Virtual Road Trip - US Route 1 - Part 2

We're still in Maine, just about to leave the town of Calais after a peaceful nights sleep, ready for the day ahead.

We've had to travel over 50 miles to our first place today, there were some small hamlets between Calais and here, but not marked as such on GSV, although we did cross the 45th parallel around a small place called Perry.

On our way into Machias we came across this...

...in the UK we call it a "Car Boot Sale", I've no idea if it's the same name in the US?

Anyway, Machias derives it's name from a native Passamaquodiddy word meaning "bad little falls" and presumably refers to the river. The English arrived in the area first, setting up a trading post in 1633, however, that same year the French arrived, killed two of the settlers and imprisoning four others as well as stealing their merchandise. Neither of the protagonists settled in the area for at least 120 years later.

In 1777, the English tried to raid the town from their base in Nova Scotia. They burned some buildings including mills and houses, but were beaten back by furious resistance from the locals and native Americans.

The town, despite the name, calls itself the "Blueberry Capital of the World", and this is certainly borne out by the place we passed earlier...

...although I can't help thinking that the name doesn't quite fit, until you find out it was named after the wild cherries that used to grow along the riverbanks. The settlement was established in 1760, and the area on both sides of the river is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The town is home to two breeding pairs of bald eagles, must be all the blueberries! They really love their blue fruit in this town.

Milbridge was originally called Millbridge, subtle difference I know, it is not known exactly when the name dropped the "L". Milbridge has an economy based in agriculture, specifically blueberry production, tourism, and lobster fishing.

As you can see above, it appears that the good folk of Milbridge have a sense of humour.

Hancock was first settled in 1766 by Philip and S. Hodgkins who came from Georgetown, which is further down the coast to the south. The town was named after John Hancock, one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence. At one time there were nine mills in the area, one for grain, and the rest for various construction products made from wood.

Hancock is situated at the head of Frenchman's Bay, and during World War II, 1944 to be precise, Erich Gimpel and William Colepaugh arrived in town. Nothing strange about that, until I tell you that Erich and William were German spies that were put ashore from a submarine in the bay. They travelled south towards New York City, where they were eventually arrested and following a trial, sentenced to death. Their convictions were later overturned and they were freed. Checkout their Wikipedia pages (links in the text), both had interesting lives.

Ellsworth is the fastest growing city in Maine, it was settled in 1763 and incorporated in 1800 as a town and 1869 as a city. It was named after Oliver Ellsworth, one of the Founding Fathers of the US.

In the 19th century many schooners were built in shipyards in Ellsworth, the first being the Susan and Abigail named after the daughters of two prominent citizens. At it's peak, the shipbuilding industry boasted thirteen yards in the area.

Ellsworth was the scene of two disasters in the 20th century, the first occurred in 1923, when a spring snowmelt caused the Great Flood which took out the main bridge in the city as well as many buildings along the riverbanks. Later, in 1933, the Great Fire destroyed much of the downtown business district. This caused most of the properties to be rebuilt in brick rather than the wood used previously.

Disputed elections in 1896 resulted in the appointment of two police forces, both of which threatened to arrest the other as imposters.

Although Ellsworth seems like a nice city, I have one serious complaint, there are no adjustable signs, the ones I have come to know as "Dad Joke Signs". I am very disappointed Ellsworth!

We only pass through a small corner of Bucksport, a town named after one of it's first European settlers, Jonathan Buck. The area was initially inhabited by the Red Paint People, an indigenous civilisation from around 5,000 years ago, that was named after their practice of burying their dead covered in a red ochre paint.

The town is known for a series of strange occurrences over the early years, firstly it is believed that the aforementioned Buck burned his wife, thinking she was a witch. She threatened to return and seek vengeance on the town.

In 1779, the town was raided and burned to the ground by the British Navy.

In 1892, an elephant broke free from a circus and roamed freely around the town until cornered by a Pitbull dog.

In 1876, a triple murder of a young family was discovered. A sea captain was arrested despite any evidence, motive, or witnesses. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 1898, another murder took place, this time of Sarah Ware who went missing. Two weeks later her beheaded and decomposed body was found, and a man was arrested. However, he was found no guilty and the case was never solved.

Despite all this, it does seem like a nice town...

The town was originally called just Stockton, named after a town in the northeast of England, however it was renamed Stockton Springs in 1889 in anticipation of a spring water bottling plant that was planned for the area. The plant never gained approval due to a heavy sediment in the water, and the project was abandoned.

Searsport has two nicknames, "The Home of the Famous Sea Captains" and "Antique Capital of Maine". Although in Wikipedia's Notable People section on the town, there is only one sea captain mentioned, the rather grandly named, Phineas Banning Blanchard. He died in 1962 and was one of the last tall ships captains to operate commercially.

The town was named after David Sears of Boston, after he agreed to grant a large sum of money towards the town's founding. During the 19th century, there were at least seventeen shipyards in the town, and almost 10% of the US merchant marine captain's hailed from the area.

While travelling through there does appear to be a high number of antique shops, probably the reason for the nickname.

I'm not sure where this city got it's name, but in 1759, the heirs of Samuel Waldo, a general from Boston not the guy that gets lost with Wendy, sold the land to a group of Scots-Irish settlers from Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Belfast, much like it's Irish counterpart, has been through it's ups and downs. The once abundant shipbuilding industry building three, four, and five masted sailing ships until the turn of the 20th century, when industry turned to seafood production, and eventually chickens. This industry waned in the 1970s. Many left the area for work elsewhere, but then tourism took over with many artists and artisans developing attractions and galleries. In 1996 two boatbuilding companies set up in the town as well as a large branch of MBNA, the banking company. Several films have been made in the area in the last fifty years.

The guy who played Riker in the Star Trek TV series Next Generation lived in the town for a while.

It seems as though Route 1 skirts around the city proper, only giving a glimpse of places in the distance...

Lincolnville is named after General Benjamin Lincoln, who was second-in-command to George Washington at Yorktown in 1781. In 1844, members of the Millerite Sect climbed a nearby mountain to await the end of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus. The event came to be known as "The Great Disappointment" and locals housed the participants who had failed to prepare for the winter months.

The population of Camden increases threefold over the summer months, with tourists and summer residents adding to the numbers. It is well known for it's summer community of wealthy Northeasterners from cities such as Boston, Philly, and New York. The town is named after Charles Pratt, the First Earl Camden, a member of the British Parliament.

Camden was another ship-building town, with yards producing the largest four masted ship and the first ever six masted ship to be built. Summer residents began arriving in the 1880s, mostly sportsmen and artists from some of the wealthiest families. Money began pouring into the town and donations were given for the construction of many amenities.

Now seems like a good place to stop, we have travelled 170 miles after all, with many stops along the way. This isn't a race to the end, it's a virtual holiday, maybe we'll get out of Maine tomorrow, or maybe we won't. And anyway, the reviews for this place are very good.

I'm off for a meal and a well deserved beer, small one of course, catch you in the morning.

Total miles travelled (virtually) 206 + 170 = 376 miles, I may have to put my foot down a bit otherwise this blog will be about 20 or 30 parts.