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The Kennebec River: A Historic Maine Resource, Elise Begin

Historical Ecology Atlas of New England

The Kennebec River has been considered one of Maine’s most important resources for at least the past 6-8 thousand years; its basin is located in west central Maine and drains 5,893 square miles, an area that is approximately one-fifth the area of the state. The river originates at Moosehead lake and runs 170 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. The river can be divided into two basins: the upper basin, which spans from Moosehead Lake to Waterville; and the lower basin, which spans from Waterville to the ocean.

Before the arrival of Europeans in 1606, the Abenaki Indians controlled the entirety …

Maine Learns To Love Dairying, Erin Love

Historical Ecology Atlas of New England

The transition from subsistence to commercial farming is a defining trend in Maine dairying that continues today. Technological advances that often caused large landscape scale changes were catalysts in the division between small and large farmers. The industry developed in a relatively short time period—the last thirty years of the 19th century—but the characteristic divide between large and small farmers has continued to be exacerbated.

Bath, Maine: A City Of Ships, Taylor Witkin

Historical Ecology Atlas of New England

Known as Maine’s city of ships, Bath sits on the shores of the Kennebec River, about 15 miles from the Gulf of Maine and 40 miles up the coast from Portland. Though small in population, Bath’s impact on Maine, the rest of United States, and even on the world has been anything but small. Today Bath is known mostly for the Bath Iron Works, which supplies the US Navy with a large portion of its fleets, however, in Bath’s early days it built large, wooden yachts and schooners mostly for trade, not war. The next few pages will explore Bath’s …

The Happy Valley, Cassie Raker

Historical Ecology Atlas of New England

On the Connecticut River in Western Massachusetts, there exists the Happy Valley. Surrounded by the humble Holyoke Range, today you will find a bustling New England settlement dominated by local colleges and universities. But it was not always so. The picturesque Mount Holyoke and its accompanying hotel, known as the Summit House, have overlooked the area for hundreds of years, watching it change from forest to farmland to industry to the modern landscape it is today.