This summer, I had the great pleasure of attending a presentation by David S. Cook, Maine author and former president of the Maine Archeological Society. His talk, given at the July Wassebec Genealogical Society meeting, was about the canoe routes of Early Maine Natives and how they affected the settlement of Maine by European colonists.
As most of you know, my husband Fred’s ancestor, Peter Brawn was one of the early settlers of Dover, Abbot, and the Sebec Lake area. I had long wondered what led him from the Madison/Norridgewock area to central Maine, and I think, after listening to Mr. Cook, and reading his interesting book “Above the Gravel Bar: The Native Canoe Routes of Maine,” I have my answer. I believe Peter, the adventurous hunter/trapper, followed the canoe routes used for centuries by Maine’s Natives to go from the Kennebec River to Sebec Lake via Center Pond and the Piscataquis River.
I had long wondered how Peter had found and settled in Dover, and later Sebec Lake, but it was the mention of Center Pond that had captured my attention and drawn me to David Cook’s presentation. I spend my summers on this quiet little pond nestled among hills in the middle of Maine. A few years back, my grandson Gabriel found a granite “gouge” on the shore of the Center Pond, which an archeologist from the State Museum estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 years old; used by natives to carve large wooden objects. We were astounded at its age and the idea of ancient native settlements here. Then a couple of years ago, I also learned that Center Pond is the only Piscataquis County lake to drain into the Kennebec River. I filed that bit of trivia away in my brain, not understanding its significance until I heard David speak in July.
As it turns out, Center Pond is the link between Moosehead Lake and the Atlantic Ocean! Archeological and geological evidence show that Early Maine natives used canoe routes to save many miles of arduous overland travel. Using canoes and portages they found that they could (and did) travel from Northeastern Maine and the Moosehead Lake area to the Piscataquis River, to Center Pond which leads to the Sebasticook, which leads to the Kennebec, and thence to the ocean. While this sounds roundabout and difficult, and it surely was and is; anyone who has traveled untamed stretches in Maine can attest that any water route is much better for travel.
David explained how experienced canoeists make relatively easy work of seemingly impassible upriver rapids. I finally understood why Benedict Arnold and many others chose the particular routes they did trying to reach Canada from out of state. Natives had used these routes for millennia, and hunters, trappers and early explorers followed their lead; followed by settlers.
Much of the material for his presentation can be found in his book which will delight wilderness canoeing enthusiasts. This friendly and engaging Milo native traveled from his home in Winthrop (by car) to speak to us; and it was an enjoyable — and enlightening evening.
Columnist Nina Brawn of Dover-Foxcroft is a longtime genealogy researcher, speaker and teacher. Reader e-mails are welcome at ninabrawn@gmail.com. Her semimonthly column is sponsored by the Aroostook County Genealogical Society which meets the fourth Monday of the month except in July and December at Cary Medical Center’s Chan Education Center at 6:30 p.m. Guests are always welcome. FMI contact Edwin “J” Bullard at 492-5501.
