Virtual Road Trip - US Route 1 - Part 3

And so we continue on our journey, the above picture is dedicated to PontiacLover, who thought it would look better in the Fall. You're right PL, it does!

Rockport was originally called Goose River Village, until the residents voted to change it. It was called Rockport due to the rocky terrain. Camden (the last town in the 2nd blog) was joined to Rockport as one community, but following a dispute over the cost of a bridge, the two communities separated.

Rockport has a long history of artists living in the area, often cited as a boost to tourism. another boost was Andre the Seal, pictured above, that was adopted by a family in the town. He also had a book and film made about him.

In 2008, Forbes magazine placed Rockport at the top of its list of the prettiest towns in America, eat that Camden!

Rockland has had several names over the years, firstly it was Lermond's Cove, named after three brothers that set up camp here. Then when Thomaston, the next town along, was incorporated it became Shore Village, but changed after to East Thomaston, and finally renamed in 1850 to Rockland.

There was a large shipbuilding industry in Rockland, as well as a lime industry, no, not the citrus fruit, but the building material. This has waned over the years and the town is mainly focused on tourism today.

They say that there is good and bad in everyone, and everywhere. Rockland can boast an example of this. Amongst the notable people for Rockland are Robert Bradley Rheault and Malcolm Robbins. Two opposites, Rheault was the commander of the Special Forces in Vietnam, whilst Robbins was a serial killer that murdered four young boys and was sentenced to death in California, he died of natural causes after 42 years on Death Row.

Formerly known as Fort St. Georges, Fort Wharf, and Lincoln, Thomaston was named after Major General John Thomas, a doctor and soldier that was a leader during the siege of Boston. Like many other towns in the region, Thomaston was a shipbuilding town. In 1840, two of the seven recorded millionaires in the US were sea captains from Thomaston.

Until 2002, Thomaston was the home of the Maine State Prison, and there is a showroom selling items made in the prison. This prison was the inspiration for The Shawshank Redemption, a film and book by Stephen King.

Warren is another of those places that we just skirt around, the prison mentioned above is out in the sticks away from the small town. The town took it's name from Joseph Warren, a Revolutionary War hero and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

In 1853, the town elected Olive Rose to the position of County Register of Deeds, she was the first woman to hold elected office in the United States.

The town is named after Samuel Waldo, not the guy in the crowd wearing a bobble hat, but a real live General from Boston, I say live, he actually died in 1759, but you know what I mean. Samuel travelled to Germany, where he recruited around 1,500 people to settle in his borough. They were lured with the promise of "...increasing their worldly goods". There is evidence of their immigration still to be seen in the town.

Waldoboro was known for shipbuilding, however many other trades set up business in the area to support both the ships and locals working there. There is still boat building in the town, but most of it's income is from tourism nowadays.

I'm now in a quandary, which route do I take. I can stay on the proper Route 1, or I can take the Business Route 1, whatever that means. If I take the normal road I only touch the edge of Damariscotta, whereas the business route heads through downtown.

So, I did a short recce down Route 1 proper, and its just a boring road that connects up to Business 1 a few miles later. So decision made, let's turn left.

I'm a little disappointed at the lack of signs, but this road is much better. Anyway, Damariscotta takes it's name from a corruption of the Algonquian word madamescontee which means "place of abundance of alewives". An "alewife" is a small salty fish that is abundant in these parts, apparantly.

The town is known for, guess what, yup, shipbuilding and tourism.

Originally called Sheepscot Plantation was just a fishing village, until land was purchased from native Americans, and renamed New Dartmouth. Following several battles and sieges the town was renamed in 1730 in honour of the Duke of Newcastle.

Entry 32, and entry 33 above are known as the "Twin Villages", as you can probably see from the sign above. They are connected by the small bridge that you saw in Damariscotta's entry.

As you head into Wiscasset you cross the Donald E. Davey bridge, a memorial to a local Law Enforcement Officer.

Wiscasset was first settled in 1660, it was incorporated in 1760 as Pownalborough after the colonial governor Thomas Pownall, however in 1802, it reverted to it's original native Abenaki name, of Wiscasset. The name means "coming out from the harbor but you don't see where".

As we enter the town we pass one of the most famous lobster shacks in Maine. It has appeared on many TV and News shows, as well as in magazines. It was first opened in 1938, and moved to it's present location in 1954. The restaurant has been called the cause of the "biggest traffic jam in Maine"

In 2009, the town lost a legal battle to reclaim it's original copy of the Declaration of Independence. It was mistakenly sold by the estate of a daughter of a former town official after his death. The case cost the State of Maine around $40,000 in legal fees.

From 1972 to 1996, Wiscasset was home to Maine's only nuclear power station, Maine Yankee. It is now decommissioned and inoperative.

Woolwich is a small town that is part of the Portland metropolitan area, it was first settled by Europeans in 1638 on land purchased from the native American Chief Robinhood. A lucrative fur trading post was established, however several wars decimated the population. It wasn't until 1775 that Woolwich was incorporated as a town, being named after it's counterpart in London, England.

The route to Bath takes us over the Sagadahoc Bridge, until the year 2000, we would have had to cross over the older Carlton Bridge, which has two levels. The lower level carries a railroad and the upper level was for road vehicles. The Carlton Bridge lifts to allow vessels to pass below.

Unfortunately, most of Route 1 is either elevated or separated from the rest of the city. We only really get a brief glimpse of the area.

What I fear may become the norm for this trip, Brunswick is also a town, that although on Route 1, isn't on Route 1. What I mean is, the road is separated from the town itself, even though it runs right through. A modern four lane highway with separate carriageways, that don't encourage stopping. Ah well, lets see what we can see.

Brunswick was originally called Pejebscot by indigenous peoples, it means "the long rocky rapids part", presumably referring to a stretch of the river. After many skirmishes and killings between Native Americans and settlers over the years, the 1715 Treaty of Plymouth brought peace to the region. The town of Brunswick was named after the House of Brunswick, the royal house of King George I.

The classic book Uncle Tom's Cabin, an anti-slavery novel, was written in Brunswick by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Brunswick, I expected more from you, no humorous signs, no pretty  views, I'm disappointed.

Already better than Brunswick, and I haven't driven through town yet. Freeport got it's name because the harbour was usually free from ice, the town was incorporated on February 14th in 1789.

The town is the headquarters of the L.L.Bean corporation, that started in a basement shop in 1912. The town now boasts the company's flagship store, welcoming around 3.5 million visitors per year. L.L.Bean has invested in many attractions in the town.

The area of Yarmouth was first settled in 1636 and named North Yarmouth. It wasn't until 1849, that it was incorporated as Yarmouth. Because of the falls on the river, there were at one time over 200 mills in the town. Yarmouth is now just another town on Route 1, there isn't even a hotel here anymore.

Yarmouth most famous yearly event is a Clam Festival, a three day event that boosts the town's population tenfold. The festival is held in July, but a local tradition sees residents placing chairs to secure their spot for the Friday parade as early as May. Activities include fun runs, cycle races, and clam-shucking contests.

The town of Falmouth is a suburb of Maine's largest city, Portland. It's history mirrors many other towns in this part of Maine, in that it was originally native land that was settled, there were wars and battles, and lots of disease that caused the indigenous people to move further inland.

The town limits of Falmouth initially comprised of an area that now contains Portland, when the main city grew, trolley bus route opened out to the Falmouth area, greatly increasing the commutability of the town.The trolley busses stopped running in 1933, when cars were becoming more popular and convenient.

Portland was named after the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The first settler, Christopher Levitt, an English sea captain was granted 6,000 acres of land. He set up a homestead, and left for England to promote the settlement, leaving ten men behind. He never returned to Maine and the fate of the men remains unknown.

In 1820, with the formation of Maine as a state, Portland became the state capital, however just twelve years later the capital was moved to Augusta. The city became an export town for Canada, however when icebreaker ships were used, most of the trade moved north to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

It's getting late in the day now, so time for an overnight stop I think, this looks OK....

Let's hope we make it out of Maine next time, I feel like I've been here forever, mainly because Maine has the second longest mileage with 526 miles on Route 1 after Florida's 545. The rest in between are a lot lower with Georgia only coming in third at 223miles. But enough of the future.

Current mileage 376 + 90 = 466 miles, wait is that all? This part seems longer than the last one, must have been more built up areas. Ah well, onwards tomorrow, just time for some food, I fancy trying some grits, whatever they are. I've heard of them but never tried them. Or I might just have a burger.