Wonderful Souvenir of Wiscasset, Maine, featuring Hand Painted Scene of the Block House on Davis Island

Wonderful vintage souvenir of Wiscasset, Maine, that features the blockhouse at Davis Island, off Wiscasset, Maine; this blockhouse figured in the War of 1812.

I used a small microscope on the painting and believe that it was hand painted, but I could be wrong.

Read more about Fort Edgecomb here.

For a definitive history of the Block House and Fort Edgecomb, see the book Blockhouse & Battery, A History of Fort Edgecomb, written by Joshua M. Smith and published by the Friends of Fort Edgecomb in 2009.

The souvenir measures approximately 8" by 5-1/2"; it's then folded roughly in half, leaving a tab to protect the interior.  The painting, without the identification, is approximately 3-1/2" by 2".

Scrap of Wood from the 1904-1905 Building of the Roosevelt, the Vessel Commissioned by Arctic Explorer Robert Peary

Scrap of wood, a bit less than 3" x 3", left over from the building of the Roosevelt, the arctic-worthy vessel that was commissioned by Robert E. Peary for his expeditions in search of the North Pole.  

Text wood burned into the scrap:

Souvenir
of Peary's Arctic Ship
built 1904-05 at
Verona
opp. Bucksport, Me.

From online research:

McKay & Dix Shipyard began construction began on the Roosevelt on 15 October 1904; she was launched on 23 March 1905.  The vessel participated in several expeditions, including the one in which, on 6 April 1909, Peary claimed to have reached the geographic North Pole.

After the Roosevelt passed out of Peary's hands, she was used for a time by wealthy Brooklyn, New York, merchant John Arbuckle as a tug for use in salvaging wrecked vessels.  Eventually, the she passed into the ownership of the Bureau of Fisheries and was refitted for duty in Alaska.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a biography of the Roosevelt online, with photographs during and after construction and a recounting of some of the her more harrowing adventures.

Robert Peary retired to Eagle Island in Casco Bay, near Portland, Maine.  His home was given to the State of Maine in 1955 and is now operated by the Friends of Peary's Eagle Island.  Their site also has information on the Roosevelt.

If you have additional information to share, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

Verona Island, Maine


View Larger Map

Eagle Island in Harpswell, Maine


View Larger Map

Thanks for stopping by!

1813 Massachusetts Law Authorizing Wharf at Newcastle, Maine

"An Act for building a Wharf in the town of New-Castle, as described on page 285 in Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Passed by the General Court at Their Session, which Commenced on Wednesday the 26th Day of May, and Which Ended on the 16th Day of June, 1813.  Newcastle, Maine.

Chap. LVIII.

An Act for building a Wharf in the town of New-Castle.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That Nathaniel Bryant, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, be, and they are hereby authorized to build, erect, and maintain at Jack's Point, so called, on Damariscotta river, in the town of New-Castle, in the county of Lincoln, a Wharf, in manner and of dimensions following, to wit: - To extend from said point at low water mark northwardly and north-eastwardly eighty feet; eastwardly and south-eastwardly from the end of said point at low water mark, ten feet; making the front of said Wharf a straight line of one hundred and twenty feet, the north-eastern side a straight line of one hundred feet, and from the extremities of the two sides aforesaid, at right angles, to the main land of said point.

[Approved by the Governor, June 16, 1813.]

From online research, hopefully correct:  [corrections and additions welcome!]

I believe the Nathaniel Bryant referenced above was the man born 2 May 1765 at Scituate, Massachusetts, who moved to the Newcastle area, and died at nearby Jefferson, Maine, on 9 January 1835.  

On 1 October 1786 at Bristol, Maine, Nathaniel Bryant married Elizabeth "Betsey" Wall, who was born at Bristol on March 1768.

They had a family of at least five, three daughters and two sons.  The firstborn was also named Nathaniel Bryant, but he would have been only about 23 in 1813, so I feel his father is the more likely prospect.

If you have corrections to the above information or if you feel that the Wharf was authorized to another Nathaniel Bryant, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Newcastle Historical Society

Newcastle, Maine


0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map

1813 Laws of Massachusetts Annexing Part of New Sharon, Maine, to Industry, Maine

"An Act to annex Henry Smith, James Gower and Rufus Davis, with their families and estates, to the town of Industry", as described in Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Passed by the General Court at Their Session, which Commenced on Wednesday the 26th Day of May, and Which Ended on the 16th Day of June, 1813.  Industry, Maine

Chap. LIV.

An Act to annex Henry Smith, James Gower and Rufus Davis, with their families and estates, to the town of Industry.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That Henry Smith, James Gower and Rufus Davis, with their families and estates, as contained within the following described limits, lying in the town of New Sharon, in the county of Kennebeck, be, and they are hereby set off from the said town of New Sharon, and annexed to the town of Industry, in the county of Somerset; viz. beginning at the east corner of lot number eighty-four, in New Sharon, on the westerly line of Industry, thence south forty-five degrees west, about three-fourths of a mile, to the east line of the town of Farmington, so as to include all that part of New Sharon which lies north-west of said line, being the lots numbered eight-four, and eighty-five, containing together about one hundred and seventy acres.  And the said Smith, Gower and Davis, with their estates hereby annexed to the town of Industry, shall therein exercise and enjoy all the privileges, and be subject to the like duties and obligations as the other inhabitants of the said town, as fully and completely, as if they had been originally incorporated therewith.

[Approved by the Governor, June 16, 1813.]

Note: Industry was annexed to Franklin County in 1838, when the new county was formed.

From A History of the Town of Industry, Franklin County, Maine, from the earliest settlement in 1787 down to the present time, by William Collins Hatch, 1893, and digitized online here. [be prepared for many OCR errors; I've corrected a few here.]

An effort was made in the fall of 1813 to establish a new county which would include the town of Industry. The movement caused no little discussion, and many were bitterly opposed to the measure. Capt. David Hildreth and seventeen others petitioned the selectmen to call a meeting of the legal voters to see if they would instruct the municipal officers to oppose the project by sending a remonstrance to the General 

Court. The meeting assembled at the house of William Allen, Jr., Dec. 23, 1813, and after mature deliberation it was deemed inexpedient to further oppose the movement. The measure proved unsuccessful, however, and the town of Industry con- 

tinued to form a part of Somerset County. 

At the session of the General Court for 18133, the following petition was presented from the inhabitants of Gower's (now Allen's) Mills, in the town of New Sharon: 

To the Hon. Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, [an. ~, 181 J : 

The Petition of the Subscribers, inhabitants of the Town of New Sharon in the County of Kennebec, respectfully shows their local situation is such as in a great measure, if not wholly, prevents them from 

enjoying the common and ordinary privileges of the other inhabitants of said town, being situated at an extreme part of said town and separated by bogs and swamps that are utterly impassable even for a horse. 

and at a distance of six or seven miles from where the meetings are holden for transacting town business, &tc, and at the same time being not more than a mile and a half from where the town meetings are held 

in Industry, to which place we have a direct road in good repair, that we have uniformly joined with the Town of Industry in the Support of Schools for our Children, and we there perform Military duty. Being 

thus situated, we humbly request your honorable body to take the premises into your consideration, and grant us relief, by setting off our Polls and estates from the Town of New Sharon aforesaid and annexing 

the same to the Town of Industry in the County of Somerset, by a line as follows, to-wit : beginning at the east corner of lot No. 84, in New Sharon on the westerly line of Industry, thence south forty-five degrees west about three-tenths of a mile to the East line of the Town of Farmington, and then to include all that part of New Sharon which lies to the northwest of said line, being lots No. 84 and 85, containing 

together, about one hundred and seventy acres. 

And as in duty bound will ever pray. 

(Signed)

Henry Smith

James Gower. 

Rufus Davis. 

The prayer of these petitioners was granted, and Gower's Mills (see p. 172) straightway became a part of the Town of Industry, and the inhabitants were annexed to school district No. 2, at Davis's (now Goodridge's) Corner, where their children had previously attended school. 

From online research, hopefully correct and hopefully with the right person, or at least the right family:

• Henry Smith, born 30 March 1795 at Hallowell, Maine.  If this is the correct Henry, he didn't live long in his new town, as he died on 19 November 1814 at Industry, Maine.
• James Gower, born 2 January 1778 at Topsham, Maine, son of Robert and Mary (Henry) Gower; married Susannah Norton at Industry, Maine on 2 September 1800; died at Farmington, Maine 13 September 1853.
• Rufus Davis, son of David and Sarah (Cousins) Davis, built a grist and saw mill at the outlet of Clearwater Pond in 1804.  He married Abigail Smith, daughter of Joseph and Abigail (Butler) Smith.

An online resource mentioned that many of the early settlers in this area were from the Edgartown, Massachusetts area and came from a sailing, rather than a farming, tradition.

Industry Historical Society

New Sharon Historical Society

Farmington Historical Society

Map of Industry, Maine [New Sharon is to the south.]


View Larger Map

1813 Law Establishing Boundaries of Belfast, Maine

"An Act to establish the boundaries of the town of Belfast, in the county of Hancock", as described in two pages of Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Passed by the General Court at Their Session, which Commenced on Wednesday the 26th Day of May, and Which Ended on the 16th Day of June, 1813.

Since 1827, Belfast has been located in Waldo County.

Chap. LIII.

An Act to establish the boundaries of the town of Belfast, in the county of Hancock.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the boundary lines of the said town of Belfast be, and they are hereby established as follows: beginning at the northerly corner of lot numbered fifty-four, in the fourth division of lots in said town, at a marked hemlock tree; thence running south by the town of Prospect one mile, one quarter and twenty-one rods, to Half-way creek; thence following the course of the channel of said Half-way creek, to a ledge of rocks, projecting from the side of Prospect, at the tide waters of Belfast bay; thence running south into said bay until said course intersects a line running due east from the mouth of Little river; thence running west to the said mouth of Little river; thence by the town of Northport, up said Little river, following the course of its ancient channel, which includes the island in said river, within the town of Belfast, to a marked yellow birch tree, standing on the west bank of said river, and at the south-easterly  corner of lot numbered one hundred and two, in the third division of lots, in said town of Belfast; thence by the town of Northport, running south sixty-eight degrees west, three miles, one quarter and four rods, to a marked yellow birch tree, at the south-westerly corner of lot numbered one, in the fourth division of lots, in said town of Belfast, and commonly known by the name of Chadwick's corner; thence running north twenty-two degrees west, by the unincorporated plantation of Green, four miles, three quarters and fifty-two rods, to a marked maple tree, at the north-westerly corner of lot numbered twenty-six, in the fourth division of lots, in said town of Belfast; thence by unincorporated lands running north sixty-eight degrees east, eight miles, one quarter and fifteen rods, to the hemlock tree first mentioned; Provided however, that nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as to affect the claims of individuals to the right of soil within said boundaries.

[Approved by the Governor, June 16, 1813.]

Note: Green Plantation incorporated as the town of Belmont on 5 February 1814.

Belfast, Maine, official website

Belfast Historical Society and Museum

View Larger Map

Newspaper clipping about Fort Sullivan, Eastport, Moose Island, Maine, probably from the late 1870s

Passing of a Fort
Eastport's Old Fort Sullivan to Be Divided Up Into Building Lots and Sold

Eastport, Me.  May 19 -- One of Eastport's oldest and most prominent landmarks narrowly escaped going up in smoke recently during a storm, and while a heavy wind was blowing.

Fire was discovered coming through the roof of the old-time building on Fort Sullivan, where several families live, and a large crowd soon collected, including members of the fire department, who rendered valuable aid in getting the fire under control and saving the building.  The damage was small, and the former Government building that was at one time occupied by the English soldiers is yet prominent on the high ground.

Fort Sullivan, on which the above building stands, was built by the United States Government in 1808, the result of the embargo act passed by Congress in 1807, and it is supposed that the old fort was named in honor of Gov. Sullivan.  It was during his administration that the Batterman act was passed, which gave settlers at that time, who had no title, a fair compensation for improvements or betterments.  The Government turned its attention to the fortifying of Eastport, or Moose Island, as it was called, in the spring of 1807, and in April of the following year instructions came from the Government for Col. Lemuel Trescott, then Collector of Customs at Machias, to build the proposed fort here.  It is known that he purchased for $180 three acres of land on Clark's hill and the earth works were soon begun, to be followed by the necessary buildings.  A crescent battery of stone mason work was completed which was laid in lime 11 feet thick, and sods six and one-half feet thick laid on top, making the platform for the cannon.  A block-house was built near of pine timber, two stories high and having walls 14 inches thick.

They also constructed a magazine 10 feet square, the walls two feet thick and the roof arched.  A company of United States Artillery arrived in Passamaquoddy Bay on the warship Wasp, and the garrison was first commended [commanded?] by Capt. Moses Swett, four 18-pounders being mounted.

During the War of 1812, the place was occupied and some time later a fleet of English men-of-war arrived in the harbor and soon took possession of Fort Sullivan, which they held up to the close of the troubles.  It is said that most of the buildings on the fort, of which the above-mentioned is one, were built by the British at that time, who improved the fortifications began by the American Government and many buried timbers are yet to be seen on the fort and near the building now standing.  American soldiers were stationed at Fort Sullivan at intervals up to 1875, when they were ordered away by the Government and since that time the houses have been occupied mostly by the poorer residents of the city.

Last year a careful survey of the fort property was made and it was divided into lots that will probably be sold at public auction at an early date, when the present buildings will be hauled away and the frontier fortifications of 100 years ago will disappear.

View Larger Map