Brunswick Falls | |
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Pejepscot Falls | |
Location | Brunswick and Topsham, Maine, US |
Coordinates | 43°55′16″N69°57′58″W / 43.9212°N 69.9661°W [1] |
Type | Cascade |
Total height | 41.83 ft (12.75 m) (1835) |
Number of drops | 3 |
Run | 1,280 ft (390 m) (1835) |
Watercourse | Androscoggin River |
Average flow rate | 85,000 cu ft/s (2,400 m3/s) |
Brunswick Falls, also known as Pejepscot Falls, lie on a rocky section of the Androscoggin River, bordering the towns of Brunswick and Topsham, Maine in the US. First occupied by Paleoindians and the Wabanaki Native Americans, the falls were a plentiful resource for food and trade. Throughout colonial history, the Industrial Revolution, and into the 21st century, the falls have been a vital part of Brunswick and Topsham's economy, harnessing its power for energy development.
Around 25,000 years ago all of New England, including Maine, was covered by the massive Laurentide Ice Sheet. Climate change forced the sheet of ice to start receding, with the last of the glacial ice disappearing from Maine by 10,000 years ago. [2]
Large sand dunes accumulated in this glacial period as winds picked up outwash sand forming river valleys, such as the Androscoggin River. As the climate warmed, the modern stream and river network was soon established, including Brunswick Falls. [2]
The formation of the natural falls consists of granite and gneiss, with three levels (prior to 1981). The rocks in the middle falls projects above the water at several points, serving as a natural island (Shad Island), to the several sections of the falls. [3]
Paleo-Indians, over several millennia, settled into the area along the Androscoggin River and Brunswick Falls, eventually becoming the Wabanaki Native Americans, encompassing what is today Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell, Maine. The Wabanakis called this area of Maine Pejepscot and lived there until the 1600s, when the first Europeans arrived. [4] : 1 During the time of the Wabanaki natives, they embraced the resources of the falls. [5] Pejepscot Falls, as it was then called, was the site of a trading post that the Wabanakis established to exchange furs with other local Native American tribes. [6] : 1
In the year 1628, Thomas Purchase of England was the first European settler to set foot in Pejepscot, building his own trading post at Pejepscot Falls. Purchase had an agreement with the natives for the land, as long as they were still able to hunt and fish at the falls. Four years later, in 1632, the Plymouth Company granted a patent to the land known as Pejepscot, including the falls, to Purchase and his brother-in-law, George Way. The falls had a rich stock of salmon, sturgeon and shad, which Purchase took advantage of, shipping barrels of fish laden with salt to London. [4] : 552, 789
During the various Native American Wars in the region, there were two fortifications established adjacent to the falls. During King William's War, the first fort was built in 1688: Fort Andross, commanded by Major Thomas Savage and under the authority of the Dominion of New England. During King Philip's War, the second fortification was built in 1715 on the ruins of Fort Andross and was known as Fort George. This fort was dismantled in 1736 when the Native American wars were coming to an end. [4] : 625
Throughout the 19th century, many dams were built across the Androscoggin River between the towns of Brunswick and Topsham, Maine. The first dam was built in 1753 and, like all subsequent dams of this century, was washed away by freshets. [4] : 553
Colonel Loammi Baldwin, from Boston, made a survey of the water-power of the Androscoggin River in Brunswick. In his report, dated November 12, 1835, Baldwin stated that the Androscoggin River discharges more water than any other river in the state of Maine, being equal, at the lowest stage of the water, to more than 4,000 cubic feet (110 m3) per second. According to this report, all the water at Brunswick Falls was 40.83 feet (12.44 m) high, divided at that time by three dams. At the upper dam there was a fall of 11.30 feet (3.44 m); at the middle dam, 14.04 feet (4.28 m); and at the lower dam, 15.49 feet (4.72 m). From the upper to the lower dam, the distance of the run was 1,280 feet (390 m). [4] : 553–554
During the Industrial Revolution, there was a multitude of cotton mills that harnessed the water-power of the falls. [4] : 553
Brunswick Dam | |
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Coordinates | 43°55′17″N69°58′04″W / 43.9214°N 69.9678°W |
Purpose | Flood control and Power |
Status | Operational |
Opening date | 1982 |
Dam and spillways | |
Type of dam | Gravity dam |
Brunswick Hydroelectric Station | |
Operator(s) | |
Type | Conventional |
Turbines |
|
Installed capacity | 20 MW |
Website Brookfield Renewable Energy | |
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Sagadahoc Light and Power Company was the first organization to acquire electric power from Brunswick Falls, with the purpose to generate, sell, and distribute electricity for lighting, heating and manufacturing in the towns of Bath and Brunswick. They were acquired by Bath and Brunswick Light & Power Company in 1910, who in turn, was acquired by Central Maine Power on December 31, 1920. [7]
Between 1979 and 1982 construction occurred for the Brunswick Hydroelectric Station, operated by Brookfield Renewable, sending power to Central Maine Power's electrical grid. The dam became the lower-most dam on the Androscoggin River at head of tide. [8] [7]
Commercial power generation at Unit 1 began in March 1982. In the same year construction began on Units 2 and 3 of the Brunswick hydroelectric station including a fish ladder. It was completed in May 1983. [7]
The station has three generators at work for a total capacity of 20 megawatts. Generator 1, being the largest has a capacity of 13 megawatts and generators 2 and 3 each have a capacity of 3.5 megawatts. [9]
Since 1809 when the first cotton mill was erected at the falls, fish have been blocked by dams from the Androscoggin River. [10] Salmon, sturgeon, alewife and shad were very abundant in the Androscoggin, but their number has greatly diminished during modern times. [4] : 94
In 1871, a substantial stone fishway was made at the middle falls. To construct it, the ledge on the northwest end of the dam was cut through. The fishway was on the Topsham side of the dam, at the lower side. The height of the fall at this time was 18 feet (5.5 m). A year later, a wooden fishway was put in on the lower dam next to Shad Island. These were not the first fishways; as early as 1789, the fish wardens were instructed by the town of Topsham to see that the dams were opened so that fish could pass. [4] : 603–604
While the falls' original dams were made from wood and stone, later dams were constructed using concrete, eliminating the possibility for fish to move upstream. By the 1930s, the Androscoggin's population of sea-run fish was virtually gone, although the Clean Water Act of 1972 helped restore a few species. [11]
In 1982, during the construction of the Brunswick Hydroelectric Dam, a fish ladder, at a cost of US$2 million, was built. [7] It was believed that 85,000 American shad would pass through the ladder each year. However, as reported in 2017, only one per year, were able to swim up the steps of the fish ladder. In 2018 the number of fish who were able to do so increased to 32, and in 2019 it increased to sixty-three. In 2020, the number decreased to twenty-three. [12] Shad, salmon and sturgeon are sometimes able to make it up, but are often beaten or injured along the way. [11] [8]
Year | Salmon | Shad | Herring |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | 0 | 1 | 49,923 |
2018 | 1 | 21 | 179,040 |
2019 | 1 | 63 | 81,025 |
2020 | 5 | 23 | 67 |
2021 | 5 | 550 | 54,906 |
2022 | 17 | 228 | 139,326 |
Harpswell is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. The population was 5,031 at the 2020 census. Harpswell is composed of land contiguous with the rest of Cumberland County, called Harpswell Neck, as well as three large islands connected by bridges: Sebascodegan Island, Orr's Island, and Bailey Island and over 200 smaller islands. Harpswell is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum, and the Maine State Music Theatre. It was formerly home to the U.S. Naval Air Station Brunswick, which was permanently closed on May 31, 2011, and has since been partially released to redevelopment as "Brunswick Landing".
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as movements of potamodromous species. Most fishways enable fish to pass around the barriers by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps into the waters on the other side. The velocity of water falling over the steps has to be great enough to attract the fish to the ladder, but it cannot be so great that it washes fish back downstream or exhausts them to the point of inability to continue their journey upriver.
The Androscoggin River is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is 178 miles (286 km) long and joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before its water empties into the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean. Its drainage basin is 3,530 square miles (9,100 km2) in area. The name "Androscoggin" comes from the Eastern Abenaki term /aləssíkɑntəkw/ or /alsíkɑntəkw/, meaning "river of cliff rock shelters" ; or perhaps from Penobscot /aləsstkɑtəkʷ/, meaning "river of rock shelters". The Anglicization of the Abenaki term is likely an analogical contamination with the colonial governor Edmund Andros.
The Amoskeag Falls are a set of waterfalls on the Merrimack River in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States.
Merrymeeting Bayis a large freshwater tidal bay located in the U.S. state of Maine. Merrymeeting Bay's unusual geography defies common landform terms. It is not what is usually meant by the word bay. It is somewhat like an estuary but it has fresh water with very little salt. Geologically it is described as an "inland delta" and biologically as "tidal riverine."
The Androscoggin Swinging Bridge is a pedestrian suspension bridge spanning the Androscoggin River in Maine between the towns of Topsham in Sagadahoc County and Brunswick in Cumberland County. The bridge was built in 1892 as a timesaving approach for employees of the Cabot Manufacturing Company of Brunswick, could have safer and easier passage across the river.
Spednic Lake is a mesotrophic lake in the Chiputneticook Lakes chain along the Canada–United States border between the state of Maine and the province of New Brunswick that is best known for its bass fishing. Sometimes it is viewed as the headwaters of the St. Croix River, sometimes a lake further up the chain is considered the headwaters. The international border runs through the lake. A northeastern arm of the lake, located entirely in Canada, retains the name Palfrey Lake. Prior to dam construction that expanded Spednic Lake they were separate lakes, but now they are hydrologically and ecologically a single combined lake.
Edwards Dam was a hydroelectric dam on the Kennebec River in the U.S. state of Maine. It was located in Augusta, Maine, about 40 miles (64 km) upstream from the Atlantic Ocean. Built in 1837 of timber and concrete, it was 917 feet (280 m) long and 24 feet (7.3 m) high. It is most famous for its removal in 1999, the first removal of a hydroelectric dam by the government against the wishes of the dam owner.
The Pejepscot Paper Company mill building is a historic paper mill located off U.S. 201 in Topsham, Maine, on the banks of the Androscoggin River, adjacent from Brunswick Falls and the Frank J. Wood Bridge. Built in 1868, the building is one of the oldest surviving paper mills in the state of Maine. The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1974, and is now a mixed-use commercial property, housing the Sea Dog Brewing Company.
The Shad Foundation is an international non-profit 501(c)(3) organization established in 1996 for the study, protection, and celebration of shads around the world. Currently, there are more than 30 recognized shad species worldwide. Shad, which are members of the herring family, are widely distributed, and many are anadromous, meaning that they migrate from fresh to salt water as juveniles and return to freshwater for the express purpose of spawning. Many species are threatened by water pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction, and obstacles to migration, such as dams.
The Northeast Coast campaign of 1747 was conducted by the Wabanaki Confederacy of Acadia against the New England settlements along the coast of present-day Maine below the Kennebec River, the former border of Acadia. during King George's War from July until September 1747. They attacked English settlements on the coast of present-day Maine between Berwick and St. Georges, within two months there were 11 raids - every town on the frontier had been attacked. Casco was the principal settlement.
Topsham is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,560 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The town is home to the annual Topsham Fair.
The Brunswick Commercial Historic District encompasses the historic late-19th century commercial core of Brunswick, Maine. It includes the northern four blocks of Maine Street, the town's principal commercial thoroughfare, which was laid out in the late 17th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
The Frank J. Wood Bridge is a three span, through truss bridge crossing over the Androscoggin River between the towns of Topsham and Brunswick, Maine, on U.S. Route 201. Opened in 1932, the bridge was originally called the Brunswick-Topsham bridge but was officially renamed the Frank J. Wood Bridge, after a local farmer who suggested the location.
Fort Andross, also known as Fort George and Cabot Mill, originally was a historic trading post and garrison built by the colonial British Empire to fortify against the Wabanaki Native Americans who were aligned with France during King William's War (1688–1697). It was adjacent to Brunswick Falls on the Androscoggin River in Brunswick, Maine. In the 19th century, the location of the fort has been used for several cotton mills including the Cabot Manufacturing Company. In 1986, the mills were transformed into office and retail space and renamed Fort Andross.
Pejepscot is a historical settlement first occupied by a subset of the Androscoggin Native Americans known as the Wabanaki. The region encompasses the current towns of Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell, Maine in Sagadahoc and Cumberland counties and was first settled by English settlers in 1628.
Thomas Purchase (1577–1678), also known as Thomas Purchis and Thomas Purchas, was the first English settler to occupy the region of Pejepscot, Maine in what is now Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell. In 1628 he set up a trading post at the site of Fort Andross to barter with the local Wabanaki Native Americans.
The Pejepscot Proprietors was a company of land investors who colonized the current towns of Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell, Maine, between the years of 1715 and 1814.
Established in 1903, the Brunswick and Topsham Water District is a fresh water supply district providing fresh water to the towns of Brunswick and Topsham, Maine through groundwater sources. The Water District is a collaboration between the two towns to ensure safe drinking water as well as water supply for the use of fire suppression systems.
(This book) has long been considered the authoritative text on the three towns through 1878.