Maine Minutiae : Going Coastal

Searsport

Like so many coastal towns in Maine, Searsport has roots that grow deep in the maritime industry. Searsport is the state's second largest deep-water port and at one time was home to fully ten percent of all American deep-water shipmasters. During the 19th Century, Searsport boasted of seventeen shipyards and over 200 ships were built in the town. Searsport's location was also perfect for rail access and wood products to ship via rail or sea to places all over the world. The area around the town was settled in 1620, but not incorporated until 1845. After a fire in 1747 destroyed the Province House in Boston, Samuel Waldo (for whom Waldo County is named) was an advocate to name Searsport as the new capital of Massachusetts (remember, at this time Maine was still part of Mass.). Needless to say his efforts were not successful and the capital of the Bay State remained there. Searsport is is surrounded by or near to all sorts of recreational activities, namely water sports and fishing, some fantastic hiking and biking trails and several parks and State Parks, as well as Sears Island, the largest uninhabited island on the East Coast. Searsport - another jewel in the treasure that is the Coast of Maine.


*Photo from Readers Digest

Maine Minutiae : The Shire City of Waldo County

Belfast Harbor*

What the heck is a "shire city"? I don't know. Read through these definitions and decide for yourself. I tend to go with the one about "a former administrative district of England." But then again, I am a knucklehead, so don't mind me. At any rate, the shire city of Waldo county is Belfast, which was of course named after the city of the same moniker in Ireland. (Note: Belfast is now in Northern Ireland). Belfast was once where the Penobscot Indians went in the summer to hunt and fish, but in 1630 the land became part of the Muscongus Patent which "granted rights for English trading posts with the Indians, especially for the lucrative fur trade. About 1720, General Samuel Waldo of Boston bought the Muscongus Patent, which had evolved into outright ownership of the land, and was thereafter known as the Waldo Patent." (Wikipedia) Incorporated in 1773, Belfast was mostly abandoned during the American Revolution and was briefly occupied by the British in the War of 1812. The city would, over time, became a center for shipbuilding, poultry production and is now home to Bank of America-owned MBNA, a large credit card services center. Belfast is one of the locations Heather and I are considering as we discuss where we are going to move to as I ease into retirement. Ever since I was a wee lad in Fort Worth, Texas, I have dreamed of living in a "shire" city, whatever the heck one is. :)

*Photo from Marinas.com