History
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A series of videos of locations fetred in the novel The Frozen River
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Blog posts about the history of the Kennebec
This section will trend towards Hallowell and the tidal section of the river but I will expand it with more stories from the larger Kennebec as we get into the summer
These pages and the information and images contained in them
are for educational purposes only.
OTK Factoids
Below are blog posts that combine videos about the history of Maine and Kennebec River. Most videos combine vintage photography and nostalgic images of Maine landmarks with commentary, present day photos/video, and links to more information.
About this section:
Honestly, I am not an expert on Maine history (my PhD is in Political Science), but I am learning so much about the history of Maine and the Kennebec that I can’t keep it bottled up. Also, I want to help share and preserve the history of the state, its people, and, especially, this river.
After all, the Kennebec is not a pristine river. It shows the marks human activity from the dams at its head on Moosehead Lake to Fort Popham near the its mouth. Rather than being eyesores these structures are tantalizing relics of Maine history and the river’s heritage.
In fact, it was the boom islands in the river that fascinated me as a child. I remember asking my Grandfather what they were for and he told me that they were to break up the ice before it hit a bridge. Of course, as I have since learned, this was completely wrong and that revelation has deepened my interest in getting the history right.
It is important to acknowledge that most of what is posted here is the result of other people work on historic preservation. From the Hubble Free Library and Maine Memory Network to the histories written by people like Emma Nason Huntington and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a lot of people have done the heavy lifting over the years. At all times I will strive to give proper credit and due deference to their efforts.
However, sharing their work is part of that deference. History can not be left on the shelf or in a digital archive. Therefore, the blog posts and pages on this site will share their work as much as possible consistent with copyright laws.
In that vein I should say that the content I share on the history of the Kennebec is for educational purposes only. While I offer my photography for sale, I am not going to be using and of the historic information or images for commercial purposes