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I I: .,_ . I ~ -. I I I I I I I I I I I I 1· I. c R 0 A D I 1)- 33 f I lnaeHv~ I PYop.:>Sed.- I AREA INVESTIGATION REPORT I ON I BENEDICT ARNOLD SCENIC ROAD MAINE I I I I I By I Hugh Gurney, Park Historian Wallace Johnson,, Laildscape Architect I Richa1'd. Wittpenn, Park Planner I NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - NORTHEAST BmION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR I I I I I I I CONTENTS I I INTRODUCTION • • . 1 ·1 RJOOO~ATIONS . l ARNOLD TRAIL TODAY AND INTERPRETATIVE I . POSSIBILITIES • • • • • • • • • • • . 3 I BENEDICT ARNOLD TRAIL SCENIC ROAD A. Brief Description of Recommended I Benedict Arnold Scenic Road • • • • . 10 B. Principl.es Governing the Conversion of Highways to the Benedict Arnold I Scenic Road • .• • • • • • .• • • • • . 13 c. Further Study Needed . 19 I Maps - Benedict Arnold Scenic Road and Possible I Recreation Developments I APPENDICES • • • • • • • • • • •. • • • • • • •. following page 20 History - Arnold' s March to Quebec I Maps - Historical. Events associated with the March to Quebec I I I I I I I INTRODUCTIOB I ~e purpose of this study is to evaluate the entire Benedict Arnold Trail.in Maine in terms of.historical importance and integrity, I interpretative possibilities df extant sites and structures apropos I to the trail, present conditions, and to provide recOJDJ;Dendations which might include the possibilities for a parkway or scenic road ·1 and related developments. At the request of Senator F.dmund S. Muskie, the National Park Service I ... \1as asked to investigate Benedict Arnold's march to Quebec which was I recognized as an epic in American military history in studies made previous~ by the Nationa1 Survey of ~istoric Sites and Buildings I and to provide a report with recommendations for presentation to the I Advisory Board. I In compliance with the above request, the writers inspected the area . during the first week of September 1964. The present recommendations I for development of the area are based on this four-day, on-the-ground study of the route of Arnold in Maine in which all roads paralleling I the Arnold Trail to the eanadian border were studied and the ensuing I principles of develapnent were prepared. I BJOOOMMENDATIONS That the existing highways in the State of Maine which parallel I Arnold's water and protage route be developed to preserve and inter- I pret the· remaining historic interests associated .with . Arno1d's march I I I I on Quebec, to conserve the scenery along the route, and to provide 1· recreation opportunities. That the entire route of 194 miles, as shown on the maps included in this I report, be designated by the State of Maine as a scenic road to be I planned, developed and administered by the State Highway Department in conjunction with the State Park Comin:Lssion, and that the Federal Govern I ment, at the request of the State, provide assistance in planning if I so requested by the State. That where no existing highways parallel the water and portage route I followed by Arnold, i.e., between Carrying Place Stream and the town of Eustis, a distance of 40 miles, that a new road be developed to I scenic highway standards to accomplish the same purposes outlined above I for existing highways. I That the State consider the possibility for enl.arging the existing Reid State Park to include large camping areas. Reid State Park would I become the southern terminus of the scenic road. I That the State consider the establishment of a large recreation area in the vicinity of 'lhree Carry Ponds, or ~lagstaff Lake and Mt. Bige1ow. I That additional picnic areas and interpretative sites be located at I regu1ar intervals along the scenic route to take advantage ot historic sites or to describe the progress of the al'm1"• I I 2. I • I • I Preservation of Arnold' s route as a recreation waterway or canoe tra.il I is not .recommended because the Kennebec River above Augusta is clogged with pulp during the spring and summer and is interspersed with dams. I The remainder of Arnold Trail to the Canadian border contains too man.y long and rough portages for pleasurable recreation by ~~noe or I boat. I The name 11 scen:Lc road" used in this report is the name chosen by the President's Recreation Advisory Council to classify those highways I that have scenic, historic, end recreation potential to be included I in a nationwide program of scenic road development. A study is now underway in this regard and the states have been requested for their I recommendations as to those highways and routes to be included in the I program. THE ARNOLD TRAIL TODAY AND INTERPRETATIVE POSSIBILITIES I Because Arnold's arnt'f foliowed a water "rout~ through" Maine, it is ·1 possible to trace its steps today. The Kennebec is still there. So are portions of the Dead River. The three ponds on the link between I. the Kennebec and Dead R1 vers still exist. So do the Chain of Ponds 1 I extending from the upper e~ of the Dead River to the Height of Land, the present Maine-Quebec border. Arnold himself has left a very com- I plete journal of his daily activities from the time of his departure ·1 from Fort Western until his arrival a.t Sartigan, on the Chaudiere. In ., it he noted distances, directions, the location and height of rapids, I ·1 I Todd Point at Re id State Pork near the mouth of the Kennebec River. Fac iliti es include swimming beaches, picnic areas , bathhouse and refreshment stand. Expansion of this I state pork could provide exte nsive co mpi ng areas at the southern terminis of the suggested I Scenic Road . I I At courthouse Point in Dresden is the I Pownal Borough Courthouse , built in 1760 and recently restored and furnished by the Li ncoln County Cul turol Historical I Soc iety. I I I Major Rube n Colburn ·s House opposite South Gardiner at Pittstown , Mo ine. Major Colburn c o nstructed the Botteoux I and gath e red supplies for the army . I I I Fort Western at Augusto was construc ted in 1754 and restored in 192 1 . Fort I Weste rn was the sta rting poin t of the expedition. I I I I The original blockhouse at Fort Halifax I in Windslow was constructed in 1754. I I I I State picnic area and interpretative site south of Skowhegan. I I I I Pulp wood in the Kennebec River, south of Skowhegan, at the state inte rpre tati ve I and picnic site. I I I Looking south at the rapids of the I Kennebec from Foot Bridge at Skowhegan. I I I Three mil es northwest of Norridgewock on the west side of the Kennebec, I Mt. Bigg e l ow and Sugarloaf Mountain Rong es in the d istance . I I I I State Interpre tati ve Stop at La ke Wyman on Route 201 opposite Carry ing Place I Stream. I ; ii J:.' I .i.. .. ~ I ') . La ke Wyman looking southw est from Ro ute 201 . .- ~ . I i nterpreto ti ve stop. ' I I I County Rood on west side of La ke Wyman. Scenic Rood would fol low the Lake to I Cbrrying Place Stream . I I I I Carrying Place Stream entering La ke Wyman. Point where Arnold's army I left the Kennebec River. I I I I Looking west across Middle Corry Pond. I I I I Logg ing Road between East Corry Pond I and Middle Corry Pond. I I I Flagstaff Lake looking northeast toward I Canadian border. I I I Looking southeast from Flagstaff La ke toward the Bigelow Mounta in Range from right to left is Cranberry Peak , I EostNubble and the Horns. This area could become an outstanding State I Recreational Resource . I I Cathedral of Pines State Pork looking I southeast toward Bigelow Mountain. Facilities include comping ,picnicking I and swimming . I I I State Picnic Site at the Dead Rive r I where Route 27 crosses. I I I Chain of La kes looking west to '' Height I o f La nd " from Route 27. I I I I and many of the landmarks, such as mountains and swamps. Arnold's I journal, along with those kept by others on the expedition, like Meigs, Dearborn, Senter and Henry, enable us today to trace quite closely the I progress of the army and its activities day by dEJ¥. As a resu1t, it should be an easy matter to devise a vivid and accurate interpretive I program. I Much of the countryside through which the army passed looks much as it looked in the f'all of' 1775. Except for areas around Augusta, Winslow, I Waterville, Skowhegan, and Madison, there has been moderate urbanization I or commercialization. The be.nks of the Kennebec from its mouth to Bingham are a patchwork of farms and woodlands with most of the people I and diversified in~ustries in the communities on a narrow strip close to the river. In 1775, settlement had already pushed as far north as I Norridgewock Falls, so the character of the region is basically the I same as it was then. Above Bingham the agricu1tural section ends, the land gets more hi~ and rocq, and the forest closes in. Dense forests, I except for a few small villages and isolated cabins, extend north along the Kennebec, across the Great Carrying Place, up the Dead River, and I along the Chain of' Ponds to the Quebec border.