Swan Island

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Swan Island, Maine
Surname/tag: Noble, Whidden

Swan Island, Then and Now

By J. Miller

AT THE TIME of the Indian raid in 1750, the Nobles and Whiddens lived just beyond the cove in the distance above ("K", now called Maxwell's Cove) in the house at "E" on the survey map at right.^[1] After returning from Canada, the Nobles built their own house surrounded by a stockade, at "F".

Photo above was taken from about the position of the Noble's barn, to the left of the "F", looking northeast toward the cove.

Thayer says the Whidden buildings were "at a point nearly over against 'Beef Rock' in the river", while the Nobles' stockade was "three-fourths of a mile below, near a gully and a marsh".^[1] A current map shows Beef Rock just upstream from Maxwell's Cove, as described. The Nobles' gully is clearly visible on topographic maps and on-site, with a marsh at its head.

Apparently James Whidden originally owned the whole island, or thought he did, but according to Thayer the "strong and grasping Plymouth Company" asserted a claim, invoking Crown land grants from a century-and-a-half before, which had encompassed much of Maine along with originally the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies. And in 1756 Whidden had to settle with them for a portion, which he later subdivided among his family as diagrammed here.

Image:Swan Island-6.jpg

Right above: The location of Lazarus Noble's stockade, as described by Thayer, who says that remains of cellars were visible at the time he wrote, in 1898, and that family members were buried at the north end of the Whidden property, but the graves even by then had been obliterated.^[1] According to park staff, no remnants of the Noble habitations are known. (TopoQuest.com)

Right below: Aerial view of the Island today, looking from the north. The Whidden/Noble property was at the far end, upper left. Richmond, Maine, then site of Fort Richmond, is at lower right. (Maine.gov)

Between Then and Now:

WITH INCREASED POPULATION in the century after the raid, Swan Island became the town of Perkins in 1847, peaking at about 95 residents around 1860. They made their living by farming, fishing, lumbering, shipbuilding, and ice cutting.

But then came dwindling fish stocks, depletion of hardwood, iron ships and refrigeration. The fatal dose of progress came in 1936, when a bridge was built across the Kennebec just to the north — providing no access to the island, but replacing the ferry service which could not be supported by island traffic alone.

The state purchased all of the property on the island during the 1940's and converted it to a wildlife preserve.

THE SWAN ISLAND PRESERVE is open to the public for hiking and camping. Administered by the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Access is by scheduled ferry (foot, bicycles only) for the short crossing from Richmond, ME, as well as by private watercraft.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "Reduced plan of survey on record in Registry of Deeds of York County, Maine", Oct. 1758, Bk 34, fol. 109-110; Henry O. Thayer, "The Indian's Administration of Justice: The Sequel to the Wiscasset Tragedy", Collections and Proceedings of the Maine Historical Society (2nd Ser., X, 1899, pp. 205-8), Archive.org.