Wiscasset, like most places, has its share of folklore and legends; stories passed down from one generation to another often with nothing lost to the imagination in their retelling. It’s best to keep this in mind as we explore, “The Garden of the East: Wiscasset on Sheepscot Bay,” a chapter appearing in “The Trail of the Maine Pioneer” published in 1916. The book is a collection of historical sketches compiled by the Maine Federation of Women’s Clubs. It was published by the Lewiston Journal newspaper in Lewiston, which later combined with the Dailey Sun to become the Lewiston Sun Journal, the name the publication still bears.

As explained within its introduction, "The Trail of the Maine Pioneer" serves as a companion volume to "Maine in History and Romance." Like its predecessor it’s a compilation of short stories resulting from a contest led by the Lewiston Journal open only to the women affiliated with the Maine Federation of Women’s Clubs.” The press run was limited to just 2,000 copies; first editions can still be found in used book stores or online.

Maude Clark Gay, civic leader and Maine writer of some renown, compiled the Wiscasset chapter. During her long life – she died in 1952 – Mrs. Gay wrote a number of fictional stories, poetry, magazine articles and two novels. Born in Waldoboro in 1876, she attended schools there and later graduated from Lincoln Academy. Maude Clark married John T. Gay Jr., also of Waldoboro, who if my sources are correct operated a mercantile store there selling groceries, hardware, etc. Mrs. Gay served in the Maine House of Representatives and Senate, was president of the Maine Writers Club and active in many non-profit organizations. She was in her teens when she began submitting her writings for publication. This last bit of information came from the Maine State Library website.

Mrs. Gay begins her narrative by crediting Rufus King Sewall, Bradford C. Redonnett, and Miss Josie Blagden of Wiscasset, three people she likely interviewed for the chapter she was writing that  appeared in “The Trail of the Maine Pioneer.” Both Sewall and Redonnett were well known attorneys who practiced in Wiscasset. Redonnett later served as Lincoln County Registrar of Deeds. Sewall, born and raised in Edgecomb, authored a number of historical books, his best known being “Ancient Dominions of Maine.” She thanks Miss Blagden for sharing newspaper clippings and other memorabilia of her hometown compiled in a scrapbook.

“Stately and dignified, with an old-time grace, in the midst of quaint gardens, green terraces and bending trees, Wiscasset looks always down the broad river to the distant sea,” begins Mrs. Gay setting the scene for her narrative. “Serene in its old age, sweet with a scent of rosemary and rue, the town impresses itself on the visitor, who is interested in ancient people and bygone days, with a haunting tenderness and charm,” she adds as means of introduction.

Her description conjures a picture of bygone days in Maine’s Prettiest Village. With that said, one of her more interesting stories isn’t about Wiscasset at all. It takes place across the Sheepscot River in Edgecomb and concerns Fort Edgecomb, now a popular state park. Mrs. Gay shares with us stories of Captain John Binney of Hingham, Massachusetts. He was assigned to command the newly built garrison and blockhouse that sits on a small hillock on the southern shore of Davis Island. Among Captain Binney’s first orders issued in March 1809 was the firing of a cannon salute to celebrate the inauguration of President James Madison. Mrs. Gay also includes quotes from Captain Binney’s writings she found in the Archives of the Maine Historical Society. Here’s a sample:

"Since our arrival here all is well. No want of meat of any kind. Vegetables scarce. No fruit here. My men kill me partridges and squirrels and catch me fish. Firewood is plenty and potatoes scarce. I reside in Wiscasset, although the fort is on the Edgecomb side of the river… the blockhouse not having sufficient quarters I have obtained permission to sleep out of garrison…My company has 44 men (more than 20 deserted) and two lieutenants. Among the men is found every character from the whining hypocrite to the professed gambler, many good men and many of the laziest of human beings. I have had to confine men in irons because they would not cook their victuals, though they had nothing to do but cook, sleep, and keep clean." After reading Captain Binney’s comments it was a good thing the fort, built for the defense of Wiscasset Harbor, was never attacked by the British during the War of 1812.

Continuing on, Mrs. Gay states it was just a few years later Captain Binney suffered the loss of his lovely young wife. According to Gay, she was among those who died in an epidemic that swept through Wiscasset. “During its prevalence nearly every store in the town was closed, and it is related that for over a month a vapor or deep fog obscured the sun here, although it shone brightly in the adjoining towns. Night after night blazing tar barrels disinfected the air, and the specter of death and despair spread its ghostly arms over the fair village,” writes Gay. She might have been referring to the spotted fever epidemic that struck Wiscasset around this same time.        

Before moving on to another subject our narrator adds this colorful tidbit about Fort Edgecomb: “Rufus King Sewall loved to tell of the days when as a lad he played in the underground passageways leading from the water battery to the blockhouse, constructed for use in case of dire need.” This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of a secret tunnel under Fort Edgecomb. It’s also mentioned in a fictional work titled, “A Royal Tragedy: When Kings and Savages Ruled” written by Nate Wilder Jr. Set in Wiscasset in the late 1790s, Wilder’s book tells the story of a failed attempt to rescue Queen Marie Antoinette of France during the French Revolution. In one exciting passage, a Native American war party surrounds the fort where the area’s settlers have taken refuge. The story’s heroin, the young and beautiful Sally Cloud, and others escape the blockhouse to waiting boats at the river’s edge by way of a secret tunnel. Although it makes for exciting reading, there was never an attack of hostile Natives on Fort Edgecomb. Wilder by the way published his book in 1910, six years before “The Trail of the Maine Pioneer.” Interesting.

Phil Di Vece earned a B.A. in journalism studies from Colorado State University and an M.A. in journalism at the University of South Florida. He is the author of three Wiscasset books and is a frequent news contributor to the Wiscasset Newspaper and Boothbay Register. He resides in Wiscasset. Contact him at pdivece@roadrunner.com