Island Journal

A Century Ago, Children Were Seafood Processors

Phoebe Thomas went running home down the busy Eastport street from the sardine cannery before the work shift was over. She was crying. It was an August day in 1911. Phoebe was eight, not quite as old as the century, and had sliced her thumb with a sharp knife while… SEE MORE

Island Journal

An Island Funeral

Mrs. Moore died last Thursday and was buried Saturday it was thought to be the largest funeral ever attended on this island. The Cutter from Bass Harbor brought over a great many, and other boats from various places in Tremont . As described in the diary of one Susanna Gott,… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Henri, Bellows, and Luks: The Ashcan School in Maine

Storm Tide, Robert Henri, 1903. Oil on canvas, 26 x 32 inches Whitney Museum of American Art At the end of the 19th century, something of a battle began in American art, between the academicians and a group of independent artists. The former, represented by the National Academy of Design… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Betsy James Wyeth

The publication you are reading was inspired by Betsy Wyeth. When Betsy, whom I first met when I was eight years old, bought 450-acre Allen Island, six miles off Port Clyde, she asked me to help her figure out what to do with it; within a month or so Philip… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Islands of the Dawnland

When Gluscabe was young, he watched his grandmother Woodchuck fish to feed the two of them, and saw she had a hard time catching fish. He decided to help her. Gluscabe built a large fish weir across the entire mouth of the river, with a single opening in the middle.… SEE MORE

group of young adults in early 2000s clothing

Island Journal

Two Decades of Fellows Changes Communities

It’s a beautiful coincidence that 2020 is the 20th year of the Island Fellows program at the Island Institute. Twenty years ago, the designers of this program may not have known the level of reach it would have. Fellows came from states thousands of miles away, their projects have touched… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Fishing, Fowling, and Navigation

In this part of the world, the tide comes in and the tide goes out twice a day. Each time the tide goes out, it exposes cobbles, mudflats, tidepools, rockweed, and cool wet sand. Who owns this intertidal zone depends on the law of the land on which the tide… SEE MORE

Island Journal

How We Get Here: A History of the Ferry Service

The allure of living on an island includes isolation from the rest of the world. The downside of living on an island includes isolation from the rest of the world. Especially when you need something on the mainland. That’s what ferries are for. “We are the roads to the islands.… SEE MORE

History

Old foundations from earlier centuries on Damariscove Island

Island Journal

Islands Were First Footholds for European Settlers

At one time, 300 of Maine’s nearly 5,000 islands had year-round communities. Today that number has dwindled to 15 islands that are occupied through all four seasons. “When Europeans got to the coast of Maine, they set themselves up on islands first, because they were uninhabited and they were, or… SEE MORE

History

Island Journal

Maine Triumphs Through Coastal Law

In September 1816, William King, a politician and businessman in the District of Maine (and at one time, the wealthiest ship owner in the region), was certain that finally, after 30 years of trying to leave Massachusetts, Maine would succeed in getting the votes to become its own state. Voters… SEE MORE

History