Matinicus Isle, Maine
Encyclopedia
Matinicus Isle is a plantation
in Knox County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 51 at the 2000 census, although during the summer that number can triple or quadruple. Remote Matinicus Island is accessible by ferry
from Rockland
, located 20 miles (32.2 km) away, or by air taxi
from Knox County Regional Airport
. Following a fatal crash on October 5, 2011, air taxi service was temporarily suspended, but has since resumed.
called it Matinicus, meaning "far-out island." The French
used it as an early fishing
station.
In early May of 1717, several pirates from their snow (a type of two masted vessel)
, the Anne, raided several vessels there were off the shore of Matinicus at the time. The Anne had originally been captured off the Virginia Capes
in April by the pirate Samuel Bellamy
in the Whydah
, which wrecked in a storm on the night of April 26, 1717, off of Cape Cod. The Anne made it through the storm with another captured vessel, the Fisher (which was soon abandoned and the pirates aboard her transferred to the Anne). The pirates arrived at Monhegan Island, Maine
, on April 29 and waited for the Whydah, for the pirates had not seen or heard about the Whydah wrecking in the storm of the night of April 26. The pirates eventually realized the Whydah was lost, and proceeded to attack vessels in the area. Several of the pirates set out in a launch from the Anne and proceeded to Matinicus:
The pirates soon departed the area on May 9, 1717, on the 25-ton sloop formerly belonging to Colonel Minot, with a pirate crew of 19.
Matinicus was first settled in 1750 by a squatter, Ebenezer Hall, who had served as a lieutenant
during the 1745 Battle of Louisburg. Accompanied by his family, he built a house and commenced farming, burning the land to produce better hay
for his livestock
. He also burned another island, infuriating the Penobscot Indians who hunted and fished in the area for their livelihood. At a trading post
conference in 1752, Chief Colonel Louis said:
Twice the tribe wrote letters to Royal
authorities in Boston, complaining about Hall. In the second, delivered for forwarding on April 25, 1753, to Fort Richmond
, they warned:
Governor Spencer Phips
ordered Hall and his family brought into custody at Boston to answer for ignoring his command to leave Matinicus. But nothing happened. The Penobscots waited not two months but a little over four years before taking action. On June 1, 1757, they laid siege
to Hall's house, and on June 10, 1757, killed and scalped
him. Hall is buried in the vicinity of the so-called "store well," with a bronze
plaque
bolted to a ledge as commemoration.
So began the island's 250-year aura of insularity
and frontier
violence. Residents developed a reputation for wanting to be left alone; outsiders and tourists were not welcome. It was not infrequent for visiting sailboat
s to be shot at, and the Maine State Police
were under orders not to be on the island after dark. Several boating magazines listed Matinicus as a "hostile harbor," and locals openly referred to it as a "pirate island." The state gave up enforcing vehicle laws on Matinicus in the 1950s, so license plates (and brake
s) are optional on the rusted vehicles that ply its unpaved roads. More recently, however, outsiders have purchased property and built summer cottages on the island, whose economy is now comfortable with the seasonal influx of tourist dollars. Only interference in local lobster fishing
invites trouble.
Matinicus shares with Vinalhaven
what may be the richest lobstering grounds in the world. With incomes reduced and the source of income at stake, territorial disputes can flare between fishermen. In July 2009, a 63-year-old resident and fisherman shot a 41-year-old fellow fisherman in a dispute over the locations of individual lobster-fishing rights. Also, in 2006, shots were fired by a fisherman at another fisherman on his boat.
The island has a strong Christian
presence and is a routine stop for the Maine Seacoast Mission's vessel Sunbeam. It has one church, built in 1906, and all island residents are somewhat affiliated with it. This, and an unwritten law to assist anyone in trouble, prompts island fishermen to be first responders at all sorts of marine emergencies in outer Penobscot Bay
. On January 16, 1992, the tugboat
Harkness sank, and it was a lobster boat from Matinicus that went out and found the three crewmen. The rescue is featured in the issue of Reader's Digest
for March 1994.
, the plantation has a total area of 106.5 square miles (275.8 km²), of which 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) is land and 104.9 square miles (271.7 km², or 98.49%) is water. Matinicus Isle Plantation comprises eight islands located on the fringes of Penobscot Bay
in the Gulf of Maine
, part of the Atlantic Ocean
. Matinicus Island, the largest in the eight-island archipelago
, is shaped like an oval approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) long by 1 miles (1.6 km) wide, containing about 800 acres (323.7 ha). Matinicus Rock Light
is about five miles (8 km) east of Matinicus Island.
There are ten major fishing grounds around Matinicus Isle that the island's fishermen and Vinalhaven fishermen have used for centuries to capture such groundfish as cod
, haddock
, pollock
, and cusk
as well as lobster
s.
from June to October. Though weather has been mild in recent years, historical patterns indicate that weather can be extreme. Winter storms are the most destructive, the last of significance being the Great Blizzard of 1978
.
of 2000, there were 51 people, 26 households, and 13 families residing in the plantation. The population density
was 31.8 people per square mile (12.3/km²). There were 135 housing units at an average density of 84.3 per square mile (32.6/km²). The racial makeup of the plantation was 100.00% White.
There were 26 households, of which 15.4% had children under the age of 18, 53.8% were married couples
living together, and 46.2% were non-families. Individual persons composed 34.6% of all households, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96; the average family size, 2.57.
The ages of the people of the plantation were spread out, with 15.7% under the age of 18, 5.9% aged from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 39.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% aged 65 or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 121.7 males. For every 100 females aged 18 or over, there were 126.3 males aged 18 or over.
The median income for a household in the plantation was $32,500, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $40,000 versus $41,250 for females. The per capita income
for the plantation was $15,537. There were no families and 11.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including none under eighteen and 50.0% of those over 64.
Plantation (Maine)
In the U.S. state of Maine, a plantation is a type of minor civil division falling between township and town. The term, as used in this sense in modern times, appears to be exclusive to Maine....
in Knox County
Knox County, Maine
Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 39,736. Its county seat is Rockland. The county is named for American Revolutionary War general and Secretary of War Henry Knox, who lived in the county from 1795 until his death in 1806. The county was...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 51 at the 2000 census, although during the summer that number can triple or quadruple. Remote Matinicus Island is accessible by ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
from Rockland
Rockland, Maine
Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination...
, located 20 miles (32.2 km) away, or by air taxi
Air taxi
An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...
from Knox County Regional Airport
Knox County Regional Airport
Knox County Regional Airport is a public airport located the town of Owls Head, three miles south of the central business district of the city of Rockland, in Knox County, Maine, USA. The airport covers and has two runways....
. Following a fatal crash on October 5, 2011, air taxi service was temporarily suspended, but has since resumed.
History
Abenaki IndiansIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
called it Matinicus, meaning "far-out island." The French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
used it as an early fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
station.
In early May of 1717, several pirates from their snow (a type of two masted vessel)
Snow (ship)
A snow or snaw is a sailing vessel. A type of brig , snows were primarily used as merchant ships, but saw war service as well...
, the Anne, raided several vessels there were off the shore of Matinicus at the time. The Anne had originally been captured off the Virginia Capes
Virginia Capes
The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....
in April by the pirate Samuel Bellamy
Samuel Bellamy
Samuel Bellamy , aka "Black Sam" Bellamy, was an English pirate who operated in the early 18th century....
in the Whydah
Whydah Gally
The Whydah Gally was the flagship of the pirate "Black Sam" Bellamy. The ship sank in a storm off Cape Cod on April 26, 1717, taking Bellamy and the majority of his crew with it.-History:...
, which wrecked in a storm on the night of April 26, 1717, off of Cape Cod. The Anne made it through the storm with another captured vessel, the Fisher (which was soon abandoned and the pirates aboard her transferred to the Anne). The pirates arrived at Monhegan Island, Maine
Monhegan, Maine
Monhegan is a plantation on an island of the same name in Lincoln County, Maine, United States, about off the coast. The population was 75 at the 2000 census. As a plantation, Monhegan's governmental status falls between township and town...
, on April 29 and waited for the Whydah, for the pirates had not seen or heard about the Whydah wrecking in the storm of the night of April 26. The pirates eventually realized the Whydah was lost, and proceeded to attack vessels in the area. Several of the pirates set out in a launch from the Anne and proceeded to Matinicus:
- "...where they took a sloopSloopA sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
belonging to Colonel [Stephen] Minot, one shallop belonging to Capt. [John] Lane and three Schooners. They brought the Sloop and Shallop and (as we are informed) the sails and compasses of the 3 schooners to Menhagen [Monhegan], whereupon they manned the last mentioned Sloop with ten hands..."
The pirates soon departed the area on May 9, 1717, on the 25-ton sloop formerly belonging to Colonel Minot, with a pirate crew of 19.
Matinicus was first settled in 1750 by a squatter, Ebenezer Hall, who had served as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
during the 1745 Battle of Louisburg. Accompanied by his family, he built a house and commenced farming, burning the land to produce better hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
for his livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
. He also burned another island, infuriating the Penobscot Indians who hunted and fished in the area for their livelihood. At a trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
conference in 1752, Chief Colonel Louis said:
- "...one Hall and family, who live at Matinicus, interrupt us in our killing seals, and in our fowlingFowlingFowling is a term which is perhaps better known in the Fens of eastern England than elsewhere. It was more than the commercial equivalent of the field sport of wildfowling, in that it includes all forms of bird catching for meat, feathers or any other part of the bird which may have been sold on...
; they have no right to be there; the land is our own."
Twice the tribe wrote letters to Royal
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
authorities in Boston, complaining about Hall. In the second, delivered for forwarding on April 25, 1753, to Fort Richmond
Richmond, Maine
Richmond is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,298 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area....
, they warned:
- "...if you don't remove him in two months, we shall be obliged to do it ourselves."
Governor Spencer Phips
Spencer Phips
Spencer Phips was a British politician in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Born Spencer Bennett, he was adopted by Massachusetts Governor Sir William Phips, whose name he legally took...
ordered Hall and his family brought into custody at Boston to answer for ignoring his command to leave Matinicus. But nothing happened. The Penobscots waited not two months but a little over four years before taking action. On June 1, 1757, they laid siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
to Hall's house, and on June 10, 1757, killed and scalped
Scalped
Scalped is a critically acclaimed ongoing crime/western comic book series written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by R. M. Guéra, published monthly by Vertigo Comics...
him. Hall is buried in the vicinity of the so-called "store well," with a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
bolted to a ledge as commemoration.
So began the island's 250-year aura of insularity
Insularity
Insularity reflects a wide range of physical and emotional meanings in accordance with a person or place:* For a place, it relates to an island or any physically isolated place distant and inaccessible without sufficient means of transport...
and frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
violence. Residents developed a reputation for wanting to be left alone; outsiders and tourists were not welcome. It was not infrequent for visiting sailboat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
s to be shot at, and the Maine State Police
Maine State Police
The Maine State Police is the state police agency for Maine, which has jurisdiction across the state. It was created in 1921 to protect the lives, property, and constitutional rights of the citizens of the State of Maine.-Vehicles:...
were under orders not to be on the island after dark. Several boating magazines listed Matinicus as a "hostile harbor," and locals openly referred to it as a "pirate island." The state gave up enforcing vehicle laws on Matinicus in the 1950s, so license plates (and brake
Brake
A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....
s) are optional on the rusted vehicles that ply its unpaved roads. More recently, however, outsiders have purchased property and built summer cottages on the island, whose economy is now comfortable with the seasonal influx of tourist dollars. Only interference in local lobster fishing
Lobster fishing
Lobster fishing, sometimes called lobstering, is the commercial or recreational harvesting of marine lobsters, spiny lobsters or crayfish.-Lobster tools and technology:...
invites trouble.
Matinicus shares with Vinalhaven
Vinalhaven, Maine
Vinalhaven is a town located in the Fox Islands in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,235 at the 2000 census. It is home to a thriving lobster fishery and hosts a summer colony...
what may be the richest lobstering grounds in the world. With incomes reduced and the source of income at stake, territorial disputes can flare between fishermen. In July 2009, a 63-year-old resident and fisherman shot a 41-year-old fellow fisherman in a dispute over the locations of individual lobster-fishing rights. Also, in 2006, shots were fired by a fisherman at another fisherman on his boat.
The island has a strong Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
presence and is a routine stop for the Maine Seacoast Mission's vessel Sunbeam. It has one church, built in 1906, and all island residents are somewhat affiliated with it. This, and an unwritten law to assist anyone in trouble, prompts island fishermen to be first responders at all sorts of marine emergencies in outer Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River. There are many islands in this bay, and on them, some of the country's most well-known summer colonies. The bay served as portal for the one time "lumber capital of the world," namely; the city of Bangor...
. On January 16, 1992, the tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
Harkness sank, and it was a lobster boat from Matinicus that went out and found the three crewmen. The rescue is featured in the issue of Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
for March 1994.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the plantation has a total area of 106.5 square miles (275.8 km²), of which 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) is land and 104.9 square miles (271.7 km², or 98.49%) is water. Matinicus Isle Plantation comprises eight islands located on the fringes of Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River. There are many islands in this bay, and on them, some of the country's most well-known summer colonies. The bay served as portal for the one time "lumber capital of the world," namely; the city of Bangor...
in the Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
, part of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. Matinicus Island, the largest in the eight-island archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
, is shaped like an oval approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) long by 1 miles (1.6 km) wide, containing about 800 acres (323.7 ha). Matinicus Rock Light
Matinicus Rock Light
Matinicus Rock Light, is a lighthouse in on Matinicus Rock, 18 miles off the coast of Maine.In 1827 the United States Lighthouse Service erected a pair of wooden light towers and a cobblestone keeper's residence on Matinicus Rock. The lights guided sea traffic until 1848 when they were replaced by...
is about five miles (8 km) east of Matinicus Island.
There are ten major fishing grounds around Matinicus Isle that the island's fishermen and Vinalhaven fishermen have used for centuries to capture such groundfish as cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
, haddock
Haddock
The haddock , also known as the offshore hake, is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish and is widely fished commercially....
, pollock
Pollock
Pollock is the common name used for either of the two species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Both P. pollachius and P. virens are commonly referred to as pollock. Other names for P...
, and cusk
Cusk (fish)
The cusk or tusk, Brosme brosme, is a marine cod-like fish in the ling family Lotidae. It is the only species in the genus Brosme. Other common names include brismak, brosmius, torsk and moonfish.-Description:...
as well as lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
s.
Weather
Weather around Matinicus is unpredictable and often harsh. Hurricane-force winds not uncommonly blow for several days, and sometimes there is unabated fogFog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
from June to October. Though weather has been mild in recent years, historical patterns indicate that weather can be extreme. Winter storms are the most destructive, the last of significance being the Great Blizzard of 1978
Northeastern United States Blizzard of 1978
The Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978 was a catastrophic and historic nor'easter that brought blizzard conditions to the New England region of the United States and the New York metropolitan area. The "Blizzard of '78" formed on February 5, 1978 and broke up on February 7, 1978...
.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 51 people, 26 households, and 13 families residing in the plantation. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 31.8 people per square mile (12.3/km²). There were 135 housing units at an average density of 84.3 per square mile (32.6/km²). The racial makeup of the plantation was 100.00% White.
There were 26 households, of which 15.4% had children under the age of 18, 53.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, and 46.2% were non-families. Individual persons composed 34.6% of all households, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96; the average family size, 2.57.
The ages of the people of the plantation were spread out, with 15.7% under the age of 18, 5.9% aged from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 39.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% aged 65 or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 121.7 males. For every 100 females aged 18 or over, there were 126.3 males aged 18 or over.
The median income for a household in the plantation was $32,500, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $40,000 versus $41,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the plantation was $15,537. There were no families and 11.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including none under eighteen and 50.0% of those over 64.