Scarborough Marsh: “Land of Much Grass” – Part 3

Posted on October 9, 2016 by scarbo7_wp

Part 3 of 3

Text by Bruce Thurlow

Images from Scarborough Historical Society, Bruce Thurlow, Friends of the Scarborough Marsh, Maine Audubon and Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center.

Site of Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center

Site of Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center

Realizing that this significant coastal wildlife habitat was severely threatened, in 1957 the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) began a twenty-year process of acquiring the marsh. The Scarborough Marsh is now owned and managed by the MDIFW. In 1972 Maine Audubon initiated a partnership with the MDIFW to create a nature center at the edge of the marsh. The Audubon Center offers a variety of guided and self-guided walks and canoe tours as well as canoe rentals, a nature trail and exhibits. There are also an aquarium, mounted birds and animals, and interactive exhibits. Today the Scarborough Marsh is a classroom for school children, a delight for birders, a laboratory for biologists and naturalists, and a prime territory for fishermen and hunters.

Dunstan River

Dunstan River

In 2000, a group of volunteers and representatives from town, state and federal commissions and agencies organized as the Friends of Scarborough Marsh (FOSM). This group is dedicated to the conservation, protection, restoration and enhancement of the Scarborough Marsh watershed. These concerned individuals and groups continue to be successful stewards in assuring that the Scarborough Marsh will remain a highly productive ecosystem and wildlife habitat.

Sources

  • Acts and Resolves of the Legislature of Maine.
  • ——“An Act to Establish a Corporation for the Purpose of Diking a Certain Tract of Marsh in the Towns of Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough.” Chapter 174, 1821
  •  —— “An Act to Incorporate the Cumberland Dyke Company.” Chapter 451, 1870
  • —— “An Act to Incorporate the Little River Dyking Company.” Chapter 533, 1871
  • —— “An Act to Incorporate the Southgate Dyking Company.” Chapter 223, 1876
  • Boothby Papers. A collection of diking corporation meeting minutes and notes recorded by George Boothby. (1870s). Scarborough Historical Society archives
  • Cumberland County Registry of Deeds. Book 100, page 571.
  • Domingue, Robert. The Village of Cockell: An Illustrated History of Pine Point, Maine. Wilmington, MA: Hampshire Press, 1988.
  • Fogg, John D. “Recollections of a Salt Marsh Farmer.” Seabrook, New Hampshire: Historical Society of Seabrook, New Hampshire, 1983.
  • Fogg, John D., and Anne Bridges. “Salt Marsh Dykes as a Factor in Eastern Maine Agriculture.”Maine Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 21. No. 4. Spring, 1982
  • Hodgdon, Frank. “Scarborough the Way It Was.” The Current, 18 November 2004
  • Karr, Paul, and Jeff Clark. “Oasis of Wilderness.” Down East, September 1995
  • Lamson-Scribner, F. “Grasses of a Salt Marsh.” Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1895.
  • Moulton, Augustus. Grandfather Tales of Scarborough. Katahdin Publishing Co., 1925
  • Robinson, Brian. “An Inter-tidal Survey of the Scarborough Marsh.” (Copy of article provided by B. Robinson.)
  • Sebold, Kimberly. “Transforming the Garden of the Sea; The Individual Place in the Manipulation of the Scarborough Marsh.”
  • Snow, John. Secrets of a Salt Marsh. Portland, Maine: Guy Gannet Publishing Co., 1980
  • Van Cott, Leslie. “A Brief Scarborough Nature Center History.” Audubon Nature Center Collection, 5 May 1983.
  • Wilson, Emily. “Marsh People.” Salt Magazine, No. 45

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Scarborough Marsh: “Land of Much Grass” – Part 2

Posted on October 8, 2016 by scarbo7_wp

Part 2 of 3

Text by Bruce Thurlow

Images from Scarborough Historical Society, Bruce Thurlow, Friends of the Scarborough Marsh, Maine Audubon  and Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center.

Moses Banks Map of Scarborough, ca. 1784
Digital Maine

The Scarborough Marsh has long been important to the people living near it. Here the Sokokis Indians found an abundance of fish, shellfish, waterfowl and other natural resources as they hunted, trapped, clammed and fished in the marsh. When European settlers arrived in the early 1600s they, too, quickly learned the value of the marsh. It was a source of food for themselves as well as their domestic animals. They harvested salt hay as fodder for cattle and sheep and used the marsh for summer pasture. Many settlers were often assigned a marsh lot (or lots) for grazing their animals, later deeding these lots to their heirs. A 1784 survey of the marsh by Moses Banks noted owners of marsh lots at that time.

Bog Shoe

Bog Shoe

Salt hay continued to be important to the people of Scarborough well into the 1800s, as it became a source of income for owners of marsh property. Abundant salt hay, which required no cultivation, was used to feed cattle. Once cut, horses and oxen, shod in bog shoes, hauled the harvested hay to staddles. To increase acreage yields, large-scale diking was undertaken. Ditches were dug to drain wet, mosquito-breeding areas; pannes were filled; and tide gates (sluiceways) were constructed to prevent tides from flooding areas of the marsh. Five different diking companies were formed during this period.

Corporate Minutes

Corporate Minutes of Boothby Corp.

Dr. Robert Southgate built the first dike between 1803 and 1804, soon followed by a corporation formed to dike the marsh area of the Spurwink River. After the Civil War Seth Scamman and partners formed the Cumberland Diking Company, the Little River Diking Company and the Southgate Diking Company. Moses Banks’ 1784 survey map became the basis for all marsh lot purchases, work and disputes involving these companies. (Corporation meeting notes and minutes were kept by George Boothby. These and other company papers, known as the “Boothby Papers”, are archived at the Scarborough Historical Society.)

Haying declined in the 1900s and some looked upon the marsh as a wasteland, an inexpensive place to fill and build. Reportedly the marsh was even proposed as a possible site for the town dump. The delicate ecosystem of the marsh had already been threatened by activities of the diking companies during the 1800s. Rail lines, roads and a pipeline across the marsh also negatively impacted the area, disturbing the hydrology, soils and natural vegetation and creating opportunities for establishment of invasive plant species.

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Scarborough Marsh: “Land of Much Grass” – Part 1

Posted on October 7, 2016 by scarbo7_wp

Part 1 of 3

Text by Bruce Thurlow

Images from Scarborough Historical Society, Bruce Thurlow, Friends of the Scarborough Marsh, Maine Audubon  and Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center.

Arial View of Marsh

Arial View of Marsh

To the Sokokis Indians, the area we call the Scarborough Marsh was known as Owascoag, the “land of much grass.” It is the largest contiguous salt marsh system in Maine, covering more than 3,000 acres and accounting for 15 percent of Maine’s total tidal marsh area. The marsh includes five tidal rivers, several smaller streams, some coastal freshwater marsh, tidal flats and less than 200 acres of upland habitat.

Salt marshes began to form many thousands of years ago when glaciers from the last ice age receded as the climate warmed. Silt from rivers and streams washed into low-lying, protected tidal estuaries and began to build up. Various organisms, plant life, and marine animals were attracted to the resulting mudflats and seed from salt-tolerant grasses took root and began to spread. Thus began the growth and development of the marsh we know today.

The Scarborough Marsh is a very valuable, rich ecosystem. It is home to a variety of birds, fish, shellfish and mammals that either live their entire lives or live parts of their life cycles in the marsh; it is a food production and distribution system for marsh inhabitants; it is a nursery for various fish and shellfish; it is a resting place for migrating birds; and it acts as a filter or sponge for both the salt and freshwater meeting within it.

Fish Weirs

Fish Weirs

Life in a salt marsh depends on upon the grass. Through photosynthesis, the Spartina grasses(known variously as cordgrass, salt hay, marsh grass, or salt meadow grass) convert the energy of the sun into usable food for the many creatures in the marsh. As the grasses decay, the rotted material forms a nutrient-rich “soup” that feeds the plankton, clams, mussels, worms and some fish. These creatures, in turn, feed larger animals such as raccoons, striped bass, and ospreys. Waste from animals living and dying enters the marsh to be recycled as fertilizer for bacteria and plants. In its twice-daily movement, the tide sweeps nutrient-rich water into the ocean and feeds offshore fish and their young. Additionally, the grass plants provide temperature and humidity control among their stems and act as a buffer against wind and currents.

Great Egret

Great Egret

In his book Secrets of a Salt Marsh, author John O. Snow beautifully describes life in a salt marsh, “a world of many different creatures as green crabs scurry among the shaded plant stalks, marsh wrens weave the grass blades into swaying nests, insects chew the leaves for their sugar before becoming food for hungry birds, and microscopic plants and animals drift with tide and feed siphon eaters, such as clams, and worms tunnel through the root-laced mud.”

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Transportation Through the Years – Part 4 of 4

Posted on October 6, 2016 by scarbo7_wp

Text by Bruce Thurlow

Images from Scarborough Historical Society,
Rodney Laughton and Joseph W. Snow

Automobiles and Fire Trucks

Automobiles

John Meeker's Ford, Scarborough Beach, ca. 1903

John Meeker’s Ford, Scarborough Beach, ca. 1903

George Robinson of Pleasant Hill was the first year-round resident of Scarborough to own an automobile. It was a 1905 Rambler. As more people acquired automobiles, the increase in the number of automobiles on the road brought an increase in the number of accidents between automobiles and horse-drawn vehicles. In 1910 Scarborough citizens, following Portland’s lead, voted to limit the speed of automobiles to eight miles an hour. By the spring of 1912, an automobile craze had hit the state and the number of cars in Maine had quadrupled. Initially, cars were limited to seasonal use because of poor roads. Few roads were tarred. By 1927, the popularity of the automobile forced Scarborough to address the issue of road repair and maintenance at a town meeting. Twenty-two of the fifty-one articles to be voted on at the meeting concerned roads.(1) Roads in more populated areas had been tarred, but more rural roads had yet to be done. Farmers would keep a horse and wagon for backup in case roads were impassable for an automobile.

Auto racing began soon after the construction of the first automobiles. The first auto race in the United States was November 1895 in Chicago; in nearby Old Orchard Beach, competitive auto racing on the beach began probably as early as 1903.(2) The first recorded formal race was 1911 and the last, 1913. One might assume that some Scarborough residents participated. Scarborough’s Beech Ridge Speedway at the corner of Holmes Road and Two Rod Road was built in 1949 on the site of an old horse track. It was originally a one-third mile clay oval. Finally, in 1985, the clay-oil surface was replaced with a smooth asphalt racing-surface. It is the only NASCAR-sanctioned racetrack in Maine.(3)

Fire Trucks

McCann Fire Truck Manufacturing Shop, ca. 1949

McCann Fire Truck Manufacturing Shop, ca. 1949

From 1931 to the mid-1950s, Scarborough was home to D.E. McCann and Sons, a company that built fire trucks. The company was founded in Portland in 1872, and at one time was only one of seven such companies in the country. The factory was constructed in a U-shape and was laid out so that a truck chassis would enter on one side of the building and progress through different production stations (welding, wood, machine, and paint shops) and exit on the other side of the building a finished fire truck ready for delivery. Production stopped in the mid 1950s.(4)

Source Notes

A McCann Fire Truck

A McCann Fire Truck

1.Susan Dudley Gold, ed., Scarborough at 350: Linking the Past to the Present (Scarborough, ME: Friends of the 350th, 2007), 138.
2.hhttps://www.mainememory.net/artifact/23654
3.https://www.mainevintageracecars.com
4.https:///www.mccannfiretrucks.com

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Transportation Through the Years – Part 3 of 4

Posted on October 5, 2016 by scarbo7_wp

Text by Bruce Thurlow

Images from Scarborough Historical Society,
Rodney Laughton and Joseph W. Sno

Aviation: When Flight Was Still a Novelty

Scarborough Airport

Air Meet at Portland Airport in Scarborough, 1928

Air Meet at Portland Airport in Scarborough, 1928

Scarborough airport, actually the Portland Airport, was dedicated on 28 and 29 September 1928. An air show complete with parachute jumpers was held to commemorate the occasion and many flying greats were guests. A booklet, Portland Air Meet, with pictures of the different types of planes present was available that weekend at the cost of 10 cents. Land for the airport was purchased from Lida Libby and George Eastman. The tract was slightly north of the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth Railroad tracks and the western edge bordered the marsh. It is now the site of Scarborough Industrial Park.

In 1929 Curtis Wright Corporation built a nearby log cabin intended as a barracks for a summer flight school. This school, which opened on 8 April 1930, was the first in the nation to offer a campus-like flying school. The first class attended from 20 June until 14 September 1930 and had approximately 120 college men from all parts of the country.(1) At the time it was said that Portland would be ready to take its place among the great commercial airports of the world. Locally owned and developed entirely of local capital, the Portland Airport at Scarborough was deemed adequate for any commercial purpose.

Aerial View of Portland Airport in Scarborough, ca. 1927

Aerial View of Portland Airport in Scarborough, ca. 1927

Famous aviators and commercial lines came to the Scarborough Airport. Charles Lindbergh attempted to fly into the airport in July 1927 while it was under construction, but dense fog prevented him from landing. After an unsuccessful attempt the following day, he landed instead on the beach at Old Orchard Beach. Lindbergh did visit Scarborough Airport that day, but via a motorcade on his way to Portland. A year later, he made his historic solo Atlantic crossing. In 1934, Amelia Earhart paid a visit to this airport as part of a promotional plan; she had been highly in favor of commercial air service. The Boston & Maine Airways had just inaugurated its Maine service.(2)

Image of Airplanes on Beach, Scarborough, 1921

Airplanes on Beach, Scarborough, 1921

Within ten years of opening, the Scarborough (Portland) Airport was inadequate for the increasingly larger, more powerful aircraft. Since there was insufficient space for expansion in Scarborough, airport operations were relocated to Stroudwater, location of today’s Portland International Jetport. The Scarborough complex was used for private enterprises, such as air shows and flying schools. Fire destroyed the hangar in the late 1940s and no trace of the airport remains today.

Port-of-Maine Airport

Portland Flying Service, Scarborough, ca. 1946

Portland Flying Service, Scarborough, ca. 1946

After the blackout restrictions of World War II were lifted, the Port-of-Maine Airport opened at a site off Pleasant Hill Road. Flying schools and service operations continued into the 1960s.(3)

Remembrance

Joseph Snow, a Scarborough resident, was very active in early aviation. He was a master mechanic who built his own airplane, and he also worked for a Mr. Jones who owned an airplane hanger in Old Orchard Beach. I remember my mother telling me about the early days of aviation when it was quite common for planes to take off and land on the beaches. The seven-mile stretch of beach from the easterly tip of Pine Point through Old Orchard Beach to Hill’s Beach in Biddeford was often used. I’ve had frequent conversations with Joseph about his early experiences in aviation.(4)

Source Notes

  1. Scarborough Historical Society Collection: Aviation
  2. See note 1 above.
  3. https://www.scarborough.me.us/commserv/trails/history.ht

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