Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-07-11
WHERE SHAMROCK GROWS,
A Unique Distinction Claimed for
Grandstone Point in Maine.

Grandstone Point in Maine.
There is a firm belief about Goulds-
boro, Me-, that the only place in the
United States where the Irish sham
rock grows wild and hides itself away
among ranker vegetation, after the
manner Of all genuine shamrock
plants, is on Grindstone Point, bald
bluff which makes out from the south
shore of this town and stands facing
At present the rough pasture land pro-
duces big crop Of summer cottagers,
and is worth anywhere from $500 to
$1,000 an acre; but when Mooney and
Maloney came here, rs years ago. they
bought the whole point for three
pun ten" English money, and every
body who knew of the transaction de-
clared openly they had been cheated
out of SIS, which they would need later
| on.
The manner Of their arrival on
0gt ldstone Point was peculiar. The
scip !onaires from Boston and New
York who come here now ride on
oPNSldl u Jul OH StCdh
yachts built for speed and comfort.
Mooney and Maloney reached Halifax
from Cork on an emigrant ship which
was 35 days on the passage. From
Halifax they worked their way to
Pictou, and hired out before the mast
on schooner bound for Boston. The
schooner carried the usual cargo of
oats in the hold and grindstones on
deck. When the craft had been out
few days leak started, and the great
mass of oats below decks began to
swell.
AS she was nothing more than
Yankee craft, made of hard pine, and
old at that, she couldn't stand the
strain which the oats exerted, and she
began to split open lengthwse, like
pea pod. With water running in and
swelling the oats below and with so
tons of grindstones on deck to drive
her to the bottom, the schooner was in
great danger of going down with all
on board, when southeast gale came
along and drove her head first on the
sand beach lying under the bluff.
Mooney and Maloney escaped to land,
but the rest Of the crew, together with
the schooner and cargo, were lost.
The vessel was lost in June, 1882, and
the following autumn Maloney sent
home to Ireland some leaves from the
first shamrock plant, perhaps, that
ever took root on American soil. He
had brought few sprays with him in
box mixed with damp moss, and when
he found he was safe on land he set out
the plants ON the west side of the point
In small depression which Is now
known as Shamrock Hollow. Mooney
and Maloney named the whole head
land Shamrock Point, and the name
would have held if it hadn't been for
the grindstones. The vessel soon went
to pieces under the blows Of the sea,
and the broken timbers and oats were
ground to pulp or drifted away and
were lost. The grindstones stayed
where they fell. Grindstones were high
and hard to get in those days. There
fore, when the inhabitants alongshore
learned that cargo Of grindstones had
been dumped down on the point and
could be had for the taking away they
came and supplied their immediate
needs and laid in a stock for future
use. 1t was in the nature of things
that point which furnished ready
made grindstones should be called
Grindstone Point, name which the
summer residents use to-day, and
which appears In all the deeds and on
the maps.