WEBVTT

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(waves crashing)

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(placid music)

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- [Katherine] The state
of Maine has 2,400 islands

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that are at least
an acre in size,

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scattered across nearly
3,500 miles of coastline.

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That's more islands than the
entire rest of the East coast

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of the United States.

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These rugged coastal
islands are the crown jewels

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of Maine's jagged
granite shoreline,

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isolated places where
generations of families

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have carved out a living
from the ocean and the land.

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Maine also has
significant numbers

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of historic islands on
our lakes and rivers,

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most notably Fry
Island on Sebago Lake

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and Swan Island on
the Kennebec River.

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Swan Island is actually
comprised of two islands,

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the larger island,

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and a second smaller Island
known as little Swan Island.

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Swan Island is often confused

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with Swan's Island off the
coast of Acadia National Park,

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but they are distinctly
different places.

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Swan Island is located at
the head of Merrymeeting Bay,

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20 miles up the Kennebec
River from Fort Popham

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in the coastal
town of Phippsburg,

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and 10 miles North
of Bath Iron Works,

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Maine's largest employer.

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Swan Island rests between
the central Maine towns

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of Dresden and Richmond.

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The island measures
four miles long

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and is comprised of
900 acres of forest

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and 400 acres of fields.

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Swan Island is unusual in part

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because of the rare
intertidal plants found here.

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Shoreline grasses
located primarily

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around the Southern
end of Swan Island

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were once an important food
staple for Native Americans.

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- The Kennebec River
above the chops,

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so all of Merrymeeting
Bay up is fresh water,

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yet it's tidal.

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So, when you have a four and
a half to seven foot tide,

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you have a lot of water plants
that are not found elsewhere.

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For instance, throughout
Merrymeeting Bay,

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probably the predominant
grass is wild rice,

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and it is edible.

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The only other place that
grows in the United States

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is in Minnesota.

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That was a staple for
the Native Americans

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and also for all the
migratory waterfowl.

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But there used to
be in the 1950s,

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there would be as many as 30,000
ducks on the Bay at a time.

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So, you can see why the natives

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would call a Merrymeeting
Bay "Duck water place".

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- [Katherine] The
Kennebec River once served

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as the major connecting point

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for all Native Americans living
up and down Maine's coast.

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Merrymeeting Bay was
important to Native Americans.

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The Bay is located at the
confluence of six Maine rivers,

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making it a vital transportation
corridor for centuries.

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- [Jay] Starting
about 9,000 years ago,

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basically the head of Little
Swan Island connecting

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to the Dresden shore
was the head of tide,

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that was the falls.

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And on the Dresden shore,

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there was a fishing station
from the middle archaic period

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up through, so from 9,000 years
ago, 'til 4,500 years ago.

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That's probably why the Swan
Island area is so important

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to the Native Americans
through history.

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There were several
different groups

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of Native Americans
in this area.

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The Eastern Abenaki were the,
probably for the most part,

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those groups that were
found on the Kennebec,

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and they were known by
their primary settlement.

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So, the Kennebeci would
have been the natives

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in this part of the flowage.

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So, basically from Swan Island,

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probably up to Augusta would
have been the Kennebeci's.

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Then when you got
up further up river

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above Waterville, Winslow,
you'd have the Norridgewocks.

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But they were all interrelated.

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(placid music)

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(eagle squawking)

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- [Katherine] The remains
of a stone fortress,

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possibly a trading
or command post,

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could still be found on Little
Swan Island as late as 1897.

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Archeological digs have
uncovered pottery shards

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and stone tools on Swan Island,

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going back an estimated
500 to 1,500 years.

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(machine rattling)

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Prior to the industrialization
bloom of the 19th century,

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the river was teaming with
shad, sturgeon and salmon.

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Historical accounts vary,

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but some believe Swan Island
was named for migrating swans

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said to have sought refuge here.

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Others believe the name
is short for "sowangen",

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the Abenaki word for
Island of Eagles.

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- Sowangen is an Abenaki
word that they used

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to describe those two islands.

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Now, the end of that
word, "sowangen",

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that "gen" denotes
tribe or band.

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So, the full name
means tribe or band

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of natives living on
the Island of Eagles.

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(placid music)

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- [Katherine] Europeans
arrived on Swan Island

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in the 17th century and
made several attempts

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to form a village.

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They were not, as
commonly believed,

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fleeing religious persecution.

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Settlers came here to acquire
land, enrich themselves

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and make money for those
who financed their voyages.

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A group of Boston
investors known

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as the Pejepscot Proprietors

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had their sights set on Swan
Island and the surrounding land

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because they wanted the
resources found here,

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namely timber, fur, and fish.

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- [Terri] The proprietors
were interested in land.

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So, they got together
and pooled their money

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to buy what they thought
was Northern Massachusetts.

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One of the places that
had been known since 1607

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was the Kennebec River and that
there was an island up there

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and it was a rich, fertile
island for planting.

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So, they came up the river
to go to that island.

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- Most of the settlers they
brought in were Scots Irish.

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They were really Scotsmen

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who had been driven
out of Scotland,

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were living in Northern
Ireland and then came here.

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And they were mostly
Presbytarian, they
were not Catholic.

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So, Boston didn't know
what to do with them.

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So, they shipped those people
up here to be on the border

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between white settlement
and the French and Indians.

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There was a lot of
conflicting ownership then,

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but before anything
really happened,

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we had King Philip's War,

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the first of the
Native American Wars

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with the Native Americans.

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And at that time,
all the Merrymeeting
Bay was cleared out,

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everything down to Bath.

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In fact, all whites were
basically driven down

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to the Saska area,
and in 1722, '23,

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between 40 and 60 canoe loads
of Native Americans came in,

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burnt the houses,
killed the cattle,

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let the women and
children walk to Boston.

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took five of the key
men back up to Canada,

07:40.233 --> 07:43.533 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
let them go and said, "When
you walk by Merrymeeting Bay,

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"don't turn and look behind you.

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"'Cause you're not gonna
be back here again."

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But at that time,
they left people

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in a fortified garrison
house on Swan Island

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and also Fort Richmond, the
beginnings were just at the,

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on the Richmond shore at
the head of the island.

07:59.366 --> 08:00.900 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- [Katherine] Tensions
and hostilities

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between Maine's
native population

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and the colonists exploded
into open warfare before,

08:06.500 --> 08:10.200 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
during and after King
Philip's War in 1675.

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Native rights were not
respected and treaties

08:14.133 --> 08:17.466 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
between the Abenaki and
English were routinely broken.

08:18.933 --> 08:21.833 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Native people were alarmed
by the increasing numbers

08:21.833 --> 08:24.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
of settlers laying claim
to their ancestral land

08:24.933 --> 08:28.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and pushed back
against this incursion.

08:28.100 --> 08:32.133 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Raids became so common in
the late 1600s and 1700s

08:32.133 --> 08:34.933 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
that Massachusetts agreed to
build a protective garrison

08:34.933 --> 08:37.400 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
on the Richmond
side of the river.

08:37.400 --> 08:39.866 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Fort Richmond was
constructed on the riverbank,

08:39.866 --> 08:43.066 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
overlooking both channels
of the Kennebec River.

08:43.066 --> 08:46.366 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
The Fort is long gone, but at
the time of its construction,

08:46.366 --> 08:49.033 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
the structure boldly
demonstrated that the English

08:49.033 --> 08:51.366 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
would continue to
promote settlement,

08:51.366 --> 08:53.633 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
ensure safety for the colonists

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and satisfy the wishes of
the Pejepscot Proprietors.

08:57.466 --> 08:59.400 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
And the fort's
commanding presence

08:59.400 --> 09:02.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
helped reassure nervous
settlers they'd have protection

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if they set down roots
on or around Swan Island.

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Attacks on settlers continued
well into the 18th century

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until the native
people were overwhelmed

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by the sheer number
of new arrivals.

09:19.033 --> 09:21.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Colonists were intent
on acquiring land here,

09:21.600 --> 09:25.333 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
often at great danger to
themselves and their families.

09:26.700 --> 09:30.133 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
In 1750, Captain James
Whidden lived on Swan Island

09:30.133 --> 09:32.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
with his family, all of
whom were later captured

09:32.966 --> 09:36.333 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
and brought unharmed to
Canada by Native Americans

09:36.333 --> 09:38.733 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
determined to defend
their homeland.

09:39.666 --> 09:41.633 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
(dramatic music)
Tragically,

09:41.633 --> 09:44.233 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
most Native Americans
were eventually forced

09:44.233 --> 09:47.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
to move on to Quebec,
or they were assimilated

09:47.133 --> 09:49.400 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
into the Penobscot tribes,

09:49.400 --> 09:52.433 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
their lives forever
upended by the avarice

09:52.433 --> 09:55.800 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and greed of European
land speculators.

10:14.733 --> 10:17.400 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

10:21.133 --> 10:24.500 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
The first European settlers
to firmly establish themselves

10:24.500 --> 10:26.766 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
on the island came
in the late 17th

10:26.766 --> 10:28.800 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
and early 18th centuries.

10:30.166 --> 10:33.233 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Some came simply to claim
land for themselves.

10:33.233 --> 10:35.166 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
The level ground
and fertile soil

10:35.166 --> 10:37.666 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
on the island provided
a solid foundation

10:37.666 --> 10:40.366 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
for growing a wide
variety of crops,

10:40.366 --> 10:42.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
including corn, oats and wheat.

10:43.966 --> 10:48.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
By 1766, Swan Island had
18 recorded inhabitants

10:48.833 --> 10:51.433 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and a colonial village
began to take shape.

10:52.733 --> 10:54.833 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
For visitors and
historians alike,

10:54.833 --> 10:57.233 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Swan Island is
uniquely fascinating

10:57.233 --> 10:59.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
because it represents
something almost unheard

10:59.900 --> 11:01.133 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
of in New England,

11:02.266 --> 11:05.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
a once thriving town
that gradually vanished,

11:05.366 --> 11:09.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
an East coast version of
an old West ghost town.

11:09.633 --> 11:12.200 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

12:08.466 --> 12:11.133 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

12:14.533 --> 12:17.366 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Swan Island was once part
of the town of Dresden,

12:17.366 --> 12:19.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
but due to a dispute over taxes,

12:19.533 --> 12:22.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the island broke free
of the mainland in 1847

12:22.900 --> 12:25.833 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
and became the independent
town of Perkins.

12:26.966 --> 12:29.300 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Perkins was named
after Thomas Perkins,

12:29.300 --> 12:32.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
a wealthy Boston philanthropist
and summer resident

12:32.033 --> 12:34.233 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
who paid for the
town's incorporation.

12:35.800 --> 12:38.600 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- The residents on
Swan Island decided

12:38.600 --> 12:41.300 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
that they wanted to
be their own entity.

12:41.300 --> 12:45.266 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
So, they pulled back from
the governance of Dresden

12:45.266 --> 12:48.166 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and became their own
incorporated town.

12:48.166 --> 12:53.133 align:left position:12.5% line:5% size:77.5%
And the town was named after
Thomas Handasyd Perkins,

12:54.633 --> 12:57.533 align:left position:12.5% line:5% size:77.5%
who put the money up and it
may have only been 50 bucks,

12:57.533 --> 12:59.866 align:left position:22.5% line:5% size:67.5%
but he was the richest
guy on the island

12:59.866 --> 13:03.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and had the passion to
want that town to begin.

13:03.500 --> 13:06.033 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
So, that's what he did.

13:06.033 --> 13:07.500 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- [Katherine] Thomas
Perkins was introduced

13:07.500 --> 13:10.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
to Swan Island in the
1820s by his wife, Jane.

13:11.766 --> 13:14.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Perkins was instrumental
in the establishment

13:14.066 --> 13:16.800 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
of the township, but
he was best known

13:16.800 --> 13:18.433 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
for the role he
played in the support

13:18.433 --> 13:22.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
of the first school for the
blind in Boston, Massachusetts,

13:22.066 --> 13:24.200 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
a school attended
by Helen Keller

13:24.200 --> 13:26.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and Anne Sullivan among others.

13:27.333 --> 13:29.133 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
He also played a role
in the construction

13:29.133 --> 13:32.100 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
of the Bunker Hill
Monument in Boston,

13:32.100 --> 13:34.800 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
and the four mile long
road linking the North end

13:34.800 --> 13:36.266 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
of Swan Island to the South

13:36.266 --> 13:39.000 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
is named Perkins
Highway in his memory.

13:40.066 --> 13:42.733 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
But Perkins had a darker side.

13:42.733 --> 13:44.600 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
Great wealth and philanthropy

13:44.600 --> 13:48.166 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
often concealed
an imperfect past.

13:48.166 --> 13:51.500 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
His fortune was based in part
on his active involvement

13:51.500 --> 13:53.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
with the opium and slave trades.

13:57.733 --> 13:59.000 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

13:59.000 --> 14:01.000 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
By the second half
of the 19th century,

14:01.000 --> 14:03.833 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
regular ferry service to
Richmond had been established,

14:03.833 --> 14:07.133 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
making transportation to and
from Dresden and Richmond,

14:07.133 --> 14:09.300 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and thus the
island, much easier.

14:10.433 --> 14:12.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
At one time, as many as 20 homes

14:12.800 --> 14:14.700 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
could be found on Swan Island.

14:17.100 --> 14:21.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Today, only four of the original
18th and 19th century homes

14:21.166 --> 14:23.700 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
from the old town of
Perkins's days remain standing

14:23.700 --> 14:26.433 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
on the island, along
with one house built

14:26.433 --> 14:28.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
in the early 1900s that is used

14:28.433 --> 14:30.700 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
as a caretaker
headquarters today.

14:32.700 --> 14:35.633 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
The first stop on your
Swan Island tour leads you

14:35.633 --> 14:38.166 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
to the historic
Tubbs-Reed House,

14:38.166 --> 14:40.566 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
located on the North
end of the island.

14:41.833 --> 14:43.400 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
The Tubbs-Reed House was built

14:43.400 --> 14:46.000 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
in the federal style
just after 1800

14:46.000 --> 14:49.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
by Major Samuel Tubbs of
Berkley, Massachusetts.

14:49.766 --> 14:51.466 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Tubbs was commissioned
as a major

14:51.466 --> 14:53.633 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
in the Massachusetts
militia in 1776.

14:55.933 --> 15:00.366 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
- Samual Tubbs brought
some of his cronies up here

15:00.366 --> 15:02.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
to build houses, start sawmills,

15:02.866 --> 15:07.566 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
start grain grinding mills
just to populate the area.

15:07.566 --> 15:11.933 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
And there were conditions on
the rental of his properties.

15:11.933 --> 15:14.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He would call somebody up here,

15:14.333 --> 15:19.333 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
pay their moving expenses and
give them money and materials

15:20.466 --> 15:23.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
to build a house and
then rent them the house

15:24.966 --> 15:28.433 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
while they worked for
him at the sawmill.

15:28.433 --> 15:29.700 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(blade scuffing)

15:29.700 --> 15:31.566 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- So, it was really
the forest products,

15:31.566 --> 15:35.266 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
the furs and the fisheries
that were attractive

15:35.266 --> 15:37.000 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
to the whites, and of course,

15:37.000 --> 15:38.466 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
if they could get
enough people up here,

15:38.466 --> 15:41.300 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
then you could start
selling the land as well.

15:41.300 --> 15:42.600 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
And the Kennebec proprietors,

15:42.600 --> 15:44.000 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
the Pejepscot Proprietors,

15:44.000 --> 15:46.700 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
the Clark and Lake
Interests on the Kennebec,

15:46.700 --> 15:49.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
they were all out to make money.

15:49.266 --> 15:50.900 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
They weren't just looking
for religious freedom.

15:50.900 --> 15:52.733 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
They were here for
business purposes.

15:54.733 --> 15:59.733 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
- It was a pretty harsh
delineation between
that upper-class

16:00.600 --> 16:02.000 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
of proprietors and the people

16:02.000 --> 16:04.933 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
that populated the
island initially.

16:04.933 --> 16:07.233 align:left position:15% line:5% size:75%
And then the
proprietors, for example,

16:07.233 --> 16:11.766 align:left position:12.5% line:5% size:77.5%
Sylvester Gardiner, built
what he'd said was a cottage

16:11.766 --> 16:13.533 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
for his daughter
when she got married,

16:13.533 --> 16:16.833 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and they lived there
for a year or so,

16:16.833 --> 16:18.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and then they loved it so much,

16:18.800 --> 16:21.733 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
they came to live
and raise a family.

16:24.300 --> 16:25.866 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
- [Katherine] This
saltbox style home

16:25.866 --> 16:29.833 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
was built by Sylvester
Gardiner sometime around 1760,

16:29.833 --> 16:32.033 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
making it one of the
oldest summer homes

16:32.033 --> 16:33.633 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
in all of New England.

16:35.133 --> 16:37.700 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Gardiner built the home as a
wedding gift for his daughter,

16:37.700 --> 16:40.233 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
Rebecca and her husband,
Phillip Dumaresq.

16:41.566 --> 16:45.166 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
The couple used the home
primarily as a summer residence.

16:45.166 --> 16:47.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Gardiner was one of
central Maine's earliest

16:47.533 --> 16:50.466 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and most prominent
colonial investors.

16:50.466 --> 16:54.533 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
He was an influential
physician and land developer.

16:54.533 --> 16:56.966 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Gardner was also known
as a British loyalist

16:56.966 --> 17:00.533 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
who fled to Canada during
the American revolution.

17:00.533 --> 17:03.333 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
The central Maine town that
is today known as Gardiner,

17:03.333 --> 17:07.266 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
was named Gardiner's Town
Plantation after him in 1754.

17:13.266 --> 17:16.100 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(dramatic music)

17:17.966 --> 17:22.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
In later years, the Dumaresq
family was consumed by tragedy.

17:22.833 --> 17:27.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
On September 4th, 1855,
Margaret Dumaresq,

17:27.233 --> 17:29.333 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
her daughter and
a family friend,

17:29.333 --> 17:33.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Sarah Richards, drowned
in the turbulent channel

17:33.133 --> 17:36.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
separating Swan Island
from Little Swan Island.

17:37.600 --> 17:40.300 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Hearing the desperate cries of
her daughter and her friend,

17:40.300 --> 17:43.133 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Margaret jumped into the
channel to try to save them.

17:43.133 --> 17:45.333 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
And all three women perished.

18:06.866 --> 18:09.700 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(dramatic music)

18:13.966 --> 18:16.233 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
The historic record
suggests Swan Island

18:16.233 --> 18:17.600 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
may have played a role

18:17.600 --> 18:20.400 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
in one of the most
noteworthy military debacles

18:20.400 --> 18:22.700 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
in New England's
colonial history.

18:25.200 --> 18:27.533 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
The Arnold Expedition
is the best known

18:27.533 --> 18:31.166 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
and most ill advised journey
ever taken up the river.

18:32.633 --> 18:37.066 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
According to legend, during
the fall and winter of 1775,

18:37.066 --> 18:41.033 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Aaron Burr, General Henry
Dearborn and Benedict Arnold

18:41.033 --> 18:43.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
were believed to have
stopped on Swan Island.

18:43.766 --> 18:46.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- [Jay] If you read any
of the actual journals

18:46.300 --> 18:47.500 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
that were generated

18:47.500 --> 18:50.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
by the men in the Arnold
Expedition in 1775,

18:50.733 --> 18:54.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
every single vessel ran
aground on the sandbars.

18:54.033 --> 18:56.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- They were on their way
to pick up the bateaux

18:56.133 --> 18:58.133 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
that ended up being
miserably inadequate.

18:58.133 --> 19:01.400 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
But I cannot imagine with
that island right there,

19:01.400 --> 19:03.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
that they wouldn't have stopped.

19:04.133 --> 19:05.366 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- [Katherine] Aaron
Burr was rumored

19:05.366 --> 19:07.300 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
to have spent the
night on the island.

19:08.633 --> 19:11.666 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
From here, Arnold's
ill-fated army of soldiers,

19:12.833 --> 19:15.200 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
1,100 of them at the
outset of the journey,

19:15.200 --> 19:19.933 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
paddled bateaux riverboats
and marched 350 miles North

19:19.933 --> 19:23.433 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
on their infamously disastrous
attempt to conquer Quebec.

19:24.866 --> 19:27.933 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Burr went on to become Thomas
Jefferson's vice-president,

19:27.933 --> 19:29.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and Benedict Arnold remains one

19:29.600 --> 19:33.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
of North America's most
controversial political figures.

19:35.333 --> 19:36.833 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
The Arnold Expedition

19:36.833 --> 19:39.633 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
was given the romanticized
historical fiction treatment

19:39.633 --> 19:41.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
in Kenneth Roberts's "Arundel",

19:41.533 --> 19:44.466 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
a highly regarded historical
fiction novel focused

19:44.466 --> 19:46.166 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
on the gallantry and hubris

19:46.166 --> 19:48.866 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
of the revolutionary
war years in Maine.

19:48.866 --> 19:50.933 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(dramatic music)

19:50.933 --> 19:53.400 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Roberts memorably
described Swan Island

19:53.400 --> 19:56.600 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
as, "A gem of the Kennebec"
in a passage of his book.

19:57.933 --> 19:59.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- [Narrator] "The lower
head of Swan Island,

19:59.733 --> 20:02.000 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
"which is an island
four miles long,

20:02.000 --> 20:03.700 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
"points down into
Merrymeeting Bay

20:03.700 --> 20:07.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"like a broad head
arrow with a broken tip.

20:07.100 --> 20:09.700 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
"The front edge of the
headland was used as a lookout

20:09.700 --> 20:11.566 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
"by the Swan Island Indians,

20:11.566 --> 20:14.433 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
"who are Abenaki's,
very friendly people

20:14.433 --> 20:16.366 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
"and part of the
Kennebec tribe."

20:41.333 --> 20:43.966 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(upbeat music)

20:47.900 --> 20:49.800 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- [Katherine] The Swan
Island of the 19th

20:49.800 --> 20:52.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and early 20th centuries
gradually developed

20:52.366 --> 20:54.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
into a village comprised
of resourceful men,

20:54.900 --> 20:56.200 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
women and children.

20:58.600 --> 21:00.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
The island was a tranquil place,

21:00.333 --> 21:01.666 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
but life was challenging here.

21:01.666 --> 21:05.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And the settlers had to
work hard to survive.

21:05.233 --> 21:06.900 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
- Perkins's township consisted

21:06.900 --> 21:09.433 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
of a little one
room school house

21:09.433 --> 21:12.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that had all the
grades and one teacher,

21:12.633 --> 21:17.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the boat yard, it had a
church, a little chapel.

21:19.066 --> 21:20.600 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
- [Jay] They did have a school
building that they also used

21:20.600 --> 21:24.266 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
for church services
and for town meetings.

21:24.266 --> 21:26.666 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
They had a community band.

21:26.666 --> 21:29.433 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
And they were mostly
self-sufficient homesteads

21:29.433 --> 21:32.200 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
to the point they could be
with a little job on the side,

21:32.200 --> 21:34.100 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
if they could, a
little bit of logging,

21:34.100 --> 21:36.766 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
not too much 'cause they had
to move the logs by water.

21:36.766 --> 21:38.766 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
There was a brick
yard on the island,

21:38.766 --> 21:40.666 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
and that's where
most of the bricks

21:40.666 --> 21:42.733 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
for the brick buildings
at the foot of Main Street

21:42.733 --> 21:45.633 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
in Richmond came from,
some subsistence farming,

21:45.633 --> 21:47.400 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
a blacksmith, and
two other trades.

21:47.400 --> 21:50.366 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
(hammer thumping)

21:50.366 --> 21:51.633 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

21:51.633 --> 21:54.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- [Katherine] In 1837,
David and Drusilla Reed

21:54.566 --> 21:56.166 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
purchased the Tubbs house.

21:57.600 --> 21:59.766 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
The Reeds and their
children were resided there

21:59.766 --> 22:01.233 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
into the 1920s,

22:01.233 --> 22:04.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but the house was never
plumbed, serviced by electricity

22:04.633 --> 22:07.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
or centrally heated
during their time there.

22:09.166 --> 22:12.333 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
David Reed was a farmer who
tended among other things,

22:12.333 --> 22:16.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
18 sheep by the year
1860 and 20 apple trees

22:16.233 --> 22:17.866 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
by the year 1880.

22:19.766 --> 22:22.066 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
The soil on and
around Swan Island

22:22.066 --> 22:24.133 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
is some of Maine's finest.

22:24.133 --> 22:25.800 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
And throughout the
island's history,

22:25.800 --> 22:28.833 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
farmers could count
on bountiful harvests.

22:30.000 --> 22:31.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- [Jay] When you look
around Merrymeeting Bay

22:31.500 --> 22:33.800 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
on similar land and it's
some of the best farmland,

22:33.800 --> 22:35.666 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
at least in this part
of central Maine,

22:35.666 --> 22:37.266 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
because it's the
Louisville soil,

22:37.266 --> 22:38.533 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
the stuff that's
come down the river,

22:38.533 --> 22:40.733 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
it's fines, it's good
stuff, it drains well.

22:42.300 --> 22:43.733 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
- [Katherine] At its peak,

22:43.733 --> 22:47.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
approximately 25 families
lived and worked on Swan Island

22:47.100 --> 22:49.366 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
and the population
at one time rose

22:49.366 --> 22:51.266 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
to over 100 people.

22:52.466 --> 22:55.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Farming, fishing,
lumbering, shipbuilding,

22:55.533 --> 22:58.200 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
and ice cutting were among
the thriving industries

22:58.200 --> 23:00.666 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
typical of the
island's early days.

23:00.666 --> 23:04.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- The industries went
from several ice houses

23:04.633 --> 23:08.866 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
from various companies
that had ice houses up

23:08.866 --> 23:11.733 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and down the river,
but there were four,

23:11.733 --> 23:13.000 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
at least three, for sure,

23:13.000 --> 23:16.366 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
but maybe four ice
houses on the island.

23:16.366 --> 23:18.833 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
So, that was a huge industry.

23:19.966 --> 23:22.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Kennebec River ice went
all over the world.

23:22.933 --> 23:25.533 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(ice grinding)

23:31.733 --> 23:33.133 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

23:33.133 --> 23:34.633 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
- [Katherine] The ice
industry on Swan Island began

23:34.633 --> 23:37.866 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
in the 1830s and strengthened
during the civil war years.

23:39.400 --> 23:42.700 align:left position:22.5% line:77% size:67.5%
The island's ice
cutting business grew
well into the 1880s,

23:42.700 --> 23:46.300 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
before dying out all together
sometime around World War One.

23:48.433 --> 23:50.333 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
At the peak of ice production,

23:50.333 --> 23:54.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
at least three large ice houses
were active on Swan Island,

23:54.466 --> 23:57.933 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
cutting and exporting ice
shipped all over New England

23:57.933 --> 24:01.633 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
to places as far away as the
West Indies and New Zealand.

24:02.933 --> 24:06.033 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Tourism was another
major industry here.

24:06.033 --> 24:09.833 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Swan Island was an unspoiled
place of natural beauty

24:09.833 --> 24:11.400 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
and a popular summer retreat

24:11.400 --> 24:13.400 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
for Victorian era
visitors looking

24:13.400 --> 24:16.600 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
to escape from the
stresses of city life.

24:16.600 --> 24:19.100 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
- [Jay] They would come up
to get away from the miasmas

24:19.100 --> 24:20.866 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
of the cities and
they would just sit

24:20.866 --> 24:22.466 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
in the country and
watch the world go by,

24:22.466 --> 24:25.233 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
the river, the horse carts,
whatever it was, the boats.

24:27.766 --> 24:29.666 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- [Katherine] A health
spa craze was underway

24:29.666 --> 24:31.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
in the mid 19th century,

24:31.633 --> 24:33.966 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and Swan Island
was once advertised

24:33.966 --> 24:35.466 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
in a Boston based magazine

24:35.466 --> 24:38.566 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
called Ballou's Pictorial
Drawing Room Companion,

24:38.566 --> 24:41.166 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
as a natural medicinal
cure-all retreat

24:41.166 --> 24:43.133 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
for whatever ailed you.

24:43.133 --> 24:45.333 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
- [Jay] The Gardiner
Dumaresq house was bought

24:45.333 --> 24:48.933 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
by a Dr. William Hebert
who was gonna run a resort,

24:48.933 --> 24:50.466 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
if you will, Swango,

24:50.466 --> 24:52.566 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
where you could get
the new eclectic cure.

24:53.833 --> 24:55.433 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(dramatic music)

24:55.433 --> 24:57.233 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
- [Katherine] This
curious promotional effort

24:57.233 --> 25:00.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
was cut short by the
advent of the civil war.

25:01.233 --> 25:03.033 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Islanders supported
the civil war

25:03.033 --> 25:05.833 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
by developing a wool
clothing production industry

25:05.833 --> 25:09.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
to help produce uniforms
for union soldiers.

25:09.000 --> 25:11.533 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(chattering)

25:11.533 --> 25:14.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Wool was in high demand
throughout the war.

25:14.066 --> 25:17.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
In 1864, 500 sheep were
brought to the island

25:17.766 --> 25:19.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
to support the Union Army cause,

25:19.800 --> 25:23.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
and production
continued throughout the
duration of the war.

25:25.433 --> 25:28.866 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
The civil war also claimed
casualties from Swan Island.

25:30.033 --> 25:33.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Out of an overall island
population of just 90,

25:33.500 --> 25:35.733 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
five young men from
the island served

25:35.733 --> 25:37.766 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
in the 19th Maine division.

25:37.766 --> 25:40.133 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
And two of these men were
killed during battle.

25:54.000 --> 25:57.266 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
For a time, shipbuilding was
also a source of employment

25:57.266 --> 25:59.566 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
for Swan Island's inhabitants.

25:59.566 --> 26:02.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
At least seven ocean going
vessels were built on the island

26:02.733 --> 26:05.566 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries.

26:06.433 --> 26:08.133 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
By the early 1900s,

26:08.133 --> 26:11.966 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
a dramatic economic shift away
from traditional industries

26:11.966 --> 26:14.033 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
was underway on Swan Island.

26:15.233 --> 26:17.333 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
Iron ships became popular

26:17.333 --> 26:20.900 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
and the island lost its
wooden ship building business.

26:20.900 --> 26:23.400 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Modern refrigeration
rapidly brought an end

26:23.400 --> 26:25.866 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
to the ice cutting industry.

26:25.866 --> 26:29.100 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Pollution from industries
located up river resulted

26:29.100 --> 26:31.766 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
in a loss of fishing income.

26:31.766 --> 26:34.133 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Extensive timber
harvesting turned much

26:34.133 --> 26:36.466 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
of the island into
barren fields.

26:38.466 --> 26:41.633 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
As the traditional industries
began winding down,

26:41.633 --> 26:45.533 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
many island residents were to
leave in search of other jobs.

26:46.800 --> 26:48.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(dramatic music)

26:48.500 --> 26:51.066 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Agriculture was one of
the few remaining sources

26:51.066 --> 26:52.933 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
of income on Swan Island,

26:54.366 --> 26:57.366 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
but as the severe effects of
the Great Depression sunk in,

26:57.366 --> 26:58.800 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
farmers here and elsewhere

26:58.800 --> 27:02.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
began experiencing
extraordinarily difficult times.

27:03.933 --> 27:05.900 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Many younger residents
left the island

27:05.900 --> 27:07.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
seeking a better future.

27:07.900 --> 27:09.900 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
And those who remained
could no longer

27:09.900 --> 27:11.200 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
make a living from farming

27:16.033 --> 27:18.700 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

27:23.566 --> 27:27.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
The construction of the
Richmond Dresden Bridge in 1931

27:27.033 --> 27:30.700 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
was the death knell for
the Swan Island community.

27:30.700 --> 27:33.833 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Islanders could no longer rely
on Richmond's ferry service

27:33.833 --> 27:36.433 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
to transport them to
and from the mainland,

27:36.433 --> 27:38.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
leaving many residents stranded.

27:40.200 --> 27:43.466 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
- They were able to survive
as a town until 1917,

27:43.466 --> 27:44.933 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
so, for 70 years.

27:44.933 --> 27:48.600 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
And at that time there were
not enough male voters,

27:48.600 --> 27:51.066 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
21 years and older
to fulfill all

27:51.066 --> 27:54.533 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
of the required constitutional
positions of the town.

27:54.533 --> 27:57.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So, they were
disorganized technically

27:57.333 --> 28:01.233 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
is the term by the state,
and they became a township.

28:01.233 --> 28:04.166 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
At that time, the state
became the taxing authority,

28:04.166 --> 28:07.766 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
and before long, they had
acquired two of the parcels

28:07.766 --> 28:09.900 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
on the island for
non-payment of taxes.

28:09.900 --> 28:13.200 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
So, that was how they sort of
got invested in the island.

28:13.200 --> 28:15.700 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
- [Katherine] Various attempts
to establish new industries

28:15.700 --> 28:18.066 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
on the island failed
during this time.

28:19.233 --> 28:21.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
A fox farm and a wooden
box production company

28:21.566 --> 28:22.933 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
were unsuccessful.

28:24.166 --> 28:26.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
In 1932, investors tried

28:26.800 --> 28:30.500 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
to reestablish a wool production
operation on the island.

28:30.500 --> 28:32.466 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
Governor William Tudor Gardiner

28:32.466 --> 28:37.166 align:left position:22.5% line:5% size:67.5%
and his business
partners brought 1,500
sheep to Swan Island

28:37.166 --> 28:40.900 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
and only 75 sheep survive
the harsh Maine winter.

28:46.233 --> 28:48.233 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
As the final exodus began,

28:48.233 --> 28:51.866 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
many of the farmsteads were
given up in lieu of taxes.

28:51.866 --> 28:54.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
The state of Maine took
over some properties

28:54.000 --> 28:55.400 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
by eminent domain.

28:57.066 --> 28:59.133 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Other properties were
simply abandoned.

29:27.033 --> 29:29.700 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

29:31.333 --> 29:33.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
After the last residents
packed up and left,

29:33.900 --> 29:37.833 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Swan Island transitioned into
a wildlife management area

29:37.833 --> 29:40.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and continues to be
overseen and maintained

29:40.266 --> 29:43.600 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
by the Maine Department of
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

29:44.933 --> 29:47.266 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Maine's Inland
Fisheries and Wildlife

29:47.266 --> 29:48.933 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
recognized the island's value

29:48.933 --> 29:51.333 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
as a waterfowl
management watch site.

29:52.800 --> 29:56.700 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
Federal aid to wildlife
restoration funding
enabled the ISW

29:56.700 --> 30:00.600 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
to begin buying the farms on
the Island in the early 1940s.

30:03.033 --> 30:06.366 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
The transition from an
active village farm community

30:06.366 --> 30:09.433 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
to a wildlife preserve
called for focused,

30:09.433 --> 30:11.533 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
determined leadership
and planning.

30:12.966 --> 30:15.900 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Steve Powell was one of the
earliest biologists living

30:15.900 --> 30:18.066 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
and working on Swan Island.

30:18.066 --> 30:21.566 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Powell was an influential
and enthusiastic steward

30:21.566 --> 30:23.000 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
of the island.

30:23.000 --> 30:26.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He graduated from the university
of Maine, Orono, in 1940

30:26.666 --> 30:29.233 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
with a degree in
wildlife conservation,

30:29.233 --> 30:32.466 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
and then went on to serve with
honor in the Pacific theater

30:32.466 --> 30:33.633 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
during world war two.

30:35.133 --> 30:37.233 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- [Jay] Interesting
man, Steve Powell

30:37.233 --> 30:39.700 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
was assigned to Swan Island.

30:39.700 --> 30:42.933 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
He always had a pipe or
a cigarette in his mouth.

30:42.933 --> 30:47.066 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Steve Powell also trapped,
did quite a bit of trapping,

30:47.066 --> 30:49.833 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
a true outdoorsman,
quite a fishermen.

30:49.833 --> 30:52.266 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
- He kept meticulous records

30:52.266 --> 30:57.233 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
of a banding geese and
ducks and the deer.

30:57.233 --> 31:02.200 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
And also they did chemical
testing of deer repellents

31:03.266 --> 31:04.766 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
during that time.

31:04.766 --> 31:06.733 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
- [Jay] And this was a perfect
experimental island for it

31:06.733 --> 31:08.033 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
because there was a
large deer population.

31:08.033 --> 31:09.466 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
It was controlled.

31:09.466 --> 31:13.033 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
They also did some work
raising game birds out there,

31:13.033 --> 31:14.800 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
but didn't have a
lot of focus on that.

31:14.800 --> 31:17.733 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
He was also a
wonderful scientist.

31:17.733 --> 31:20.166 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
He would go out as the
migratory waterfowl

31:20.166 --> 31:22.300 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
were coming through
and count the number

31:22.300 --> 31:25.766 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
of each species that he would
see on the day on a given day.

31:25.766 --> 31:27.433 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
And he would chart them out,

31:27.433 --> 31:29.033 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
whether the teal
or the wood ducks,

31:29.033 --> 31:30.966 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
or the Canada geese, whatever.

31:30.966 --> 31:33.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And based on that, they
actually set the hunting season

31:33.900 --> 31:36.800 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
so that both of the
hunters and the ducks

31:36.800 --> 31:39.166 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
were able to benefit.

31:39.166 --> 31:42.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
At one point in time,
he went out on the Bay.

31:42.266 --> 31:44.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I think it was 1954 in October.

31:44.533 --> 31:48.400 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
And he did it by boat,
by airplane, by car.

31:48.400 --> 31:50.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And he estimated 1,000
duck hunters in the Bay,

31:50.833 --> 31:53.166 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and that they
harvested 2,500 birds

31:53.166 --> 31:54.766 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
between them on that one day.

31:54.766 --> 31:58.033 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
And he was also interested
in where the birds went.

31:58.033 --> 32:00.666 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
So, he would do a lot of
catch and release banding.

32:00.666 --> 32:03.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And when the, especially
the Canada geese,

32:03.133 --> 32:06.466 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
were found with their leg
bands in South Carolina,

32:06.466 --> 32:10.133 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
wherever over time, you get
a list of 100 of these birds

32:10.133 --> 32:11.333 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
and where they were found,

32:11.333 --> 32:12.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
you begin to understand

32:12.466 --> 32:14.900 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
how the inland
waterway flyways work.

32:14.900 --> 32:17.900 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
And this was some of the very
earliest work in that respect.

32:19.266 --> 32:21.466 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
They also did a lot of
work with deer populations.

32:21.466 --> 32:24.566 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
At one time, they had over
300 deer on the island.

32:24.566 --> 32:26.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
They did a lot of catch
and release there too.

32:26.666 --> 32:30.233 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
And from that, they determined
that about a 10 mile radius,

32:30.233 --> 32:31.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
if you took a deer
more than 10 miles away

32:31.833 --> 32:33.033 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
from where it started,

32:33.033 --> 32:34.900 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
it probably would not
find its way back.

32:34.900 --> 32:37.033 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
But if you took him 'em miles
away, they probably would.

32:37.033 --> 32:41.333 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
They also transported deer to
many of the islands of Maine.

32:41.333 --> 32:42.866 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

32:42.866 --> 32:46.100 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
His wife, Polly, was, I don't
think she was five feet tall.

32:46.100 --> 32:48.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Steve Powell never had children.

32:48.033 --> 32:50.533 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
He raised them
Springer Spaniels.

32:50.533 --> 32:53.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
They did raise the first
male moose ever raised

32:53.366 --> 32:57.100 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
in captivity out
there in '48 and '49.

32:57.100 --> 32:59.966 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
Jerry, the moose,
was brought there.

32:59.966 --> 33:01.966 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
His mother was killed
when he was hours old

33:01.966 --> 33:04.766 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
by a logging truck
up in Northern Maine.

33:04.766 --> 33:06.533 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
He was raised there
for two years.

33:06.533 --> 33:08.633 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
He didn't know he was a moose.

33:08.633 --> 33:10.600 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Whenever any of the
men would come around

33:10.600 --> 33:12.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
with cigarettes in their pocket,

33:12.033 --> 33:14.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
he would try and flip the
cigarette pack out of the pocket

33:14.233 --> 33:16.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
'cause he liked eating tobacco.

33:16.500 --> 33:19.300 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
- Powell and and his wife,
Polly, lived on Swan Island

33:19.300 --> 33:22.600 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
from 1945 until 1951.

33:22.600 --> 33:24.500 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
After six years
of island living,

33:24.500 --> 33:27.166 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Steve and Polly moved
ashore to Greenpoint Farm

33:27.166 --> 33:32.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
in nearby Dresden and began
growing strawberries and apples.

33:32.133 --> 33:36.733 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
- [Jay] At that time, Steve
purchased the land in Dresden

33:36.733 --> 33:40.066 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
that's now Greenpoint,
and he expanded the land.

33:40.066 --> 33:43.266 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
He did some orcharding,
he did some berry growing.

33:43.266 --> 33:47.100 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Greenpoint now is also a
wildlife management area,

33:47.100 --> 33:48.533 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
a little separate
from Swan Island,

33:48.533 --> 33:50.433 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
but really part of
the whole thing.

33:50.433 --> 33:53.300 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Steve Powell later
ended up managing all

33:53.300 --> 33:56.300 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
of the state wildlife
management areas in Maine.

34:03.233 --> 34:05.900 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

34:14.033 --> 34:16.000 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- [Katherine]
Powell died in 1971.

34:16.000 --> 34:18.800 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
And the Steve Powell
Wildlife Management Preserve

34:18.800 --> 34:20.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
was named in his honor.

34:27.400 --> 34:30.166 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
(birds chirping)

34:37.866 --> 34:40.700 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
(water splashing)

34:42.366 --> 34:46.566 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
Federal aid to wildlife
restoration funding
enabled the ISW

34:46.566 --> 34:50.466 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
to begin buying the farms on
the island in the early 1940s.

34:52.466 --> 34:54.200 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
By the early 1950s,

34:54.200 --> 34:56.333 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
the only remaining
piece of private land

34:56.333 --> 34:57.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
was the Curtis Cemetery.

35:54.266 --> 35:56.933 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

36:00.133 --> 36:03.866 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Wildlife, water fowl, and
fish continue to thrive here

36:03.866 --> 36:06.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
long after the island was
acquired by the state of Maine.

36:08.500 --> 36:10.833 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
Today's Kennebec
River is a far cry

36:10.833 --> 36:14.366 align:left position:22.5% line:77% size:67.5%
from the polluted,
industrialized
waterway of yesterday.

36:16.000 --> 36:17.633 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
Native species, like sturgeon,

36:17.633 --> 36:20.033 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
have seen their populations
come back strong

36:20.033 --> 36:21.233 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
in recent years.

36:21.233 --> 36:23.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And the eagle
population has rebounded

36:23.600 --> 36:27.100 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
from a time when they
faced near extinction.

36:27.100 --> 36:29.700 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- Every single one of
the anadromous fish,

36:29.700 --> 36:33.100 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
which are fish that returned
to the river to spawn,

36:33.100 --> 36:34.566 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
I think there are 13 of them,

36:34.566 --> 36:36.966 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
every one of those is found
in the Kennebec flowage

36:36.966 --> 36:39.800 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
and the numbers have greatly
increased for a lot of them,

36:39.800 --> 36:42.233 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
especially with the removal of
the Edwards dam and Augusta,

36:42.233 --> 36:45.566 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and then the first dam
on the Sebasticook.

36:45.566 --> 36:47.866 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
So, the numbers
have gone way up.

36:47.866 --> 36:49.566 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
The sturgeon are
still pretty strong.

36:49.566 --> 36:51.000 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
When we go out on
the Merrymeeting,

36:51.000 --> 36:53.333 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
the Maine Maritime's boat,

36:53.333 --> 36:55.033 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
we often see the
sturgeon jumping.

36:56.733 --> 36:59.233 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
- The English that
came up the river,

36:59.233 --> 37:04.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
that's why they came up the
river for furs and for the fish.

37:05.633 --> 37:09.233 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
And there were sturgeon
and there were cod and the,

37:09.233 --> 37:12.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
it was prolific with huge fish.

37:12.133 --> 37:14.333 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
They weren't just
what we know today.

37:14.333 --> 37:19.333 align:left position:22.5% line:77% size:67.5%
There were 14 to 16
foot sturgeon out
there in that water.

37:20.466 --> 37:22.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And I have gone kayaking
over to that island.

37:22.300 --> 37:25.933 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
And I know my kayak
is nine feet long.

37:25.933 --> 37:30.433 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
There was a sturgeon, I was
paddling back to the landing,

37:30.433 --> 37:34.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and that jumped and
they belly flopped down,

37:34.600 --> 37:36.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and it rocked my kayak.

37:36.900 --> 37:40.133 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
It was so close and
I paddled so fast,

37:40.133 --> 37:42.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
you could see a rooster
tail behind my kayak.

37:42.266 --> 37:43.466 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
I swear (laughs).

38:06.100 --> 38:08.766 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

38:11.733 --> 38:14.600 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- [Katherine] In 1995,
Swan Island was added

38:14.600 --> 38:17.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
to the National Register
of Historic Places.

38:18.766 --> 38:22.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Today, the island attracts three
to 4,000 visitors each year

38:22.933 --> 38:25.833 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
and continues to function
as a wildlife sanctuary

38:25.833 --> 38:30.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
for migrating water fowl,
turkeys, bald eagles, and deer.

38:32.633 --> 38:34.300 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
For today's casual visitor,

38:34.300 --> 38:37.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Swan Island offers
miles of pleasant hiking

38:37.233 --> 38:39.233 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
and exploring opportunities.

38:41.300 --> 38:44.100 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Kayaking and canoeing
are also popular here.

38:44.100 --> 38:45.700 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65%
But be forewarned,

38:45.700 --> 38:48.933 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
paddling this stretch of
the Kennebec takes stamina.

38:48.933 --> 38:50.666 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
The river here is tidal.

38:50.666 --> 38:52.633 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
And if you don't time
your trip carefully,

38:52.633 --> 38:54.566 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
you'll find yourself
struggling upstream

38:54.566 --> 38:57.300 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
against strong winds
and surging currents

38:57.300 --> 38:59.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
at various points
throughout your journey.

39:02.000 --> 39:03.233 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
For safety reasons,

39:03.233 --> 39:06.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
visitors are advised to
be on guard for ticks.

39:06.266 --> 39:09.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Swan Island is primarily
a wildlife preserve

39:09.166 --> 39:11.100 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
and precautions are necessary.

39:12.700 --> 39:15.266 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

39:34.033 --> 39:36.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
The Old Perkins
Highway, as it is known,

39:36.233 --> 39:39.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
remains the main transportation
corridor of the island.

39:41.733 --> 39:44.533 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
The beaver pond, a
traditional corn crib,

39:44.533 --> 39:46.333 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
and the wildlife viewing tower

39:46.333 --> 39:47.833 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
are just a few of the island's

39:47.833 --> 39:51.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
more popular tourist attractions
found along the highway.

39:51.866 --> 39:54.933 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
And fishing is allowed on
the island's largest pond.

39:57.233 --> 39:59.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Today, nature has reclaimed much

39:59.766 --> 40:02.166 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
of what was once a
thriving village,

40:02.166 --> 40:05.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but mysterious reminders
of a bygone era

40:05.066 --> 40:07.866 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
can still be seen
all over the island.

40:10.166 --> 40:12.966 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
The quiet stillness of
the island's landscape

40:12.966 --> 40:16.366 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
carries faint whispers of
another time and place,

40:16.366 --> 40:19.133 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
an island village
lost to the ages.

40:24.666 --> 40:28.400 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Swan Island is open from
May 15th until mid-October.

40:30.333 --> 40:34.066 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Visitors can access Swan
Island by ferry from Richmond.

40:34.066 --> 40:36.633 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
The ride from the town of
Richmond landing takes less

40:36.633 --> 40:37.866 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
than 10 minutes.

40:39.966 --> 40:43.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Swan Island is the only
wildlife management area

40:43.433 --> 40:46.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
in the state of Maine
that allows for camping.

40:46.366 --> 40:50.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
10 Adirondack type shelters are
available for overnight use,

40:50.466 --> 40:52.133 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
and clean, safe drinking water

40:52.133 --> 40:55.033 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
and modern bathroom
facilities are also available.

40:56.266 --> 40:57.733 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
Hundreds of school groups

40:57.733 --> 40:59.900 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
have visited the
island over the years,

40:59.900 --> 41:02.066 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and the boat house
serves as a classroom

41:02.066 --> 41:03.766 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
for visitors, young and old.

41:13.800 --> 41:16.466 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

41:22.233 --> 41:24.500 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
In the 1950s and '60s.

41:24.500 --> 41:28.033 align:left position:22.5% line:77% size:67.5%
Terri Blen Parker's
grandparents, Parker
and Marian Blen,

41:28.033 --> 41:30.933 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
served as caretakers
on the island.

41:30.933 --> 41:32.100 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
In her younger years,

41:32.100 --> 41:35.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Terri struggled serious
health problems,

41:35.000 --> 41:38.700 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
and the island was a healing
place where she was loved,

41:38.700 --> 41:40.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
cared for and nurtured.

41:40.933 --> 41:43.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- I had a rare bone
disease that was similar

41:43.766 --> 41:45.500 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
to Polio as a child.

41:45.500 --> 41:49.933 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
And I was diagnosed at four
as being terminal by age 10.

41:49.933 --> 41:53.000 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Sometimes, I would lay on a
blanket out there and read,

41:53.000 --> 41:57.966 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
and deer would come
up to me, up to me.

41:59.666 --> 42:01.533 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
And so, I thought that
was pretty special.

42:01.533 --> 42:05.633 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
And I felt like I was
in a magical place.

42:05.633 --> 42:08.900 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
How many kids do you know
that have a deer for a pet?

42:08.900 --> 42:10.933 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
There would be days I
would go out and read,

42:10.933 --> 42:13.766 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
sometimes under the pine
tree out back of the house,

42:13.766 --> 42:16.400 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
or I'd go read in the
field or something.

42:16.400 --> 42:19.866 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Always animals would come
up to me within a half hour.

42:19.866 --> 42:23.233 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
And I think it's just
because the scent

42:23.233 --> 42:25.300 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
was familiar to them.

42:25.300 --> 42:28.933 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
I lived there, I rarely left
and I played outside a lot.

42:28.933 --> 42:33.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So, I must have had
the scent of the fields

42:33.066 --> 42:34.933 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
and the trees and
the pine needles,

42:34.933 --> 42:37.733 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
because they didn't
seem to shy at all.

42:37.733 --> 42:41.333 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Oh my goodness, raccoons,
I had a pet raccoon.

42:41.333 --> 42:45.100 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
I was immersed in that
natural environment,

42:45.100 --> 42:48.533 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
and so ill that I just sucked

42:48.533 --> 42:50.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
in all the goodness I could get.

42:50.766 --> 42:52.200 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
And I think that's
what helped me,

42:52.200 --> 42:54.766 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
that and my grandparents'
love and patience.

42:54.766 --> 42:58.666 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
I'm beyond age 10 and here
I am, that's pretty magical.

42:58.666 --> 43:00.733 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
So, that is my magical island.

43:04.533 --> 43:07.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- I refer to myself as
a place-based historian.

43:07.700 --> 43:10.166 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
I actually was an English and
environmental studies major

43:10.166 --> 43:13.066 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
at Bowden, Bowden's first
environmental studies major.

43:13.933 --> 43:15.400 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5%
But when I got out,

43:15.400 --> 43:17.866 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
I got really involved
with doing family history,

43:18.733 --> 43:21.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and I've been doing that my own

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and for clients for
many years since then.

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But I came to realize that
if you take a physical place,

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an island, a building, a town,

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and look at it
chronologically through time,

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then you see real people
doing real things.

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And you can really picture
how life was for those people.

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Swan Island is one of those
places that I go out on

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and I have a particularly
strong sense of place.

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What is that based in?

43:50.400 --> 43:53.500 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
Historical association, energy
coming from the earth itself?

43:53.500 --> 43:57.266 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
I can't tell you, but
it's always been a place,

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when I'm out there,

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there's just there's
no place I'd rather be.

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And again, I can't explain that.

44:33.533 --> 44:36.200 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)

44:49.466 --> 44:51.133 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
- [Katherine] No one
really knows what tomorrow

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has in mind for this historic
and much love island.

44:54.966 --> 44:56.633 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
- [Jay] There are some
really severe restrictions

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on what can go on on the island.

44:58.933 --> 45:00.866 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
So the challenge is is
to come up with the money

45:00.866 --> 45:02.533 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5%
to put the buildings in use.

45:02.533 --> 45:06.400 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
The big plan was to take the
Gardiner Dumaresq salt box,

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which is at the campground

45:07.633 --> 45:09.700 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
where a lot of the
programming is,

45:09.700 --> 45:11.366 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
and make that into
a visitor center

45:11.366 --> 45:13.966 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
to be able to tell some of
the stories of the island

45:13.966 --> 45:15.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and of the environment.

45:15.333 --> 45:18.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
In terms of the state
ever doing away with it,

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I don't see it happening.

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Now, it is possible the state
could shut down tending it.

45:23.300 --> 45:24.766 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
They could shut down
the camp ground.

45:24.766 --> 45:27.400 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
They could stop doing wildlife
management on the island.

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But would they sell it?

45:29.033 --> 45:31.333 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
No, I don't see
that ever changing.

45:31.333 --> 45:33.500 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
It will always be
wildlife management area.

45:37.466 --> 45:39.066 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
- [Katherine] When
you visit Swan Island,

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you're on sacred ground.

45:41.766 --> 45:44.833 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
Take to the woods, waters
and trails found here

45:44.833 --> 45:47.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and explore the wonders
of this culturally

45:47.233 --> 45:49.733 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
and historically
significant place.

45:51.066 --> 45:55.166 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
And never forget the island's
centuries old history.

45:55.166 --> 45:57.900 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
Your visit honors
generations of gritty,

45:57.900 --> 46:00.866 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
hardworking islanders that
once gave it their all

46:00.866 --> 46:05.533 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75%
to survive here, hearty,
resilient souls dedicated

46:05.533 --> 46:08.766 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
to creating a life for
themselves and their families

46:08.766 --> 46:12.033 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
on this most uniquely
beautiful and peaceful island

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on the Kennebec River.

46:16.433 --> 46:19.933 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
You can let your
imagination roam free here.

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Who were these islanders?

46:21.933 --> 46:26.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
What kind of challenges did
they face in their daily lives?

46:26.000 --> 46:28.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
All of the joys,
struggles and hardships

46:28.700 --> 46:33.033 align:left position:22.5% line:77% size:67.5%
of their island years
are forever lost in
the mists of time.

46:40.200 --> 46:42.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
As you explore the sacred place,

46:42.533 --> 46:45.500 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5%
observe your
surroundings closely,

46:45.500 --> 46:48.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
pause and take a moment
to look at the sky,

46:48.833 --> 46:51.233 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65%
soaring high above
the ancient pines

46:51.233 --> 46:53.100 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75%
and the wide open fields,

46:53.100 --> 46:55.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
you may very well see reminders

46:55.133 --> 46:59.900 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5%
of a cherished place Native
Americans once knew Sowangen,

46:59.900 --> 47:03.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
the legendary Island of Eagles.

47:03.200 --> 47:05.866 align:left position:32.5% line:89% size:57.5%
(placid music)