The Light on the Hudson

by Dana Ferry

published by Ithaca Press

Castine, Maine

Samuel de Champlain explored a quiet peninsula near Penobscot Bay in Maine in 1612 and charted it on a map for King Henry IV of France. The Frenchman's intrigue with the area compelled him to found a trading post in 1613 near a bay. Captain John Smith arrived on the peninsula while he was charting the entire New England coast. The placid village of Castine, Maine is regarded as a place profuse in history and serene as it stands today.

The name Castine is derived from the French officer Jean Vincent d'Abbadie de St. Castin who acquired land in the seaside area of Penobscot Bay from the King of France. Married to an Indian chief's daughter, Madoca-Wando, the powerful, affluent Frenchman sustained a strong reputation among the Native Americans. Just north of Castine, was the town of Bangor, Maine, home to an evolving lumber business which enhanced Castine's prosperity as a seaport. Recognizing its advantageous location, Castine was visited by British troops who fortified Castine's existing forts to prepare for the Revolutionary War . In 1815 Castine finally came into the hands of the Americans after being controlled by the French, Dutch and British.

Castine blossomed following this period as boatyards and ship merchants accommodated mariners trading as far as the West Indies and China. At the conclusion of the Civil War, the expanding railroad service nearly replaced sailing ships resulting in the adjournment of the heavy trading era in Castine. In the early 1900s, corresponding to the time the well-known Dutch Elm trees were being sowed, the miniature hamlet was revived as passengers disembarked steamboats in Castine's harbor. These passengers were the “rusticators” who vacationed in cottages and cabins during the summer months. The lavish 18th century architecture of previous sea captains' homes were restored and maintained to remain in their historical era as well as other prominent landmarks such as Forts George and Madison and earthwork remnants from 1811 constructed by the Americans in the War of 1812.

Castine is known for its few hundred colossal, elm trees as indicated in the book The Light on the Hudson by Dana Ferry. These particular trees survived the Dutch elm disease that was rampant in the 1930s. In 1928 a ship traveling from the Netherlands dropped anchor in the United States with a cargo of lumber unaware that the Elm Bark Beetle were residing among the shipment. These beetles carried and dispersed the tree fungus disease to existing Dutch Elms destroying numbers of them. The fungus crept stealthily through the North East and then continued its devastation to the South and West. Fortunately today Castine's celebrated elms stand stately bending their imposing branches over the town streets. Castine is listed on the National Register of Historical Places with more than one hundred markers announcing an historic site or area. The tiny settlement of Castine situated among lush woodlands on a peninsula that fringes the surf, has a history to reveal and a quaintness to be experienced.

For more information about Castine, Maine, visit www.DanaFerry.com. www.DanaFerry.com.