Underwood Spring Park

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Underwood Spring Park
Underwood Casino, Falmouth Foreside, ME.jpg
Underwood Spring Park in 1906
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Location Falmouth Foreside, Maine, U.S.
Opening dateJuly 18, 1899
Closing date1907(116 years ago) (1907)
Signature attractionsOpen-air theater, casino
Owner Portland and Yarmouth Electric Railway Company
Coordinates 43°44′12″N70°12′10″W / 43.7365638°N 70.202902°W / 43.7365638; -70.202902

Underwood Spring Park was a 19th- and 20th-century pleasure resort overlooking Casco Bay in Falmouth Foreside, Maine, United States. [1] Containing an open-air theater, a casino and a gazebo, it was a popular gathering spot serviced by the trolley cars of the Portland and Yarmouth Electric Railway. The Portland and Yarmouth Electric Railway Company opened the park, [2] located to north of the town landing, on July 18, 1899, [3] to promote the line's service to and from Portland, Maine's largest city, every fifteen minutes. [4] [5] A looped spur off the main line was built the month following the resort's completion to facilitate the ease of passengers' arrivals. [3]

The theater, which was managed by Edward A. Newman, [6] burned down in 1907 and was not rebuilt. [7] The park subsequently closed. [4]

The Underwood name is still in use in the vicinity, including Underwood Park [8] and the adjacent Underwood Springs Forest Preserve, [9] both on the inland side of State Route 88.

See also

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References

  1. "Falmouth, Maine, Casino at Underwood Spring Park". DigitalCommons@UMaine. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  2. "The lookout at Underwood Spring Park, Falmouth, ca. 1905". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  3. 1 2 Cummings, Osmond Richard (1957). Portland Railroad: Part I, historical development and operations. Connecticut Valley Chapter, National Railway Historical Society Inc. p. 16.
  4. 1 2 "Derailed Trolleys, Yarmouth, ca. 1925" - Maine Memory Network
  5. Portland Past and Present. Evening Express Publishing Company. 1899. pp. 89–90.
  6. The Julius Cahn-Gus Hill Theatrical Guide and Moving Picture Directory, Volume 10. 1905. p. 938.
  7. "Falmouth (Maine) Historical Society - From Town, to Destination, to Suburb". www.falmouthmehistory.org. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  8. "Underwood Park | Falmouth ME". www.falmouthme.org. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  9. "Underwood Springs Forest Preserve". Falmouth Land Trust. Retrieved 2022-11-10.