Richmond Island

Richmond Island
Richmond Island
Richmond Island
Geography
Location Gulf of Maine
Coordinates 43°32′38″N 70°14′5″W / 43.54389°N 70.23472°W / 43.54389; -70.23472Coordinates: 43°32′38″N 70°14′5″W / 43.54389°N 70.23472°W / 43.54389; -70.23472
Area 226 acres (91 ha)
Administration
State Maine
County Cumberland County
Town Cape Elizabeth
Richmond's Island Archeological Site
Nearest city Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Area 195 acres (79 ha) (listed area)
Built 1628 (1628)
NRHP reference # 78000175[1]
Added to NRHP November 2, 1978

Richmond Island, or Richmond's Island, is an island off the coast of Cape Elizabeth in Cumberland County, Maine, in the United States.[2] The island's name honors Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond.[3] Privately owned and unoccupied, it is notable as the site of a permanent fishing post in the 17th century, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 for the significance of that post's archaeological remains.[1]

Geography

Richmond Island is located off the southern coast of Cape Elizabeth, near the northeastern end of Saco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. The island is 226 acres (91 ha) in size. The island has no permanent occupants, and the only structures on it are a lodge, keeper's quarters, and boat dock, located on its northwestern shore. The island is privately owned by the Sprague Corporation, through which permission to camp on the island can be arranged.[4]

History

The island's first known settler was Walter Bagnall, who operated a fishing station from 1627 to 1631, the year of his death at the hands of local Native Americans. In 1631 Robert Trelawney, an English merchant, was granted a patent for land in the area,[4] and he sent John Winter to establish a permanent fishing station on the island. From 1633 to 1643 Winter, with a crew of about 40 men, operated the station, building a substantial house, and engaging in agriculture on the land. The station was fortified against the threats of attack from Native Americans, and the Acadian settlement at Fort Pentagoet in Penobscot Bay.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Richmond Island
  3. ↑ Chadbourne, Ava H. (May 12, 1951). "Six Maine towns bear women's names". Lewiston Evening Journal. pp. 2A. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 "2007 Comprehensive Plan" (PDF). Town of Cape Elizabeth. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  5. ↑ Faulkner, Alaric (1985). "Archaeology of the Cod Fishery: Damariscove Island". Historical Archaeology (Volume 19, No. 2). JSTOR 25615546.
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