1 00:00:01,933 --> 00:00:04,666 (waves crashing) 2 00:00:15,866 --> 00:00:18,533 (placid music) 3 00:00:19,966 --> 00:00:22,233 - [Katherine] The state of Maine has 2,400 islands 4 00:00:22,233 --> 00:00:24,033 that are at least an acre in size, 5 00:00:24,033 --> 00:00:28,033 scattered across nearly 3,500 miles of coastline. 6 00:00:29,466 --> 00:00:32,300 That's more islands than the entire rest of the East coast 7 00:00:32,300 --> 00:00:34,333 of the United States. 8 00:00:34,333 --> 00:00:37,266 These rugged coastal islands are the crown jewels 9 00:00:37,266 --> 00:00:39,900 of Maine's jagged granite shoreline, 10 00:00:39,900 --> 00:00:42,766 isolated places where generations of families 11 00:00:42,766 --> 00:00:46,033 have carved out a living from the ocean and the land. 12 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:49,666 Maine also has significant numbers 13 00:00:49,666 --> 00:00:52,700 of historic islands on our lakes and rivers, 14 00:00:52,700 --> 00:00:55,866 most notably Fry Island on Sebago Lake 15 00:00:55,866 --> 00:00:58,266 and Swan Island on the Kennebec River. 16 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,533 Swan Island is actually comprised of two islands, 17 00:01:03,533 --> 00:01:05,066 the larger island, 18 00:01:05,066 --> 00:01:07,766 and a second smaller Island known as little Swan Island. 19 00:01:09,333 --> 00:01:11,200 Swan Island is often confused 20 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,933 with Swan's Island off the coast of Acadia National Park, 21 00:01:14,933 --> 00:01:17,600 but they are distinctly different places. 22 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,433 Swan Island is located at the head of Merrymeeting Bay, 23 00:01:22,433 --> 00:01:25,500 20 miles up the Kennebec River from Fort Popham 24 00:01:25,500 --> 00:01:27,733 in the coastal town of Phippsburg, 25 00:01:27,733 --> 00:01:30,433 and 10 miles North of Bath Iron Works, 26 00:01:30,433 --> 00:01:32,300 Maine's largest employer. 27 00:01:34,666 --> 00:01:37,400 Swan Island rests between the central Maine towns 28 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:39,766 of Dresden and Richmond. 29 00:01:39,766 --> 00:01:41,966 The island measures four miles long 30 00:01:41,966 --> 00:01:44,966 and is comprised of 900 acres of forest 31 00:01:44,966 --> 00:01:47,133 and 400 acres of fields. 32 00:01:48,866 --> 00:01:51,100 Swan Island is unusual in part 33 00:01:51,100 --> 00:01:54,100 because of the rare intertidal plants found here. 34 00:01:55,333 --> 00:01:57,466 Shoreline grasses located primarily 35 00:01:57,466 --> 00:01:59,366 around the Southern end of Swan Island 36 00:01:59,366 --> 00:02:03,100 were once an important food staple for Native Americans. 37 00:02:03,100 --> 00:02:04,800 - The Kennebec River above the chops, 38 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,566 so all of Merrymeeting Bay up is fresh water, 39 00:02:07,566 --> 00:02:09,066 yet it's tidal. 40 00:02:09,066 --> 00:02:11,433 So, when you have a four and a half to seven foot tide, 41 00:02:11,433 --> 00:02:14,200 you have a lot of water plants that are not found elsewhere. 42 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:16,900 For instance, throughout Merrymeeting Bay, 43 00:02:16,900 --> 00:02:20,133 probably the predominant grass is wild rice, 44 00:02:20,133 --> 00:02:21,666 and it is edible. 45 00:02:21,666 --> 00:02:23,366 The only other place that grows in the United States 46 00:02:23,366 --> 00:02:24,700 is in Minnesota. 47 00:02:24,700 --> 00:02:26,766 That was a staple for the Native Americans 48 00:02:26,766 --> 00:02:29,600 and also for all the migratory waterfowl. 49 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,166 But there used to be in the 1950s, 50 00:02:33,166 --> 00:02:37,300 there would be as many as 30,000 ducks on the Bay at a time. 51 00:02:37,300 --> 00:02:38,800 So, you can see why the natives 52 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,033 would call a Merrymeeting Bay "Duck water place". 53 00:02:42,700 --> 00:02:43,933 - [Katherine] The Kennebec River once served 54 00:02:43,933 --> 00:02:45,466 as the major connecting point 55 00:02:45,466 --> 00:02:49,266 for all Native Americans living up and down Maine's coast. 56 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,900 Merrymeeting Bay was important to Native Americans. 57 00:02:53,900 --> 00:02:57,566 The Bay is located at the confluence of six Maine rivers, 58 00:02:57,566 --> 00:03:01,633 making it a vital transportation corridor for centuries. 59 00:03:01,633 --> 00:03:04,300 - [Jay] Starting about 9,000 years ago, 60 00:03:04,300 --> 00:03:06,733 basically the head of Little Swan Island connecting 61 00:03:06,733 --> 00:03:09,466 to the Dresden shore was the head of tide, 62 00:03:09,466 --> 00:03:10,933 that was the falls. 63 00:03:10,933 --> 00:03:12,466 And on the Dresden shore, 64 00:03:12,466 --> 00:03:15,766 there was a fishing station from the middle archaic period 65 00:03:15,766 --> 00:03:20,433 up through, so from 9,000 years ago, 'til 4,500 years ago. 66 00:03:20,433 --> 00:03:24,133 That's probably why the Swan Island area is so important 67 00:03:24,133 --> 00:03:26,200 to the Native Americans through history. 68 00:03:27,533 --> 00:03:30,766 There were several different groups 69 00:03:30,766 --> 00:03:33,033 of Native Americans in this area. 70 00:03:33,033 --> 00:03:37,933 The Eastern Abenaki were the, probably for the most part, 71 00:03:37,933 --> 00:03:40,933 those groups that were found on the Kennebec, 72 00:03:40,933 --> 00:03:44,300 and they were known by their primary settlement. 73 00:03:44,300 --> 00:03:46,800 So, the Kennebeci would have been the natives 74 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:48,433 in this part of the flowage. 75 00:03:48,433 --> 00:03:50,066 So, basically from Swan Island, 76 00:03:50,066 --> 00:03:53,900 probably up to Augusta would have been the Kennebeci's. 77 00:03:53,900 --> 00:03:55,533 Then when you got up further up river 78 00:03:55,533 --> 00:03:58,200 above Waterville, Winslow, you'd have the Norridgewocks. 79 00:03:58,200 --> 00:03:59,733 But they were all interrelated. 80 00:04:00,866 --> 00:04:04,166 (placid music) 81 00:04:04,166 --> 00:04:07,000 (eagle squawking) 82 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:17,100 - [Katherine] The remains of a stone fortress, 83 00:04:17,100 --> 00:04:19,566 possibly a trading or command post, 84 00:04:19,566 --> 00:04:24,233 could still be found on Little Swan Island as late as 1897. 85 00:04:26,900 --> 00:04:29,900 Archeological digs have uncovered pottery shards 86 00:04:29,900 --> 00:04:31,833 and stone tools on Swan Island, 87 00:04:31,833 --> 00:04:35,766 going back an estimated 500 to 1,500 years. 88 00:04:37,633 --> 00:04:39,100 (machine rattling) 89 00:04:39,100 --> 00:04:42,466 Prior to the industrialization bloom of the 19th century, 90 00:04:42,466 --> 00:04:46,200 the river was teaming with shad, sturgeon and salmon. 91 00:04:48,133 --> 00:04:49,700 Historical accounts vary, 92 00:04:49,700 --> 00:04:52,866 but some believe Swan Island was named for migrating swans 93 00:04:52,866 --> 00:04:55,400 said to have sought refuge here. 94 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:57,866 Others believe the name is short for "sowangen", 95 00:04:59,033 --> 00:05:02,300 the Abenaki word for Island of Eagles. 96 00:05:02,300 --> 00:05:07,300 - Sowangen is an Abenaki word that they used 97 00:05:08,166 --> 00:05:10,100 to describe those two islands. 98 00:05:10,100 --> 00:05:13,933 Now, the end of that word, "sowangen", 99 00:05:13,933 --> 00:05:18,566 that "gen" denotes tribe or band. 100 00:05:18,566 --> 00:05:22,366 So, the full name means tribe or band 101 00:05:22,366 --> 00:05:25,966 of natives living on the Island of Eagles. 102 00:05:27,333 --> 00:05:29,900 (placid music) 103 00:05:32,866 --> 00:05:34,966 - [Katherine] Europeans arrived on Swan Island 104 00:05:34,966 --> 00:05:37,600 in the 17th century and made several attempts 105 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,366 to form a village. 106 00:05:39,366 --> 00:05:42,433 They were not, as commonly believed, 107 00:05:42,433 --> 00:05:44,000 fleeing religious persecution. 108 00:05:45,666 --> 00:05:49,233 Settlers came here to acquire land, enrich themselves 109 00:05:49,233 --> 00:05:52,100 and make money for those who financed their voyages. 110 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:02,366 A group of Boston investors known 111 00:06:02,366 --> 00:06:04,066 as the Pejepscot Proprietors 112 00:06:04,066 --> 00:06:07,500 had their sights set on Swan Island and the surrounding land 113 00:06:07,500 --> 00:06:09,933 because they wanted the resources found here, 114 00:06:09,933 --> 00:06:12,533 namely timber, fur, and fish. 115 00:06:12,533 --> 00:06:17,466 - [Terri] The proprietors were interested in land. 116 00:06:17,466 --> 00:06:22,466 So, they got together and pooled their money 117 00:06:23,866 --> 00:06:27,266 to buy what they thought was Northern Massachusetts. 118 00:06:28,966 --> 00:06:33,900 One of the places that had been known since 1607 119 00:06:33,900 --> 00:06:37,533 was the Kennebec River and that there was an island up there 120 00:06:37,533 --> 00:06:42,333 and it was a rich, fertile island for planting. 121 00:06:42,333 --> 00:06:46,833 So, they came up the river to go to that island. 122 00:06:46,833 --> 00:06:49,233 - Most of the settlers they brought in were Scots Irish. 123 00:06:49,233 --> 00:06:51,366 They were really Scotsmen 124 00:06:51,366 --> 00:06:53,133 who had been driven out of Scotland, 125 00:06:53,133 --> 00:06:55,333 were living in Northern Ireland and then came here. 126 00:06:55,333 --> 00:06:59,166 And they were mostly Presbytarian, they were not Catholic. 127 00:06:59,166 --> 00:07:01,000 So, Boston didn't know what to do with them. 128 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,133 So, they shipped those people up here to be on the border 129 00:07:04,133 --> 00:07:07,366 between white settlement and the French and Indians. 130 00:07:08,666 --> 00:07:10,566 There was a lot of conflicting ownership then, 131 00:07:10,566 --> 00:07:12,433 but before anything really happened, 132 00:07:12,433 --> 00:07:13,633 we had King Philip's War, 133 00:07:13,633 --> 00:07:15,733 the first of the Native American Wars 134 00:07:15,733 --> 00:07:17,433 with the Native Americans. 135 00:07:17,433 --> 00:07:20,433 And at that time, all the Merrymeeting Bay was cleared out, 136 00:07:20,433 --> 00:07:21,666 everything down to Bath. 137 00:07:21,666 --> 00:07:24,500 In fact, all whites were basically driven down 138 00:07:24,500 --> 00:07:27,666 to the Saska area, and in 1722, '23, 139 00:07:29,266 --> 00:07:32,800 between 40 and 60 canoe loads of Native Americans came in, 140 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,133 burnt the houses, killed the cattle, 141 00:07:35,133 --> 00:07:37,700 let the women and children walk to Boston. 142 00:07:37,700 --> 00:07:40,233 took five of the key men back up to Canada, 143 00:07:40,233 --> 00:07:43,533 let them go and said, "When you walk by Merrymeeting Bay, 144 00:07:43,533 --> 00:07:44,766 "don't turn and look behind you. 145 00:07:44,766 --> 00:07:46,700 "'Cause you're not gonna be back here again." 146 00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:48,700 But at that time, they left people 147 00:07:48,700 --> 00:07:52,866 in a fortified garrison house on Swan Island 148 00:07:52,866 --> 00:07:55,800 and also Fort Richmond, the beginnings were just at the, 149 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,066 on the Richmond shore at the head of the island. 150 00:07:59,366 --> 00:08:00,900 - [Katherine] Tensions and hostilities 151 00:08:00,900 --> 00:08:02,666 between Maine's native population 152 00:08:02,666 --> 00:08:06,500 and the colonists exploded into open warfare before, 153 00:08:06,500 --> 00:08:10,200 during and after King Philip's War in 1675. 154 00:08:11,533 --> 00:08:14,133 Native rights were not respected and treaties 155 00:08:14,133 --> 00:08:17,466 between the Abenaki and English were routinely broken. 156 00:08:18,933 --> 00:08:21,833 Native people were alarmed by the increasing numbers 157 00:08:21,833 --> 00:08:24,933 of settlers laying claim to their ancestral land 158 00:08:24,933 --> 00:08:28,100 and pushed back against this incursion. 159 00:08:28,100 --> 00:08:32,133 Raids became so common in the late 1600s and 1700s 160 00:08:32,133 --> 00:08:34,933 that Massachusetts agreed to build a protective garrison 161 00:08:34,933 --> 00:08:37,400 on the Richmond side of the river. 162 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:39,866 Fort Richmond was constructed on the riverbank, 163 00:08:39,866 --> 00:08:43,066 overlooking both channels of the Kennebec River. 164 00:08:43,066 --> 00:08:46,366 The Fort is long gone, but at the time of its construction, 165 00:08:46,366 --> 00:08:49,033 the structure boldly demonstrated that the English 166 00:08:49,033 --> 00:08:51,366 would continue to promote settlement, 167 00:08:51,366 --> 00:08:53,633 ensure safety for the colonists 168 00:08:53,633 --> 00:08:57,466 and satisfy the wishes of the Pejepscot Proprietors. 169 00:08:57,466 --> 00:08:59,400 And the fort's commanding presence 170 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,400 helped reassure nervous settlers they'd have protection 171 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,533 if they set down roots on or around Swan Island. 172 00:09:09,666 --> 00:09:13,333 Attacks on settlers continued well into the 18th century 173 00:09:13,333 --> 00:09:15,466 until the native people were overwhelmed 174 00:09:15,466 --> 00:09:17,866 by the sheer number of new arrivals. 175 00:09:19,033 --> 00:09:21,600 Colonists were intent on acquiring land here, 176 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:25,333 often at great danger to themselves and their families. 177 00:09:26,700 --> 00:09:30,133 In 1750, Captain James Whidden lived on Swan Island 178 00:09:30,133 --> 00:09:32,966 with his family, all of whom were later captured 179 00:09:32,966 --> 00:09:36,333 and brought unharmed to Canada by Native Americans 180 00:09:36,333 --> 00:09:38,733 determined to defend their homeland. 181 00:09:39,666 --> 00:09:41,633 (dramatic music) Tragically, 182 00:09:41,633 --> 00:09:44,233 most Native Americans were eventually forced 183 00:09:44,233 --> 00:09:47,133 to move on to Quebec, or they were assimilated 184 00:09:47,133 --> 00:09:49,400 into the Penobscot tribes, 185 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,433 their lives forever upended by the avarice 186 00:09:52,433 --> 00:09:55,800 and greed of European land speculators. 187 00:10:14,733 --> 00:10:17,400 (placid music) 188 00:10:21,133 --> 00:10:24,500 The first European settlers to firmly establish themselves 189 00:10:24,500 --> 00:10:26,766 on the island came in the late 17th 190 00:10:26,766 --> 00:10:28,800 and early 18th centuries. 191 00:10:30,166 --> 00:10:33,233 Some came simply to claim land for themselves. 192 00:10:33,233 --> 00:10:35,166 The level ground and fertile soil 193 00:10:35,166 --> 00:10:37,666 on the island provided a solid foundation 194 00:10:37,666 --> 00:10:40,366 for growing a wide variety of crops, 195 00:10:40,366 --> 00:10:42,700 including corn, oats and wheat. 196 00:10:43,966 --> 00:10:48,833 By 1766, Swan Island had 18 recorded inhabitants 197 00:10:48,833 --> 00:10:51,433 and a colonial village began to take shape. 198 00:10:52,733 --> 00:10:54,833 For visitors and historians alike, 199 00:10:54,833 --> 00:10:57,233 Swan Island is uniquely fascinating 200 00:10:57,233 --> 00:10:59,900 because it represents something almost unheard 201 00:10:59,900 --> 00:11:01,133 of in New England, 202 00:11:02,266 --> 00:11:05,366 a once thriving town that gradually vanished, 203 00:11:05,366 --> 00:11:09,633 an East coast version of an old West ghost town. 204 00:11:09,633 --> 00:11:12,200 (placid music) 205 00:12:08,466 --> 00:12:11,133 (placid music) 206 00:12:14,533 --> 00:12:17,366 Swan Island was once part of the town of Dresden, 207 00:12:17,366 --> 00:12:19,533 but due to a dispute over taxes, 208 00:12:19,533 --> 00:12:22,900 the island broke free of the mainland in 1847 209 00:12:22,900 --> 00:12:25,833 and became the independent town of Perkins. 210 00:12:26,966 --> 00:12:29,300 Perkins was named after Thomas Perkins, 211 00:12:29,300 --> 00:12:32,033 a wealthy Boston philanthropist and summer resident 212 00:12:32,033 --> 00:12:34,233 who paid for the town's incorporation. 213 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,600 - The residents on Swan Island decided 214 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,300 that they wanted to be their own entity. 215 00:12:41,300 --> 00:12:45,266 So, they pulled back from the governance of Dresden 216 00:12:45,266 --> 00:12:48,166 and became their own incorporated town. 217 00:12:48,166 --> 00:12:53,133 And the town was named after Thomas Handasyd Perkins, 218 00:12:54,633 --> 00:12:57,533 who put the money up and it may have only been 50 bucks, 219 00:12:57,533 --> 00:12:59,866 but he was the richest guy on the island 220 00:12:59,866 --> 00:13:03,500 and had the passion to want that town to begin. 221 00:13:03,500 --> 00:13:06,033 So, that's what he did. 222 00:13:06,033 --> 00:13:07,500 - [Katherine] Thomas Perkins was introduced 223 00:13:07,500 --> 00:13:10,633 to Swan Island in the 1820s by his wife, Jane. 224 00:13:11,766 --> 00:13:14,066 Perkins was instrumental in the establishment 225 00:13:14,066 --> 00:13:16,800 of the township, but he was best known 226 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:18,433 for the role he played in the support 227 00:13:18,433 --> 00:13:22,066 of the first school for the blind in Boston, Massachusetts, 228 00:13:22,066 --> 00:13:24,200 a school attended by Helen Keller 229 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:26,166 and Anne Sullivan among others. 230 00:13:27,333 --> 00:13:29,133 He also played a role in the construction 231 00:13:29,133 --> 00:13:32,100 of the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston, 232 00:13:32,100 --> 00:13:34,800 and the four mile long road linking the North end 233 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:36,266 of Swan Island to the South 234 00:13:36,266 --> 00:13:39,000 is named Perkins Highway in his memory. 235 00:13:40,066 --> 00:13:42,733 But Perkins had a darker side. 236 00:13:42,733 --> 00:13:44,600 Great wealth and philanthropy 237 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:48,166 often concealed an imperfect past. 238 00:13:48,166 --> 00:13:51,500 His fortune was based in part on his active involvement 239 00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:53,866 with the opium and slave trades. 240 00:13:57,733 --> 00:13:59,000 (placid music) 241 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,000 By the second half of the 19th century, 242 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,833 regular ferry service to Richmond had been established, 243 00:14:03,833 --> 00:14:07,133 making transportation to and from Dresden and Richmond, 244 00:14:07,133 --> 00:14:09,300 and thus the island, much easier. 245 00:14:10,433 --> 00:14:12,800 At one time, as many as 20 homes 246 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:14,700 could be found on Swan Island. 247 00:14:17,100 --> 00:14:21,166 Today, only four of the original 18th and 19th century homes 248 00:14:21,166 --> 00:14:23,700 from the old town of Perkins's days remain standing 249 00:14:23,700 --> 00:14:26,433 on the island, along with one house built 250 00:14:26,433 --> 00:14:28,433 in the early 1900s that is used 251 00:14:28,433 --> 00:14:30,700 as a caretaker headquarters today. 252 00:14:32,700 --> 00:14:35,633 The first stop on your Swan Island tour leads you 253 00:14:35,633 --> 00:14:38,166 to the historic Tubbs-Reed House, 254 00:14:38,166 --> 00:14:40,566 located on the North end of the island. 255 00:14:41,833 --> 00:14:43,400 The Tubbs-Reed House was built 256 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,000 in the federal style just after 1800 257 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,766 by Major Samuel Tubbs of Berkley, Massachusetts. 258 00:14:49,766 --> 00:14:51,466 Tubbs was commissioned as a major 259 00:14:51,466 --> 00:14:53,633 in the Massachusetts militia in 1776. 260 00:14:55,933 --> 00:15:00,366 - Samual Tubbs brought some of his cronies up here 261 00:15:00,366 --> 00:15:02,866 to build houses, start sawmills, 262 00:15:02,866 --> 00:15:07,566 start grain grinding mills just to populate the area. 263 00:15:07,566 --> 00:15:11,933 And there were conditions on the rental of his properties. 264 00:15:11,933 --> 00:15:14,333 He would call somebody up here, 265 00:15:14,333 --> 00:15:19,333 pay their moving expenses and give them money and materials 266 00:15:20,466 --> 00:15:23,800 to build a house and then rent them the house 267 00:15:24,966 --> 00:15:28,433 while they worked for him at the sawmill. 268 00:15:28,433 --> 00:15:29,700 (blade scuffing) 269 00:15:29,700 --> 00:15:31,566 - So, it was really the forest products, 270 00:15:31,566 --> 00:15:35,266 the furs and the fisheries that were attractive 271 00:15:35,266 --> 00:15:37,000 to the whites, and of course, 272 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,466 if they could get enough people up here, 273 00:15:38,466 --> 00:15:41,300 then you could start selling the land as well. 274 00:15:41,300 --> 00:15:42,600 And the Kennebec proprietors, 275 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:44,000 the Pejepscot Proprietors, 276 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,700 the Clark and Lake Interests on the Kennebec, 277 00:15:46,700 --> 00:15:49,266 they were all out to make money. 278 00:15:49,266 --> 00:15:50,900 They weren't just looking for religious freedom. 279 00:15:50,900 --> 00:15:52,733 They were here for business purposes. 280 00:15:54,733 --> 00:15:59,733 - It was a pretty harsh delineation between that upper-class 281 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:02,000 of proprietors and the people 282 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,933 that populated the island initially. 283 00:16:04,933 --> 00:16:07,233 And then the proprietors, for example, 284 00:16:07,233 --> 00:16:11,766 Sylvester Gardiner, built what he'd said was a cottage 285 00:16:11,766 --> 00:16:13,533 for his daughter when she got married, 286 00:16:13,533 --> 00:16:16,833 and they lived there for a year or so, 287 00:16:16,833 --> 00:16:18,800 and then they loved it so much, 288 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,733 they came to live and raise a family. 289 00:16:24,300 --> 00:16:25,866 - [Katherine] This saltbox style home 290 00:16:25,866 --> 00:16:29,833 was built by Sylvester Gardiner sometime around 1760, 291 00:16:29,833 --> 00:16:32,033 making it one of the oldest summer homes 292 00:16:32,033 --> 00:16:33,633 in all of New England. 293 00:16:35,133 --> 00:16:37,700 Gardiner built the home as a wedding gift for his daughter, 294 00:16:37,700 --> 00:16:40,233 Rebecca and her husband, Phillip Dumaresq. 295 00:16:41,566 --> 00:16:45,166 The couple used the home primarily as a summer residence. 296 00:16:45,166 --> 00:16:47,533 Gardiner was one of central Maine's earliest 297 00:16:47,533 --> 00:16:50,466 and most prominent colonial investors. 298 00:16:50,466 --> 00:16:54,533 He was an influential physician and land developer. 299 00:16:54,533 --> 00:16:56,966 Gardner was also known as a British loyalist 300 00:16:56,966 --> 00:17:00,533 who fled to Canada during the American revolution. 301 00:17:00,533 --> 00:17:03,333 The central Maine town that is today known as Gardiner, 302 00:17:03,333 --> 00:17:07,266 was named Gardiner's Town Plantation after him in 1754. 303 00:17:13,266 --> 00:17:16,100 (dramatic music) 304 00:17:17,966 --> 00:17:22,833 In later years, the Dumaresq family was consumed by tragedy. 305 00:17:22,833 --> 00:17:27,233 On September 4th, 1855, Margaret Dumaresq, 306 00:17:27,233 --> 00:17:29,333 her daughter and a family friend, 307 00:17:29,333 --> 00:17:33,133 Sarah Richards, drowned in the turbulent channel 308 00:17:33,133 --> 00:17:36,166 separating Swan Island from Little Swan Island. 309 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,300 Hearing the desperate cries of her daughter and her friend, 310 00:17:40,300 --> 00:17:43,133 Margaret jumped into the channel to try to save them. 311 00:17:43,133 --> 00:17:45,333 And all three women perished. 312 00:18:06,866 --> 00:18:09,700 (dramatic music) 313 00:18:13,966 --> 00:18:16,233 The historic record suggests Swan Island 314 00:18:16,233 --> 00:18:17,600 may have played a role 315 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,400 in one of the most noteworthy military debacles 316 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:22,700 in New England's colonial history. 317 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:27,533 The Arnold Expedition is the best known 318 00:18:27,533 --> 00:18:31,166 and most ill advised journey ever taken up the river. 319 00:18:32,633 --> 00:18:37,066 According to legend, during the fall and winter of 1775, 320 00:18:37,066 --> 00:18:41,033 Aaron Burr, General Henry Dearborn and Benedict Arnold 321 00:18:41,033 --> 00:18:43,766 were believed to have stopped on Swan Island. 322 00:18:43,766 --> 00:18:46,300 - [Jay] If you read any of the actual journals 323 00:18:46,300 --> 00:18:47,500 that were generated 324 00:18:47,500 --> 00:18:50,733 by the men in the Arnold Expedition in 1775, 325 00:18:50,733 --> 00:18:54,033 every single vessel ran aground on the sandbars. 326 00:18:54,033 --> 00:18:56,133 - They were on their way to pick up the bateaux 327 00:18:56,133 --> 00:18:58,133 that ended up being miserably inadequate. 328 00:18:58,133 --> 00:19:01,400 But I cannot imagine with that island right there, 329 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:03,000 that they wouldn't have stopped. 330 00:19:04,133 --> 00:19:05,366 - [Katherine] Aaron Burr was rumored 331 00:19:05,366 --> 00:19:07,300 to have spent the night on the island. 332 00:19:08,633 --> 00:19:11,666 From here, Arnold's ill-fated army of soldiers, 333 00:19:12,833 --> 00:19:15,200 1,100 of them at the outset of the journey, 334 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:19,933 paddled bateaux riverboats and marched 350 miles North 335 00:19:19,933 --> 00:19:23,433 on their infamously disastrous attempt to conquer Quebec. 336 00:19:24,866 --> 00:19:27,933 Burr went on to become Thomas Jefferson's vice-president, 337 00:19:27,933 --> 00:19:29,600 and Benedict Arnold remains one 338 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,266 of North America's most controversial political figures. 339 00:19:35,333 --> 00:19:36,833 The Arnold Expedition 340 00:19:36,833 --> 00:19:39,633 was given the romanticized historical fiction treatment 341 00:19:39,633 --> 00:19:41,533 in Kenneth Roberts's "Arundel", 342 00:19:41,533 --> 00:19:44,466 a highly regarded historical fiction novel focused 343 00:19:44,466 --> 00:19:46,166 on the gallantry and hubris 344 00:19:46,166 --> 00:19:48,866 of the revolutionary war years in Maine. 345 00:19:48,866 --> 00:19:50,933 (dramatic music) 346 00:19:50,933 --> 00:19:53,400 Roberts memorably described Swan Island 347 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,600 as, "A gem of the Kennebec" in a passage of his book. 348 00:19:57,933 --> 00:19:59,733 - [Narrator] "The lower head of Swan Island, 349 00:19:59,733 --> 00:20:02,000 "which is an island four miles long, 350 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:03,700 "points down into Merrymeeting Bay 351 00:20:03,700 --> 00:20:07,100 "like a broad head arrow with a broken tip. 352 00:20:07,100 --> 00:20:09,700 "The front edge of the headland was used as a lookout 353 00:20:09,700 --> 00:20:11,566 "by the Swan Island Indians, 354 00:20:11,566 --> 00:20:14,433 "who are Abenaki's, very friendly people 355 00:20:14,433 --> 00:20:16,366 "and part of the Kennebec tribe." 356 00:20:41,333 --> 00:20:43,966 (upbeat music) 357 00:20:47,900 --> 00:20:49,800 - [Katherine] The Swan Island of the 19th 358 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,366 and early 20th centuries gradually developed 359 00:20:52,366 --> 00:20:54,900 into a village comprised of resourceful men, 360 00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:56,200 women and children. 361 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:00,333 The island was a tranquil place, 362 00:21:00,333 --> 00:21:01,666 but life was challenging here. 363 00:21:01,666 --> 00:21:05,233 And the settlers had to work hard to survive. 364 00:21:05,233 --> 00:21:06,900 - Perkins's township consisted 365 00:21:06,900 --> 00:21:09,433 of a little one room school house 366 00:21:09,433 --> 00:21:12,633 that had all the grades and one teacher, 367 00:21:12,633 --> 00:21:17,633 the boat yard, it had a church, a little chapel. 368 00:21:19,066 --> 00:21:20,600 - [Jay] They did have a school building that they also used 369 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:24,266 for church services and for town meetings. 370 00:21:24,266 --> 00:21:26,666 They had a community band. 371 00:21:26,666 --> 00:21:29,433 And they were mostly self-sufficient homesteads 372 00:21:29,433 --> 00:21:32,200 to the point they could be with a little job on the side, 373 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:34,100 if they could, a little bit of logging, 374 00:21:34,100 --> 00:21:36,766 not too much 'cause they had to move the logs by water. 375 00:21:36,766 --> 00:21:38,766 There was a brick yard on the island, 376 00:21:38,766 --> 00:21:40,666 and that's where most of the bricks 377 00:21:40,666 --> 00:21:42,733 for the brick buildings at the foot of Main Street 378 00:21:42,733 --> 00:21:45,633 in Richmond came from, some subsistence farming, 379 00:21:45,633 --> 00:21:47,400 a blacksmith, and two other trades. 380 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,366 (hammer thumping) 381 00:21:50,366 --> 00:21:51,633 (placid music) 382 00:21:51,633 --> 00:21:54,566 - [Katherine] In 1837, David and Drusilla Reed 383 00:21:54,566 --> 00:21:56,166 purchased the Tubbs house. 384 00:21:57,600 --> 00:21:59,766 The Reeds and their children were resided there 385 00:21:59,766 --> 00:22:01,233 into the 1920s, 386 00:22:01,233 --> 00:22:04,633 but the house was never plumbed, serviced by electricity 387 00:22:04,633 --> 00:22:07,166 or centrally heated during their time there. 388 00:22:09,166 --> 00:22:12,333 David Reed was a farmer who tended among other things, 389 00:22:12,333 --> 00:22:16,233 18 sheep by the year 1860 and 20 apple trees 390 00:22:16,233 --> 00:22:17,866 by the year 1880. 391 00:22:19,766 --> 00:22:22,066 The soil on and around Swan Island 392 00:22:22,066 --> 00:22:24,133 is some of Maine's finest. 393 00:22:24,133 --> 00:22:25,800 And throughout the island's history, 394 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,833 farmers could count on bountiful harvests. 395 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,500 - [Jay] When you look around Merrymeeting Bay 396 00:22:31,500 --> 00:22:33,800 on similar land and it's some of the best farmland, 397 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:35,666 at least in this part of central Maine, 398 00:22:35,666 --> 00:22:37,266 because it's the Louisville soil, 399 00:22:37,266 --> 00:22:38,533 the stuff that's come down the river, 400 00:22:38,533 --> 00:22:40,733 it's fines, it's good stuff, it drains well. 401 00:22:42,300 --> 00:22:43,733 - [Katherine] At its peak, 402 00:22:43,733 --> 00:22:47,100 approximately 25 families lived and worked on Swan Island 403 00:22:47,100 --> 00:22:49,366 and the population at one time rose 404 00:22:49,366 --> 00:22:51,266 to over 100 people. 405 00:22:52,466 --> 00:22:55,533 Farming, fishing, lumbering, shipbuilding, 406 00:22:55,533 --> 00:22:58,200 and ice cutting were among the thriving industries 407 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,666 typical of the island's early days. 408 00:23:00,666 --> 00:23:04,633 - The industries went from several ice houses 409 00:23:04,633 --> 00:23:08,866 from various companies that had ice houses up 410 00:23:08,866 --> 00:23:11,733 and down the river, but there were four, 411 00:23:11,733 --> 00:23:13,000 at least three, for sure, 412 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,366 but maybe four ice houses on the island. 413 00:23:16,366 --> 00:23:18,833 So, that was a huge industry. 414 00:23:19,966 --> 00:23:22,933 Kennebec River ice went all over the world. 415 00:23:22,933 --> 00:23:25,533 (ice grinding) 416 00:23:31,733 --> 00:23:33,133 (placid music) 417 00:23:33,133 --> 00:23:34,633 - [Katherine] The ice industry on Swan Island began 418 00:23:34,633 --> 00:23:37,866 in the 1830s and strengthened during the civil war years. 419 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,700 The island's ice cutting business grew well into the 1880s, 420 00:23:42,700 --> 00:23:46,300 before dying out all together sometime around World War One. 421 00:23:48,433 --> 00:23:50,333 At the peak of ice production, 422 00:23:50,333 --> 00:23:54,466 at least three large ice houses were active on Swan Island, 423 00:23:54,466 --> 00:23:57,933 cutting and exporting ice shipped all over New England 424 00:23:57,933 --> 00:24:01,633 to places as far away as the West Indies and New Zealand. 425 00:24:02,933 --> 00:24:06,033 Tourism was another major industry here. 426 00:24:06,033 --> 00:24:09,833 Swan Island was an unspoiled place of natural beauty 427 00:24:09,833 --> 00:24:11,400 and a popular summer retreat 428 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:13,400 for Victorian era visitors looking 429 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,600 to escape from the stresses of city life. 430 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:19,100 - [Jay] They would come up to get away from the miasmas 431 00:24:19,100 --> 00:24:20,866 of the cities and they would just sit 432 00:24:20,866 --> 00:24:22,466 in the country and watch the world go by, 433 00:24:22,466 --> 00:24:25,233 the river, the horse carts, whatever it was, the boats. 434 00:24:27,766 --> 00:24:29,666 - [Katherine] A health spa craze was underway 435 00:24:29,666 --> 00:24:31,633 in the mid 19th century, 436 00:24:31,633 --> 00:24:33,966 and Swan Island was once advertised 437 00:24:33,966 --> 00:24:35,466 in a Boston based magazine 438 00:24:35,466 --> 00:24:38,566 called Ballou's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, 439 00:24:38,566 --> 00:24:41,166 as a natural medicinal cure-all retreat 440 00:24:41,166 --> 00:24:43,133 for whatever ailed you. 441 00:24:43,133 --> 00:24:45,333 - [Jay] The Gardiner Dumaresq house was bought 442 00:24:45,333 --> 00:24:48,933 by a Dr. William Hebert who was gonna run a resort, 443 00:24:48,933 --> 00:24:50,466 if you will, Swango, 444 00:24:50,466 --> 00:24:52,566 where you could get the new eclectic cure. 445 00:24:53,833 --> 00:24:55,433 (dramatic music) 446 00:24:55,433 --> 00:24:57,233 - [Katherine] This curious promotional effort 447 00:24:57,233 --> 00:25:00,100 was cut short by the advent of the civil war. 448 00:25:01,233 --> 00:25:03,033 Islanders supported the civil war 449 00:25:03,033 --> 00:25:05,833 by developing a wool clothing production industry 450 00:25:05,833 --> 00:25:09,000 to help produce uniforms for union soldiers. 451 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,533 (chattering) 452 00:25:11,533 --> 00:25:14,066 Wool was in high demand throughout the war. 453 00:25:14,066 --> 00:25:17,766 In 1864, 500 sheep were brought to the island 454 00:25:17,766 --> 00:25:19,800 to support the Union Army cause, 455 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,033 and production continued throughout the duration of the war. 456 00:25:25,433 --> 00:25:28,866 The civil war also claimed casualties from Swan Island. 457 00:25:30,033 --> 00:25:33,500 Out of an overall island population of just 90, 458 00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:35,733 five young men from the island served 459 00:25:35,733 --> 00:25:37,766 in the 19th Maine division. 460 00:25:37,766 --> 00:25:40,133 And two of these men were killed during battle. 461 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,266 For a time, shipbuilding was also a source of employment 462 00:25:57,266 --> 00:25:59,566 for Swan Island's inhabitants. 463 00:25:59,566 --> 00:26:02,733 At least seven ocean going vessels were built on the island 464 00:26:02,733 --> 00:26:05,566 in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 465 00:26:06,433 --> 00:26:08,133 By the early 1900s, 466 00:26:08,133 --> 00:26:11,966 a dramatic economic shift away from traditional industries 467 00:26:11,966 --> 00:26:14,033 was underway on Swan Island. 468 00:26:15,233 --> 00:26:17,333 Iron ships became popular 469 00:26:17,333 --> 00:26:20,900 and the island lost its wooden ship building business. 470 00:26:20,900 --> 00:26:23,400 Modern refrigeration rapidly brought an end 471 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:25,866 to the ice cutting industry. 472 00:26:25,866 --> 00:26:29,100 Pollution from industries located up river resulted 473 00:26:29,100 --> 00:26:31,766 in a loss of fishing income. 474 00:26:31,766 --> 00:26:34,133 Extensive timber harvesting turned much 475 00:26:34,133 --> 00:26:36,466 of the island into barren fields. 476 00:26:38,466 --> 00:26:41,633 As the traditional industries began winding down, 477 00:26:41,633 --> 00:26:45,533 many island residents were to leave in search of other jobs. 478 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:48,500 (dramatic music) 479 00:26:48,500 --> 00:26:51,066 Agriculture was one of the few remaining sources 480 00:26:51,066 --> 00:26:52,933 of income on Swan Island, 481 00:26:54,366 --> 00:26:57,366 but as the severe effects of the Great Depression sunk in, 482 00:26:57,366 --> 00:26:58,800 farmers here and elsewhere 483 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:02,733 began experiencing extraordinarily difficult times. 484 00:27:03,933 --> 00:27:05,900 Many younger residents left the island 485 00:27:05,900 --> 00:27:07,900 seeking a better future. 486 00:27:07,900 --> 00:27:09,900 And those who remained could no longer 487 00:27:09,900 --> 00:27:11,200 make a living from farming 488 00:27:16,033 --> 00:27:18,700 (placid music) 489 00:27:23,566 --> 00:27:27,033 The construction of the Richmond Dresden Bridge in 1931 490 00:27:27,033 --> 00:27:30,700 was the death knell for the Swan Island community. 491 00:27:30,700 --> 00:27:33,833 Islanders could no longer rely on Richmond's ferry service 492 00:27:33,833 --> 00:27:36,433 to transport them to and from the mainland, 493 00:27:36,433 --> 00:27:38,466 leaving many residents stranded. 494 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,466 - They were able to survive as a town until 1917, 495 00:27:43,466 --> 00:27:44,933 so, for 70 years. 496 00:27:44,933 --> 00:27:48,600 And at that time there were not enough male voters, 497 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:51,066 21 years and older to fulfill all 498 00:27:51,066 --> 00:27:54,533 of the required constitutional positions of the town. 499 00:27:54,533 --> 00:27:57,333 So, they were disorganized technically 500 00:27:57,333 --> 00:28:01,233 is the term by the state, and they became a township. 501 00:28:01,233 --> 00:28:04,166 At that time, the state became the taxing authority, 502 00:28:04,166 --> 00:28:07,766 and before long, they had acquired two of the parcels 503 00:28:07,766 --> 00:28:09,900 on the island for non-payment of taxes. 504 00:28:09,900 --> 00:28:13,200 So, that was how they sort of got invested in the island. 505 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,700 - [Katherine] Various attempts to establish new industries 506 00:28:15,700 --> 00:28:18,066 on the island failed during this time. 507 00:28:19,233 --> 00:28:21,566 A fox farm and a wooden box production company 508 00:28:21,566 --> 00:28:22,933 were unsuccessful. 509 00:28:24,166 --> 00:28:26,800 In 1932, investors tried 510 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,500 to reestablish a wool production operation on the island. 511 00:28:30,500 --> 00:28:32,466 Governor William Tudor Gardiner 512 00:28:32,466 --> 00:28:37,166 and his business partners brought 1,500 sheep to Swan Island 513 00:28:37,166 --> 00:28:40,900 and only 75 sheep survive the harsh Maine winter. 514 00:28:46,233 --> 00:28:48,233 As the final exodus began, 515 00:28:48,233 --> 00:28:51,866 many of the farmsteads were given up in lieu of taxes. 516 00:28:51,866 --> 00:28:54,000 The state of Maine took over some properties 517 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:55,400 by eminent domain. 518 00:28:57,066 --> 00:28:59,133 Other properties were simply abandoned. 519 00:29:27,033 --> 00:29:29,700 (placid music) 520 00:29:31,333 --> 00:29:33,900 After the last residents packed up and left, 521 00:29:33,900 --> 00:29:37,833 Swan Island transitioned into a wildlife management area 522 00:29:37,833 --> 00:29:40,266 and continues to be overseen and maintained 523 00:29:40,266 --> 00:29:43,600 by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. 524 00:29:44,933 --> 00:29:47,266 Maine's Inland Fisheries and Wildlife 525 00:29:47,266 --> 00:29:48,933 recognized the island's value 526 00:29:48,933 --> 00:29:51,333 as a waterfowl management watch site. 527 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:56,700 Federal aid to wildlife restoration funding enabled the ISW 528 00:29:56,700 --> 00:30:00,600 to begin buying the farms on the Island in the early 1940s. 529 00:30:03,033 --> 00:30:06,366 The transition from an active village farm community 530 00:30:06,366 --> 00:30:09,433 to a wildlife preserve called for focused, 531 00:30:09,433 --> 00:30:11,533 determined leadership and planning. 532 00:30:12,966 --> 00:30:15,900 Steve Powell was one of the earliest biologists living 533 00:30:15,900 --> 00:30:18,066 and working on Swan Island. 534 00:30:18,066 --> 00:30:21,566 Powell was an influential and enthusiastic steward 535 00:30:21,566 --> 00:30:23,000 of the island. 536 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,666 He graduated from the university of Maine, Orono, in 1940 537 00:30:26,666 --> 00:30:29,233 with a degree in wildlife conservation, 538 00:30:29,233 --> 00:30:32,466 and then went on to serve with honor in the Pacific theater 539 00:30:32,466 --> 00:30:33,633 during world war two. 540 00:30:35,133 --> 00:30:37,233 - [Jay] Interesting man, Steve Powell 541 00:30:37,233 --> 00:30:39,700 was assigned to Swan Island. 542 00:30:39,700 --> 00:30:42,933 He always had a pipe or a cigarette in his mouth. 543 00:30:42,933 --> 00:30:47,066 Steve Powell also trapped, did quite a bit of trapping, 544 00:30:47,066 --> 00:30:49,833 a true outdoorsman, quite a fishermen. 545 00:30:49,833 --> 00:30:52,266 - He kept meticulous records 546 00:30:52,266 --> 00:30:57,233 of a banding geese and ducks and the deer. 547 00:30:57,233 --> 00:31:02,200 And also they did chemical testing of deer repellents 548 00:31:03,266 --> 00:31:04,766 during that time. 549 00:31:04,766 --> 00:31:06,733 - [Jay] And this was a perfect experimental island for it 550 00:31:06,733 --> 00:31:08,033 because there was a large deer population. 551 00:31:08,033 --> 00:31:09,466 It was controlled. 552 00:31:09,466 --> 00:31:13,033 They also did some work raising game birds out there, 553 00:31:13,033 --> 00:31:14,800 but didn't have a lot of focus on that. 554 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,733 He was also a wonderful scientist. 555 00:31:17,733 --> 00:31:20,166 He would go out as the migratory waterfowl 556 00:31:20,166 --> 00:31:22,300 were coming through and count the number 557 00:31:22,300 --> 00:31:25,766 of each species that he would see on the day on a given day. 558 00:31:25,766 --> 00:31:27,433 And he would chart them out, 559 00:31:27,433 --> 00:31:29,033 whether the teal or the wood ducks, 560 00:31:29,033 --> 00:31:30,966 or the Canada geese, whatever. 561 00:31:30,966 --> 00:31:33,900 And based on that, they actually set the hunting season 562 00:31:33,900 --> 00:31:36,800 so that both of the hunters and the ducks 563 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:39,166 were able to benefit. 564 00:31:39,166 --> 00:31:42,266 At one point in time, he went out on the Bay. 565 00:31:42,266 --> 00:31:44,533 I think it was 1954 in October. 566 00:31:44,533 --> 00:31:48,400 And he did it by boat, by airplane, by car. 567 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:50,833 And he estimated 1,000 duck hunters in the Bay, 568 00:31:50,833 --> 00:31:53,166 and that they harvested 2,500 birds 569 00:31:53,166 --> 00:31:54,766 between them on that one day. 570 00:31:54,766 --> 00:31:58,033 And he was also interested in where the birds went. 571 00:31:58,033 --> 00:32:00,666 So, he would do a lot of catch and release banding. 572 00:32:00,666 --> 00:32:03,133 And when the, especially the Canada geese, 573 00:32:03,133 --> 00:32:06,466 were found with their leg bands in South Carolina, 574 00:32:06,466 --> 00:32:10,133 wherever over time, you get a list of 100 of these birds 575 00:32:10,133 --> 00:32:11,333 and where they were found, 576 00:32:11,333 --> 00:32:12,466 you begin to understand 577 00:32:12,466 --> 00:32:14,900 how the inland waterway flyways work. 578 00:32:14,900 --> 00:32:17,900 And this was some of the very earliest work in that respect. 579 00:32:19,266 --> 00:32:21,466 They also did a lot of work with deer populations. 580 00:32:21,466 --> 00:32:24,566 At one time, they had over 300 deer on the island. 581 00:32:24,566 --> 00:32:26,666 They did a lot of catch and release there too. 582 00:32:26,666 --> 00:32:30,233 And from that, they determined that about a 10 mile radius, 583 00:32:30,233 --> 00:32:31,833 if you took a deer more than 10 miles away 584 00:32:31,833 --> 00:32:33,033 from where it started, 585 00:32:33,033 --> 00:32:34,900 it probably would not find its way back. 586 00:32:34,900 --> 00:32:37,033 But if you took him 'em miles away, they probably would. 587 00:32:37,033 --> 00:32:41,333 They also transported deer to many of the islands of Maine. 588 00:32:41,333 --> 00:32:42,866 (placid music) 589 00:32:42,866 --> 00:32:46,100 His wife, Polly, was, I don't think she was five feet tall. 590 00:32:46,100 --> 00:32:48,033 Steve Powell never had children. 591 00:32:48,033 --> 00:32:50,533 He raised them Springer Spaniels. 592 00:32:50,533 --> 00:32:53,366 They did raise the first male moose ever raised 593 00:32:53,366 --> 00:32:57,100 in captivity out there in '48 and '49. 594 00:32:57,100 --> 00:32:59,966 Jerry, the moose, was brought there. 595 00:32:59,966 --> 00:33:01,966 His mother was killed when he was hours old 596 00:33:01,966 --> 00:33:04,766 by a logging truck up in Northern Maine. 597 00:33:04,766 --> 00:33:06,533 He was raised there for two years. 598 00:33:06,533 --> 00:33:08,633 He didn't know he was a moose. 599 00:33:08,633 --> 00:33:10,600 Whenever any of the men would come around 600 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:12,033 with cigarettes in their pocket, 601 00:33:12,033 --> 00:33:14,233 he would try and flip the cigarette pack out of the pocket 602 00:33:14,233 --> 00:33:16,500 'cause he liked eating tobacco. 603 00:33:16,500 --> 00:33:19,300 - Powell and and his wife, Polly, lived on Swan Island 604 00:33:19,300 --> 00:33:22,600 from 1945 until 1951. 605 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:24,500 After six years of island living, 606 00:33:24,500 --> 00:33:27,166 Steve and Polly moved ashore to Greenpoint Farm 607 00:33:27,166 --> 00:33:32,133 in nearby Dresden and began growing strawberries and apples. 608 00:33:32,133 --> 00:33:36,733 - [Jay] At that time, Steve purchased the land in Dresden 609 00:33:36,733 --> 00:33:40,066 that's now Greenpoint, and he expanded the land. 610 00:33:40,066 --> 00:33:43,266 He did some orcharding, he did some berry growing. 611 00:33:43,266 --> 00:33:47,100 Greenpoint now is also a wildlife management area, 612 00:33:47,100 --> 00:33:48,533 a little separate from Swan Island, 613 00:33:48,533 --> 00:33:50,433 but really part of the whole thing. 614 00:33:50,433 --> 00:33:53,300 Steve Powell later ended up managing all 615 00:33:53,300 --> 00:33:56,300 of the state wildlife management areas in Maine. 616 00:34:03,233 --> 00:34:05,900 (placid music) 617 00:34:14,033 --> 00:34:16,000 - [Katherine] Powell died in 1971. 618 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,800 And the Steve Powell Wildlife Management Preserve 619 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:20,200 was named in his honor. 620 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:30,166 (birds chirping) 621 00:34:37,866 --> 00:34:40,700 (water splashing) 622 00:34:42,366 --> 00:34:46,566 Federal aid to wildlife restoration funding enabled the ISW 623 00:34:46,566 --> 00:34:50,466 to begin buying the farms on the island in the early 1940s. 624 00:34:52,466 --> 00:34:54,200 By the early 1950s, 625 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:56,333 the only remaining piece of private land 626 00:34:56,333 --> 00:34:57,900 was the Curtis Cemetery. 627 00:35:54,266 --> 00:35:56,933 (placid music) 628 00:36:00,133 --> 00:36:03,866 Wildlife, water fowl, and fish continue to thrive here 629 00:36:03,866 --> 00:36:06,966 long after the island was acquired by the state of Maine. 630 00:36:08,500 --> 00:36:10,833 Today's Kennebec River is a far cry 631 00:36:10,833 --> 00:36:14,366 from the polluted, industrialized waterway of yesterday. 632 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:17,633 Native species, like sturgeon, 633 00:36:17,633 --> 00:36:20,033 have seen their populations come back strong 634 00:36:20,033 --> 00:36:21,233 in recent years. 635 00:36:21,233 --> 00:36:23,600 And the eagle population has rebounded 636 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:27,100 from a time when they faced near extinction. 637 00:36:27,100 --> 00:36:29,700 - Every single one of the anadromous fish, 638 00:36:29,700 --> 00:36:33,100 which are fish that returned to the river to spawn, 639 00:36:33,100 --> 00:36:34,566 I think there are 13 of them, 640 00:36:34,566 --> 00:36:36,966 every one of those is found in the Kennebec flowage 641 00:36:36,966 --> 00:36:39,800 and the numbers have greatly increased for a lot of them, 642 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:42,233 especially with the removal of the Edwards dam and Augusta, 643 00:36:42,233 --> 00:36:45,566 and then the first dam on the Sebasticook. 644 00:36:45,566 --> 00:36:47,866 So, the numbers have gone way up. 645 00:36:47,866 --> 00:36:49,566 The sturgeon are still pretty strong. 646 00:36:49,566 --> 00:36:51,000 When we go out on the Merrymeeting, 647 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:53,333 the Maine Maritime's boat, 648 00:36:53,333 --> 00:36:55,033 we often see the sturgeon jumping. 649 00:36:56,733 --> 00:36:59,233 - The English that came up the river, 650 00:36:59,233 --> 00:37:04,233 that's why they came up the river for furs and for the fish. 651 00:37:05,633 --> 00:37:09,233 And there were sturgeon and there were cod and the, 652 00:37:09,233 --> 00:37:12,133 it was prolific with huge fish. 653 00:37:12,133 --> 00:37:14,333 They weren't just what we know today. 654 00:37:14,333 --> 00:37:19,333 There were 14 to 16 foot sturgeon out there in that water. 655 00:37:20,466 --> 00:37:22,300 And I have gone kayaking over to that island. 656 00:37:22,300 --> 00:37:25,933 And I know my kayak is nine feet long. 657 00:37:25,933 --> 00:37:30,433 There was a sturgeon, I was paddling back to the landing, 658 00:37:30,433 --> 00:37:34,600 and that jumped and they belly flopped down, 659 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:36,900 and it rocked my kayak. 660 00:37:36,900 --> 00:37:40,133 It was so close and I paddled so fast, 661 00:37:40,133 --> 00:37:42,266 you could see a rooster tail behind my kayak. 662 00:37:42,266 --> 00:37:43,466 I swear (laughs). 663 00:38:06,100 --> 00:38:08,766 (placid music) 664 00:38:11,733 --> 00:38:14,600 - [Katherine] In 1995, Swan Island was added 665 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:17,366 to the National Register of Historic Places. 666 00:38:18,766 --> 00:38:22,933 Today, the island attracts three to 4,000 visitors each year 667 00:38:22,933 --> 00:38:25,833 and continues to function as a wildlife sanctuary 668 00:38:25,833 --> 00:38:30,500 for migrating water fowl, turkeys, bald eagles, and deer. 669 00:38:32,633 --> 00:38:34,300 For today's casual visitor, 670 00:38:34,300 --> 00:38:37,233 Swan Island offers miles of pleasant hiking 671 00:38:37,233 --> 00:38:39,233 and exploring opportunities. 672 00:38:41,300 --> 00:38:44,100 Kayaking and canoeing are also popular here. 673 00:38:44,100 --> 00:38:45,700 But be forewarned, 674 00:38:45,700 --> 00:38:48,933 paddling this stretch of the Kennebec takes stamina. 675 00:38:48,933 --> 00:38:50,666 The river here is tidal. 676 00:38:50,666 --> 00:38:52,633 And if you don't time your trip carefully, 677 00:38:52,633 --> 00:38:54,566 you'll find yourself struggling upstream 678 00:38:54,566 --> 00:38:57,300 against strong winds and surging currents 679 00:38:57,300 --> 00:38:59,466 at various points throughout your journey. 680 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:03,233 For safety reasons, 681 00:39:03,233 --> 00:39:06,266 visitors are advised to be on guard for ticks. 682 00:39:06,266 --> 00:39:09,166 Swan Island is primarily a wildlife preserve 683 00:39:09,166 --> 00:39:11,100 and precautions are necessary. 684 00:39:12,700 --> 00:39:15,266 (placid music) 685 00:39:34,033 --> 00:39:36,233 The Old Perkins Highway, as it is known, 686 00:39:36,233 --> 00:39:39,566 remains the main transportation corridor of the island. 687 00:39:41,733 --> 00:39:44,533 The beaver pond, a traditional corn crib, 688 00:39:44,533 --> 00:39:46,333 and the wildlife viewing tower 689 00:39:46,333 --> 00:39:47,833 are just a few of the island's 690 00:39:47,833 --> 00:39:51,866 more popular tourist attractions found along the highway. 691 00:39:51,866 --> 00:39:54,933 And fishing is allowed on the island's largest pond. 692 00:39:57,233 --> 00:39:59,766 Today, nature has reclaimed much 693 00:39:59,766 --> 00:40:02,166 of what was once a thriving village, 694 00:40:02,166 --> 00:40:05,066 but mysterious reminders of a bygone era 695 00:40:05,066 --> 00:40:07,866 can still be seen all over the island. 696 00:40:10,166 --> 00:40:12,966 The quiet stillness of the island's landscape 697 00:40:12,966 --> 00:40:16,366 carries faint whispers of another time and place, 698 00:40:16,366 --> 00:40:19,133 an island village lost to the ages. 699 00:40:24,666 --> 00:40:28,400 Swan Island is open from May 15th until mid-October. 700 00:40:30,333 --> 00:40:34,066 Visitors can access Swan Island by ferry from Richmond. 701 00:40:34,066 --> 00:40:36,633 The ride from the town of Richmond landing takes less 702 00:40:36,633 --> 00:40:37,866 than 10 minutes. 703 00:40:39,966 --> 00:40:43,433 Swan Island is the only wildlife management area 704 00:40:43,433 --> 00:40:46,366 in the state of Maine that allows for camping. 705 00:40:46,366 --> 00:40:50,466 10 Adirondack type shelters are available for overnight use, 706 00:40:50,466 --> 00:40:52,133 and clean, safe drinking water 707 00:40:52,133 --> 00:40:55,033 and modern bathroom facilities are also available. 708 00:40:56,266 --> 00:40:57,733 Hundreds of school groups 709 00:40:57,733 --> 00:40:59,900 have visited the island over the years, 710 00:40:59,900 --> 00:41:02,066 and the boat house serves as a classroom 711 00:41:02,066 --> 00:41:03,766 for visitors, young and old. 712 00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:16,466 (placid music) 713 00:41:22,233 --> 00:41:24,500 In the 1950s and '60s. 714 00:41:24,500 --> 00:41:28,033 Terri Blen Parker's grandparents, Parker and Marian Blen, 715 00:41:28,033 --> 00:41:30,933 served as caretakers on the island. 716 00:41:30,933 --> 00:41:32,100 In her younger years, 717 00:41:32,100 --> 00:41:35,000 Terri struggled serious health problems, 718 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:38,700 and the island was a healing place where she was loved, 719 00:41:38,700 --> 00:41:40,933 cared for and nurtured. 720 00:41:40,933 --> 00:41:43,766 - I had a rare bone disease that was similar 721 00:41:43,766 --> 00:41:45,500 to Polio as a child. 722 00:41:45,500 --> 00:41:49,933 And I was diagnosed at four as being terminal by age 10. 723 00:41:49,933 --> 00:41:53,000 Sometimes, I would lay on a blanket out there and read, 724 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:57,966 and deer would come up to me, up to me. 725 00:41:59,666 --> 00:42:01,533 And so, I thought that was pretty special. 726 00:42:01,533 --> 00:42:05,633 And I felt like I was in a magical place. 727 00:42:05,633 --> 00:42:08,900 How many kids do you know that have a deer for a pet? 728 00:42:08,900 --> 00:42:10,933 There would be days I would go out and read, 729 00:42:10,933 --> 00:42:13,766 sometimes under the pine tree out back of the house, 730 00:42:13,766 --> 00:42:16,400 or I'd go read in the field or something. 731 00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:19,866 Always animals would come up to me within a half hour. 732 00:42:19,866 --> 00:42:23,233 And I think it's just because the scent 733 00:42:23,233 --> 00:42:25,300 was familiar to them. 734 00:42:25,300 --> 00:42:28,933 I lived there, I rarely left and I played outside a lot. 735 00:42:28,933 --> 00:42:33,066 So, I must have had the scent of the fields 736 00:42:33,066 --> 00:42:34,933 and the trees and the pine needles, 737 00:42:34,933 --> 00:42:37,733 because they didn't seem to shy at all. 738 00:42:37,733 --> 00:42:41,333 Oh my goodness, raccoons, I had a pet raccoon. 739 00:42:41,333 --> 00:42:45,100 I was immersed in that natural environment, 740 00:42:45,100 --> 00:42:48,533 and so ill that I just sucked 741 00:42:48,533 --> 00:42:50,766 in all the goodness I could get. 742 00:42:50,766 --> 00:42:52,200 And I think that's what helped me, 743 00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:54,766 that and my grandparents' love and patience. 744 00:42:54,766 --> 00:42:58,666 I'm beyond age 10 and here I am, that's pretty magical. 745 00:42:58,666 --> 00:43:00,733 So, that is my magical island. 746 00:43:04,533 --> 00:43:07,700 - I refer to myself as a place-based historian. 747 00:43:07,700 --> 00:43:10,166 I actually was an English and environmental studies major 748 00:43:10,166 --> 00:43:13,066 at Bowden, Bowden's first environmental studies major. 749 00:43:13,933 --> 00:43:15,400 But when I got out, 750 00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:17,866 I got really involved with doing family history, 751 00:43:18,733 --> 00:43:21,866 and I've been doing that my own 752 00:43:21,866 --> 00:43:23,700 and for clients for many years since then. 753 00:43:23,700 --> 00:43:28,233 But I came to realize that if you take a physical place, 754 00:43:28,233 --> 00:43:31,433 an island, a building, a town, 755 00:43:31,433 --> 00:43:34,500 and look at it chronologically through time, 756 00:43:34,500 --> 00:43:37,366 then you see real people doing real things. 757 00:43:37,366 --> 00:43:40,633 And you can really picture how life was for those people. 758 00:43:42,033 --> 00:43:44,866 Swan Island is one of those places that I go out on 759 00:43:44,866 --> 00:43:47,833 and I have a particularly strong sense of place. 760 00:43:48,866 --> 00:43:50,400 What is that based in? 761 00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:53,500 Historical association, energy coming from the earth itself? 762 00:43:53,500 --> 00:43:57,266 I can't tell you, but it's always been a place, 763 00:43:57,266 --> 00:43:58,500 when I'm out there, 764 00:43:58,500 --> 00:44:00,266 there's just there's no place I'd rather be. 765 00:44:00,266 --> 00:44:01,900 And again, I can't explain that. 766 00:44:33,533 --> 00:44:36,200 (placid music) 767 00:44:49,466 --> 00:44:51,133 - [Katherine] No one really knows what tomorrow 768 00:44:51,133 --> 00:44:54,966 has in mind for this historic and much love island. 769 00:44:54,966 --> 00:44:56,633 - [Jay] There are some really severe restrictions 770 00:44:56,633 --> 00:44:58,933 on what can go on on the island. 771 00:44:58,933 --> 00:45:00,866 So the challenge is is to come up with the money 772 00:45:00,866 --> 00:45:02,533 to put the buildings in use. 773 00:45:02,533 --> 00:45:06,400 The big plan was to take the Gardiner Dumaresq salt box, 774 00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:07,633 which is at the campground 775 00:45:07,633 --> 00:45:09,700 where a lot of the programming is, 776 00:45:09,700 --> 00:45:11,366 and make that into a visitor center 777 00:45:11,366 --> 00:45:13,966 to be able to tell some of the stories of the island 778 00:45:13,966 --> 00:45:15,333 and of the environment. 779 00:45:15,333 --> 00:45:18,566 In terms of the state ever doing away with it, 780 00:45:18,566 --> 00:45:20,066 I don't see it happening. 781 00:45:20,066 --> 00:45:23,300 Now, it is possible the state could shut down tending it. 782 00:45:23,300 --> 00:45:24,766 They could shut down the camp ground. 783 00:45:24,766 --> 00:45:27,400 They could stop doing wildlife management on the island. 784 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:29,033 But would they sell it? 785 00:45:29,033 --> 00:45:31,333 No, I don't see that ever changing. 786 00:45:31,333 --> 00:45:33,500 It will always be wildlife management area. 787 00:45:37,466 --> 00:45:39,066 - [Katherine] When you visit Swan Island, 788 00:45:39,066 --> 00:45:41,766 you're on sacred ground. 789 00:45:41,766 --> 00:45:44,833 Take to the woods, waters and trails found here 790 00:45:44,833 --> 00:45:47,233 and explore the wonders of this culturally 791 00:45:47,233 --> 00:45:49,733 and historically significant place. 792 00:45:51,066 --> 00:45:55,166 And never forget the island's centuries old history. 793 00:45:55,166 --> 00:45:57,900 Your visit honors generations of gritty, 794 00:45:57,900 --> 00:46:00,866 hardworking islanders that once gave it their all 795 00:46:00,866 --> 00:46:05,533 to survive here, hearty, resilient souls dedicated 796 00:46:05,533 --> 00:46:08,766 to creating a life for themselves and their families 797 00:46:08,766 --> 00:46:12,033 on this most uniquely beautiful and peaceful island 798 00:46:12,033 --> 00:46:13,433 on the Kennebec River. 799 00:46:16,433 --> 00:46:19,933 You can let your imagination roam free here. 800 00:46:19,933 --> 00:46:21,933 Who were these islanders? 801 00:46:21,933 --> 00:46:26,000 What kind of challenges did they face in their daily lives? 802 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:28,700 All of the joys, struggles and hardships 803 00:46:28,700 --> 00:46:33,033 of their island years are forever lost in the mists of time. 804 00:46:40,200 --> 00:46:42,533 As you explore the sacred place, 805 00:46:42,533 --> 00:46:45,500 observe your surroundings closely, 806 00:46:45,500 --> 00:46:48,833 pause and take a moment to look at the sky, 807 00:46:48,833 --> 00:46:51,233 soaring high above the ancient pines 808 00:46:51,233 --> 00:46:53,100 and the wide open fields, 809 00:46:53,100 --> 00:46:55,133 you may very well see reminders 810 00:46:55,133 --> 00:46:59,900 of a cherished place Native Americans once knew Sowangen, 811 00:46:59,900 --> 00:47:03,200 the legendary Island of Eagles. 812 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:05,866 (placid music)