Click to ENLARGE.Click to ENLARGE. Link to this Facebook page.Click to ENLARGE. From above Facebook page.
There are NOT in ‘Eastport‘, Maine per se, but that is best known landmark.
Over the last few years I have had SOME, but alas NOT enough, interaction with this tribe — both near Eastport & North of ‘Calais’. But, I do NOT know them, alas, as I do my beloved ‘Navajo‘. I would love to rectify that. I would LIKE to make it up for this event. I missed it last year — because I had NOT heard of it, until it was done. This year, I started making inquiries before it was too late.
Took some digging yesterday & the Eastport Library helped me locate the Facebook page. Now at least I have somewhere to start from.
Calais, Maine, though its heyday is long past, is still a friendly, cheery, optimistic & quietly bustling town — mainly thanks to the steady stream of Canadians always crossing over from the three border crossings spanning the ‘Saint Croix River‘. In terms of architecture (i.e., many of the downtown buildings) it shares much with its ‘neighboring’ sister towns ‘Eastport‘ & ‘Machias‘. Though it once had a bustling waterfront, with upwards of 19 wooden piers jutting into the river, now its muddy banks only sport the rotting skeletons. Given that it too was a mill town one can also see similarities with ‘Millinocket‘.
Though Calais is pretty enough during the day, I found it to be resplendent this midweek night, with is full-moon. Enjoy.
The island itself, briefly settled by the French in 1604, is in the middle of the ‘Saint Croix River’.
There is NO access to the island from this site! There is a boat ramp. So, you can only get to the island IF you have your own boat. That is a bit of a poor show.
The French party only managed to stay on the island for less than a year!
The impressive bronze statues at the site.
It is small, with NO access to the actual island itself, but it is cute, well laid out with classic, National Park Service bilingual interpretive signage (i.e., very engaging) as well as 5 riveting bronze statues. There is a covered pavilion, overlooking the island, with a model of what the settlement on the island (in 1604) might have looked like.
5:30 minute YouTube video made up of 70 photos I took over my two visits.
It is definitely worth a visit & I ended up visiting it twice — the second time at sunset because I knew the light would do it favors (& I was right).
In purely historical terms this island is not that significant. ‘Saint Augustine‘ in Florida had been founded 39-years earlier & the British ‘Roanoke Colony‘ in North Carolina 19-years earlier.
To I, what was significant was that Samuel de Champlain was in the French party that set up this settlement — & he actually drew the plans for the settlement. Champlain WAS A BIG DEAL! He played a big part in the European appreciation of ‘Acadia’ & the well-known ‘Lake Champlain’ in Vermont is named after him. He also founded ‘Quebec’. But, he kind of screwed up here. In the winter they ran out of water & food.
Well, have a look. The video is sure worth viewing. You will feel like you were THERE. Enjoy.
