additional source of this town's rich Revolutionary War past. Phone: (207) 326-4118.

Fort Halifax

Fort Halifax, Winslow, Kennebec County, on U.S. 201 a mile south of the Winslow-Waterville bridge. The oldest blockhouse standing in the United States (1754) rests where Arnold's Expedition saw it in 1775. A 1987 flood disassembled the blockhouse, but the state reassembled it one year later, piece by piece, not unlike a giant jigsaw puzzle. The quality of its reconstruction is evident by the site's ability to retain its National Historic Landmark status. The site comprises about half an acre of level grass and a steep wooded slope down to the creek. However, it is surrounded by a mostly urban setting. Fort Halifax had been established as an outpost for early warning during the French and Indian War. It was a way station for Arnold's Expedition, which took two days to pole its bateaux 18 miles up the Kennebec to this point from Fort Western. The Fort Halifax site is open free to the public from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Phone: (207) 941-4014.

Fort McClary State Memorial

Fort McClary State Memorial. Seekittery.

Fort O'Brien

Fort O'Brien. Seemachias bay and vicinity.

Fort Popham Historic Site

Fort Popham Historic Site and vicinity, near Popham Beach State Park (follow signs) about 15 miles south of Bath on Maine 209. The Arnold Expedition of 1775 picked up a pilot here for its trip up the Kennebec to Colburn's shipyard at Agry Point. Civil War Fort Popham (1861) is on the site of a Revolutionary War post at Hunniwell's Point. Whether it was fortified in 1775 is not known, but a wooden blockhouse mounting a 4-pounder, which had been an alarm gun at Fort Frankfort, was there not long after the Revolution started. Cox's Head, just to the north, and other high ground provided good lookouts to sea, and the post at Hunniwell's Point was maintained primarily to give early warning of British naval threats.

The Popham colonists of 1607 built their fort on Sabino Head, just west of Hunniwell's Point. The Popham Memorial (not to be confused with Fort Popham) marks the site of this first (although unsuccessful) English colony in New England. The settlers took formal possession on 29 August 1607 and built themselves a large earthwork of wood-revetted walls some 450 yards in total length. This was named Fort St. George. Within its walls they put up a storehouse, church, and about fifteen houses for the 120 or so men who would spend the first winter. In addition, they built a ship, the Virginia. But the fates were not kind. The weather was unusually harsh, the storehouse burned, their leader, Captain George Popham, died, and the colonists learned that their sponsor back in England, Chief Justice Sir John Popham, also was dead. The Popham colony was abandoned less than a year after its beginning.

The Kennebec River's lower portion has changed somewhat due to increased development; however, one can still get a sense of the way it appeared to the men of Arnold's Expedition. The highway south from Bath, Route 209, generally follows the river and is one of the most scenic in Maine.

Fort Pownall

Fort Pownall, Penobscot River, about 3.5 miles from Stockton Springs (U.S. 1). Governor Thomas Pownall of Massachusetts selected the location and directed the construction of this fort, which was completed in 1758 or 1759. Its purpose was not only to guard the mouth of the Penobscot north of the embattled works where the Fort George State Memorial now stands, but also to control the valuable traffic with the Indians. After French power in Canada was eliminated, the small garrison of Fort Pownall was reduced to a guard detachment. In March 1775 the British took all the heavy guns and ammunition from the place and set fire to the wooden fortification. During the fiasco of 1779 at Fort George the works were destroyed by the retreating Patriots. The earthworks have survived, and an archaeological dig uprooted many historical items, most of which are held at the Maine State Museum.

Great Carry Sites

Great Carry Sites, Arnold Trail. The Middle and West Carry Ponds are not accessible by roads open to the public. All three ponds, their natural beauty unspoiled, are on the Appalachian Trail. Moose are plentiful. The start of the Great Carry on the Kennebec at the Cross Over Place is easily reached by road, and East Carry Pond can be found by car in good weather, although at some risk to the crankcase. The roads do not show on most highway maps, having been put in by paper companies and private landowners, but at least as far as the Cross Over Place on the west bank there is a splendid highway. The entire length of the Great Carry Sites is about 12 miles, and almost all of the land is owned by a paper company.

From Bingham on the Kennebec drive west across the bridge and turn north. Almost exactly 4 miles from the bridge on this road, turn right at a junction where signs indicate that the Carry Ponds are 11 miles in that direction.

At 7.8 miles is a modern logging trail leading down the riverbank to the right (east). This is the vicinity of Carry Place Stream, where Arnold's bateaux were taken out of the Kennebec to start the carry to Dead River and where a log storehouse was built. The lower ground to the south of the modern road is where the Arnold Trail ran. It followed the ancient Indian route and was used by subsequent generations of settlers and loggers in this region after the Revolution, which is why the trace has survived the centuries.

To reach the East Carry Pond (and others when they are opened to the public), continue north for 0.9 mile and turn left. This leads to a private resort on East Carry Pond at a distance of about 2.5 miles. There is nothing wrong with the road, unless it is covered with snow, except that the clearance at many points is low. The Arnold Trail crosses back and forth across this modern route. At 1.7 miles from the road you will cross a stretch of smooth rock ledges that are mentioned in the journals of the Arnold Expedition, confirming that this is the way they came. (This rock formation is common in many other parts of the country but quite unusual in this part of Maine.) At exactly 2 miles is the junction of the Appalachian Trail and a road fork; the road to the left (west) leads to Middle Carry Pond. Taking the right branch for about 0.1 mile you come to a collection of resort cabins where Arnold launched into the first carrying pond. One of his two launching sites is at the point closest to the main house of this resort colony.

Height of Land

Height of Land, Arnold Trail, vicinity of Coburn Gore (on Canadian border). "The Terrible Carrying Place," as Arnold's men dubbed it, was a 4.25-mile portage through snow and over granite ledges to get from the Chain of Ponds to Lake Megantic. Having sent to the rear all the bateaux except one per company, the Americans headed due north from what is now called Arnold Pond, passed through a saddle of the mountain range, and then went generally westward to Great Meadows in Canada. They were following the route reconnoitered by Captain John Montresor in 1761.

Montresor's map shows "Height of Land" as a long, narrow ridge generally along the present border between Canada and Maine. The name leads one to the conclusion that it is a formidable mountain barrier, whereas the route followed through it by Arnold's men was a rather low saddle. For troops in good physical condition the Height of Land would have presented little challenge. Associates of the Forest Ranger Headquarters at Eustis, who have explored this route with members of the Arnold Expedition Historical Society, believe that Arnold's men had trouble primarily because of their starved and exhausted condition. As for physical obstacles, it is thought that they had to lift their bateaux over several rock strata and had snow to contend with, but that Montresor's route was otherwise an easy one here. People may wonder why they wouldn't have taken the route of today's highway, for it looks to be a much easier way to go. The answer probably lies in the fact that it would have been much longer, and that the route probably had many obstacles since cleared by modern construction equipment.

When you cross from Maine and look back you will see that Height of Land makes sense as a geographical term to travelers approaching it from the flat terrain of Canada, if not to those coming north through the mountains of Maine.

Arnold's exact route through Height of Land is not completely known. The region has many logging roads and trails, but, according to experts, none of these correspond with Arnold's route. It is interesting and instructive to study the modern, large-scale topographic maps of this region that are available from the United States and Canadian official map services. (The United States map sheets are the "Arnold Pond" and "Chain of Ponds" quadrangles. The Canadian maps are "21E/7 West and East WOBURN" and "21E/10 West and East MEGANTIC." See the introduction, above, for addresses and instructions on ordering.) The saddle due north of Arnold's Pond through which the expedition is believed to have passed is at coordinates 580300. Arnold's first camp due west of here was around the surviving house at coordinates 548276, northeast of Woburn; this area was known as Great Meadows or Beautiful Meadow.

Kittery

Kittery and vicinity. Just across the state line on U.S. 1 is the John Paul Jones Memorial (1924) near the place where the U.S.S. Ranger was built. Flying the new Stars and Stripes created by a congressional resolution on the day he was given command of the Ranger, Jones sailed for France from Badger's Island in early November 1777. The Ranger carried the news of Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga. On 14 February 1778 in Quiberon Bay the new American flag gained its first formal recognition by a foreign power when the French fleet there was induced to exchange salutes with the Ranger (American ships had received salutes from foreign craft since the Dutch fired a salute at St. Eustatius in the West Indies on 16 November 1776). Two months later Jones took the Ranger on an audacious and highly successful raid into British waters, giving the Stars and Stripes its baptism of fire (Quaife, Weig, Appleman, History of the U.S. Flag, pp. 29, 33, 42).

For more on the naval history of the Revolution and shipbuilding in Maine, visit the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, open daily 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at 243 Washington Street. Phone: (207) 443-1316; website: http://www.bathmaine.com.

Around Kittery Point (take Maine 103) are several homes from the colonial era. The John Bray House (1662) is the oldest in Maine. The house built in 1682 by Bray's son-in-law William Pepperrell, and birthplace of Sir William Pepperrell (1696–1759), is still standing. The house built about 1760 by Lady Pepperrell, widow of Sir William, is of particular architectural significance and qualifies as a Registered National Historic Landmark. Privately owned, it was listed for sale in 2005 by a prominent real estate company for $1.5 million. Opposite it are the First Congregational Church and old parsonage, dating from 1730.

The Fort McClary State Historical Site is on land once owned by Colonel William Pepperrell. The original fortification here, probably a breastwork on which cannons could be mounted, appears to have been erected around 1722. First named Fort William, it went through various transformations. After the Battle of Bunker Hill it was renamed for the senior officer killed in that action, Major Andrew McClary. As reconstructed, Fort McClary features a six-sided blockhouse that was reconstructed in 1986. The blockhouse features a granite base and wooden second story, as it probably looked around 1846. The site commands an impressive view of the Portsmouth Navy Yard, the Isles of Shoals (9 miles southward), the Fort Point Light, and other famous naval landmarks. The state of Maine opens the site to the public from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Phone: (207) 384-5160.

The Maine Information Center at the junction of U.S. 1 and the Maine Turnpike should have travel literature on all these places.

Machias Bay

Machias Bay and vicinity, Washington County. Near the eastern end of the Maine coast, the historic seaport of Machias started as a trading post of the French and English. Well over a century later, in 1763, an American settlement was established. An outstanding example of a colonial inn is Burnham Tavern at High and Free Streets in Machias. In good condition, it is now a museum and open to the public from the middle of June until early September. Phone: (207) 255-4432.

The spirit of revolt here was strong. Maine's first Liberty Pole is claimed by civic boosters, and Machias calls itself the birthplace of the American navy (as does Whitehall, New York). "The Lexington of the Sea" is the name that has been applied, with some exaggeration, to "the first naval battle of the American Revolution" in a portion of Machias Bay overlooked by the Fort O'Brien State Historic Memorial on Maine 92, 5 miles southeast of Machias. Only breastworks remain here of the place first called Fort Machias when erected in 1775. Although the capture of a four-gun schooner does not constitute a "battle," there was initiative, personal heroism, and historical significance aplenty in the little affair on Machias Bay, and here are the basic facts.

The British schooner Margaretta (four guns) escorted two sloops, Polly and Unity, into the port of Machias on 2 June 1775 to get lumber for the troops in Boston. The Revolution had started a few weeks earlier at Lexington and Concord (19 April), and local Patriots whipped up a scheme to capture the British ships by surprise while the captain of the Margaretta and his officers were in church, but this attempt was aborted and the three enemy ships headed for sea. Jeremiah O'Brien and Joseph Wheaton then threw together a force that pursued and captured the Unity (on 11 June) and the Margaretta (on 12 June). Total losses were seven men killed and wounded on each side.

O'Brien was given command of the Unity, renamed the Machias Liberty and armed with the Margaretta's four guns. A few weeks later he captured the British naval schooner Diligent and its tender off Machias without firing a shot. These two schooners, under O'Brien's command, became the nucleus of the Massachusetts navy (not the Continental navy), and they took a few prizes before being put out of commission in the fall of 1776. Jeremiah O'Brien (1744–1818) had been born in Kittery. He had moved with his family to Machias in 1765. After commanding privateers in the Revolution, interrupted by imprisonment and escape from British prisons, he spent his last seven years as collector of customs at Machias.

Montpelier (Knox Home) Replica

Montpelier (Knox Home) Replica, 7 miles east of Thomaston on U.S. 1. This landmark is unique in that it went from state ownership back to private ownership. The Friends of Montpelier now own and manage the site, which is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The Friends of Montpelier are a very active group and they offer a variety of special events, programs, and classes throughout the year. Phone: (207) 354-8062. The house itself is a replica of the handsome mansion built in 1793, during the ten years after the Revolution when Henry Knox was the first United States secretary of war. The original house was razed in 1871.

Old Fort Western

Old Fort Western, Augusta, east bank of the Kennebec just south of City Hall near at Bowman Street at 16 Cony Street. In a now urban setting is an unprepossessing structure of great historical significance, the surviving garrison house of the New Plymouth Trading Post. The post was established in 1626, but the building dates from 1754. A long, low structure with cedar shake siding, it is a museum depicting colonial living. A few feet in front of the building, along the high bank of the river, are two blockhouses connected by a stockade. These are replicas of the original fortifications. One touch of landscaping is provided by a marker in a small fenced area of grass, where a bronze plaque on a boulder identifies the scene. Adjacent to the site is the Augusta City Center.

The Arnold Expedition was just getting under way when it paused at Fort Western. On Maine 201 about 2 miles south of Augusta are three pictorial panels marked by a highway sign: "Historical Site, Arnold Trail." There is a good view up and down the Kennebec from this spot, and the panels give highlights of the expedition's experiences in this portion of the route. Just north of Fort Western at the fork of U.S. 201 and 202 (Bangor Street and North Belfast Avenue) is a cemetery where a few early settlers are buried. Some of these settlers' remains may have come from the Howard Cemetery, originally located on the actual fort grounds. It is presently a supermarket parking lot. In this cemetery (or possibly in the earlier mentioned cemetery, if his remains were moved) lies the grave of a soldier from the Arnold expedition named Rueben Bishop. The death of Bishop was apparently a significant event, as almost every diarist on the march made serious mention of it. A hotheaded fellow named John McCormack, who had earlier been offended for some unknown reason, burst through the door of the soldier's barracks and fired a shot. Bishop was the unlucky recipient of that ball. He died a few days later. McCormack was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to die the next day at 3 p.m. by hanging. Interestingly, minutes before his execution, Arnold pardoned the killer and sent him off to Washington, and McCormack eventually died in prison. Many of the diarists noted that Bishop died a tormented death, not because of the pain, but because he, unlike most of his comrades, had not fully embraced the ways of Calvinism, and was very agitated over his uncertain afterlife possibilities. Phone: (207) 626-2385.

Pepperrell Family Sites

Pepperrell Family Sites. Seekittery.

Skowhegan Falls

Skowhegan Falls, Kennebec River, fork of U.S. 201 and 201A. The Arnold Expedition's bateaux approached these seemingly insurmountable falls over half a mile of dangerous rapids. They then came to the small island that splits the Kennebec here, and through a crevice in the steep rock they lifted and dragged their awkward, 400-pound bateaux.

A Central Maine Power Company substation and dam has pretty well destroyed the natural features of this site, but for the informed visitor enough is left to make a short walk rewarding. You will spot the site easily while crossing the river on U.S. 201 going north. Walk to the left corner of this structure as you face it (generally behind the fire station) and a remnant of the rock ledge that formed the falls will be visible. (Skowhegan means "a place to watch" for salmon.) Blasted out and buried under the power station is the crevice through which countless generations of Indians had lifted their birch canoes and through which Arnold's men cursed their way in 1775.

Solon (Carratunkas) Falls Portage Site

Solon (Carratunkas) Falls Portage Site, Kennebec River. Solon and its dam are on the highway maps, but there are no signs pointing to the place where Arnold made his portage in this area.

On U.S. 201 just north of the main highway junction in little Solon is a white frame church with a conspicuous spire. After another 0.4 mile north, turn left (west) onto Falls Road, which goes a short distance before ending in a recreation area alongside the river where Solon Dam is located. A DAR marker is on an isolated boulder where you can readily spot it, and it carries a vague message to the effect that Arnold's Expedition passed this way in 1775.

To find the portage, walk back from the boulder about 40 yards along the road you followed in. A trail coming in to the right is probably the portage route of 1775. Follow it south about 200 yards through the woods and you will see where the ground starts dropping off to the flat stretch of riverbank where the bateaux were beached. In its undeveloped condition the area has a wild charm that could be destroyed by misguided efforts to "improve" it as a tourist attraction.

The original inhabitants of Maine were the Abnaki, almost all of whom sided with the British during the Revolution and settled permanently in Canada after the war as the United States expropriated their lands. The exception was the Penobscot of coastal Maine, who were confined to Indian Island in the Penobscot River. The Penobscot National Historical Society Museum is devoted to their history and culture. It is located on the island on Highway 2 just north of Old Town and is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Phone: (207) 827-6544.