The Portland daily press., 1891-09-07

post 1t was decided to rebuild 1t. This was
gone gone under the direction. OF Captain John
to the Province Of five hundred and
a nni.nety-slx pounds and eight shilllngs. As
t,ucK mouse 1t was the means Of cOmmuni-
cation with the Indians, supplying them with
snc sucn tnlngs as they needed and affording
s1 sren n convenient market for their furs. As
st,SS Sn SIsPost, ~, II Kept an eye on the Indians,
ssuuleu tneir manner and moods and served
rs an advance guard to the Observation-Disclosures.
~ Is PROBABLE that Captain Joseph Heath
s mas tne nrst In command of Fort Richmond
al vsar suas ne Occupied that position for sever
o.. O. years 4. soo WIN company OF men from the
lott In 1875, he marched to Penobscot river
anu destroyed recently established village
OF the Tarratine Indians. Captain Heath
was succeeded In command by Captain ia
Dest Des oIIaaoury' I' who was appointed TO this
was the next In command and was in charge
wnen the Tort was rebuilt 10 174O. MiDot5s
lieutenant was Captain Joseph Bana or
bean. OF York, who had acquired a knowl.
soge Oh the Indian language during a captiv-
ity OF six years, and was Interpreter at the
fort. Captain Minot was not only Command.
ger, put truckmaster, and April 27, 1742, he
dellVered up the garrison to his successor,
m VINO was the same Captain Bane who
r maa served as second In com
ceedsd BY William Lishgow' % who 'rs- re.
malned In charge until Fort Halifax was
completed, when he was placed In charge Of
tnat outpost, and Fort Richmond was dis
mantled. The building remained for long
ZINE alter i ceased to bea defensive work.
10 lIo9, before the court house was built, the
chapel Of Fort Richmond was used as a
place OF public worship. but on the compile
tlon Oh the court house, meetings were held
mere until the saint Johns church edlhce
was ready for occupancy In 177O.
Alter this Fort Richmond remained as a
ruin, and the last OF the rubbish was not re-
moved until some time after the beginning
OF tne present century. The late Captain
Carney OF Richmond Informed me some
years ago. that he well remembered when
the grouLd was cleared OF the last remains
OF the folt. and was In consequence able TO
nx upon It's locality. The site at the head OF
swan Island was well selected for a defen-
siye work. as the high point Of land upon
which 1t stood commands all the approaches,
wrether by land or by water. 1t was also In
the Immediate vicinity Of the headquarters
OF the Kennebec Indians upon Swan island.
At about o'clock the society again took
the steamer, and. as they proceeded down the
river. were furnished with an ample repast
by the committee having the excursion In
charge. The sail down the river was der
lightful and when Bath was reached the
White Squadron appeared so attractive that
1t was voted to pay 1t q visit. Accordingly,
the Percy V. drew up alongside the Newark,
and the party were shown over thelmagni f.
centiship by the officers In charge.
Steaming down the river, and listening to
interesting recitals Of early settlements. In
told by those versed In the early history ol
the localities passed, Fort Popham, the OBJ.
jectiye point Of the excursion, was reached
at about half-past four o'clock. The
members Of the society and others Inn
mediately proceeded:to the site Of the Pop
ham colony Of 1907. which. by the aid of the
newly discovered Spanish map. it was easy
to locate. Instead Of having been located on
the point where the present structure stands,
as has been supposed, It Is now settled be-
yond doubt that the ancient works were
nearly quarter Of mile west OF 1t.
After prolonged examination Of the site
Of the colony. and the Identification Of many
points Of interest. the society proceeded to
the Eureka House for supper. At 7.30 o.
clock the President called the party to order
In the parlors of the Eureka House.
Mr.. aaxter'S Remarks.
Members of the Maine Historical Society
and Friends:
The spot upon which we have recently
been standing, the site Of the Popham
colony. Is truly historic, might almost say
sacred ground, since Il was consecrated to q
noble purpose by Richard. Seymour two
hundred and eighty-f0ur years ago. Yes,
two hundred and eighty-four years agu-to-
day, George Popham and his little colony
WI a IN hi l...l- g.
and habitations. The same scenery upon
which we have been looking was spread out
before them theisame blue sky hecked will
passing clouds; the same waters ruffied with
the early autumnal breezes; the same rocky
shores met their eyes which met ours today
Here they toiled; here they suffered, anC
under some sod, which perhaps our fee
have pressed, reposes the dust Of Pophan
himself Here, not long after stood
Father Biard. the Jesuit missionary, with
his French and Indian companions, and
viewed with pious satisfaction the ruins left
Denlnd by the c0l0nists. To his narrow
view, the English heretics had justly suffered
ana partial Proyidence had reserved the
land for the faithful Frenchman. Still later,
In 1924. the genial Maverick stood here and
contemplated the same ruins. For many
years, Sir Ferdinando Gorges looked to this
LEGALITY as the site for a future city, the
capital of state Country" which was to
nave the rare honor OF being christened by
But all these schemes failed and vanished
away, and, today not vestige remains to
Indicate the site OF the northern colony Of
Virginia.
But 1t Is not my purpose to occupy the
time with extended remarks respecting
this early effort Of colonization at Sagada-
hoe; 1t Is reserved for Mr.. Thayer to give
you detailed account of this enterprise,
which he will now do.
Mr.. Thayer then gave an extended &C
count Of the settlement at Sagadahoc. and
its final breaking up. which all present lis
tened to with great Interest.
Charles ]. Gilman. Esq. Of Brunswick.
then gave an account Of the celebration of
1862, and discussed the charter OF 1906.
which he said was the cornerstone OF En-
glish supremacy on the continent.
DR.. Burrage and DIR. Charles K. Banks
made remarks respecting the Spanish map,
and advocated the erection Of a tablet to
mark the true site Of the colony.
The Rev. Asa Dalton. who had arrived on
his yacht during the progress Of the meeting.
paid glowing tribute to the faithful per-
sistence Of the Puritans In establishing or
der In New England. and deprecated all
questions Of rivalry connected with these
early efforts In settling the new world.
At the close of DIR. Dalton's very apt re-
marks the meeting broke up. everybody ex-
pressing delight at the beauty Of the day and
the interesting character OF the exercises.
Tomorrow the society will proceed up the
river and view several places Of historic In
terest which there was not time to examine
today. PERCIVAL.