In October, an anonymous donor gave 1,910 acres of land in Phippsburg to The Nature Conservancy. The new tract, to be called “The Basin Preserve,” is one of the largest unfragmented forest blocks in the midcoast region, a wondrous mixture of steep hemlock gorges and pitch pine forest and four miles of shoreline frontage along the Basin, an inlet on the New Meadows River that has for many years drawn sailors to its protected anchorage. The Basin is part of the Kennebec River Estuary, one of the nation’s largest and most important tidal ecosystems for fish and wildlife resources, and has faced increasing pressure from development.
Traditionally, the new preserve has been used for numerous recreational activities, including hunting, fishing, hiking, cross country skiing and travel on a network of ATV and snowmobile trails. It has a rich history of early industries that included four tidal mills, a lime kiln and tourmaline and mica quarries in addition to shipbuilding, fishing and shellfishing.
The Nature Conservancy plans to protect access for public recreational use of the area and maintain access for local clam harvesters, who depend on income from mudflats along the shore. Mike Tetreault, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy in Maine, noted that the Conservancy accepts the responsibility of managing the tract in a way “that conserves its wonderful natural resources and provides good public access.”
Peter Hutchinson, whose late 18th century home is on property adjacent to the new Basin Preserve, has researched the cultural and economic history of the Basin area for over eight years. The remains of the four tidal mills, which he says were active from around 1760 to the mid-1800s, are not far from his home. He has written a history of their thriving industry and has also developed a slide show, “Historical Archaeology and the Basin,” which he presented not long ago to residents of the area.
Presently, Hutchinson is completing research on the lime kiln, which produced lime from about 1830 to 1837 on the northeast cove of the Basin. He will write up his findings for a master’s thesis as part of his work in the Historical Archaeology program at University of Maine at Orono.
Hutchinson’s expertise and long-standing fascination with the history of this area led him to help out with Gloria Gray’s work collecting old photographs from families connected to Phippsburg’s fishing villages. He is also likely to become a valuable resource for The Nature Conservancy as it seeks to learn more about the new preserve’s interesting history. “Perhaps,” he says, “all this work I have done on the history of the Basin will now be useful and will not be lost.”
— Muriel Hendrix