Our Heritage Story
Downeast Maine’s National Importance
Downeast Maine embodies a nationally important story of the waters, land, sky, and cultures of the Atlantic northeast, and of the complex relationships between the people of five nations and the harsh and bountiful natural environment that shapes their identity and way of life – a story which exists only here, on the easternmost edge of the continental United States.
The culture of Downeast Maine is rooted in a need to both harvest and conserve natural resources for survival, thriving, and cultural expression; reverence for wild and beautiful places; strong pride of place; deep connection with ancestors; and fierce passion for preserving a beloved way of life.
Downeast Maine’s unique combination of glacial geology and rich history have created a landscape of unparalleled natural beauty and a blending of cultures and traditions, including French Acadian, British, and Native American. The distinctive geology includes rocky coastal shorelines with deep harbors, a plethora of offshore islands, and some of the highest ocean tides on the earth. Downeast Maine has enjoyed a long history of fisheries, and currently yields the highest lobster catch in the US. The unique inland geology resulted in a complex network of rivers and lakes, abundant wildlife and rare ecosystems, and a vast expanse of wild blueberry barrens. Downeast Maine currently yields the largest volume of wild blueberries in the world and is home to most of the last Atlantic Salmon rivers.
Downeast Maine’s story includes early North American French settlements, and a political history of frequent clashes among European powers to control the abundant natural resources that supported America’s rise to economic superpower. The area’s intact historic villages offer a glimpse into this past and are alive today with local culture and art that is inspired by our relationships with nature and place.
The landscape, people, and events of Downeast Maine have been and remain today examples of political, cultural, economic, and physical “borders” that create the unique experience of life on the easternmost edge of the United States. The cultural and natural borders and edges at interplay within this area of Maine, Wabanaki territory, and eastern Canada have helped to and continue to shape, supply, and inspire our nation – and the people and communities of Downeast Maine – in numerous ways.
Interpretive Themes
“Interpretive Themes” are the most important stories to tell about the National Heritage Area and are derived from the area’s supporting resources and cultural values. They bring to light the meaning, concepts, and values represented by the resources in a National Heritage Area. They encourage exploration of the context in which events or natural processes occurred and the effects of those events and processes.
Our story begins with a truly unique landscape that created abundant natural resources which supported Wabanaki communities and then the development and growth of American cities – including fisheries, forest products, granite, wild blueberries, and other agriculture. Our story includes boatbuilding, coastal mapping and the many lighthouses that enabled mass shipping of these natural resources. It includes nature-based tourism, arts inspired by nature, and preservation of open space, wildlife habitat, and public access to natural resources. Our international relationships across three nations and the formation of the international border are key aspects of Downeast Maine’s National story.
Theme 1 – Ice, Water, Stone, Earth, Sky – the glacial landscape defines us
Three million years of glacial advancement and recession formed the foundational geologic features, waters, climate, weather, and plant and animal life that has shaped the cultural landscape, lifeways and character of Downeast Maine for at least thirteen thousand years.
Topics and sub-topics include:
- Glacially-influenced geologic features
- (sand and gravel deposits; kettle ponds; rivers & streams; granite bedrock; flat landscape with coastal mountains and foothills; rocky and ever changing coastline; ocean; clay/mud flats; island archipelagos; forests; soil composition…)
- Nationally Significant plants, animals, and habitats
- Transition zone for many species and ecosystems
- Atlantic Flyway
- Abundant marine life, feeding grounds
- Tides, weather, climate, fog, and seasons
- Wabanaki experience of and relationships within natural and cultural landscapes
- Topic and subtopics to be developed with and by Wabanaki people of the region
- Identity as “Downeasters”
- Resilience and adaptation to the natural environment, over many thousands of years, has shaped the character and nature of the people who live here
- How glacial features define cultural and socio-political space over time
- Life on the easternmost edge – in the middle of nowhere and the middle of everything
Theme 2 – Five Nations, one landscape – what divides us also connects us
Centuries of struggle for cultural, religious, economic, and political autonomy have resulted in 5 nations whose communities share deep historic and familial ties, and which continue to define and defend their individual and overlapping identities within a rapidly changing world.
Topics and sub-topics include:
- Wabanaki Homeland – to be developed with Tribal members
- Oral stories
- Pre-contact inter-tribal relations
- Early contact with European fishermen and traders
- European exploration and colonization
- The dividing and taking of land and access
- Cultural oppression and dividing families
- Continued fight for sovereignty from the State of Maine
- Restoring traditional access, use, and stewardship of lands and waters
- Fighting for control and independence – formation of political and cultural borders
- Conflicts and diplomacy over time, including the American Revolution and War of 1812
- Developing the international boundary with Canada and separation of Maine from Massachusetts
- Choosing sides – dividing families, communities, resources, and cultural landscapes
- Self-actualization at a community and regional scale
Theme 3 – Nature Sustains, Inspires, and Nourishes Us
Survival and thriving in Downeast Maine are intricately tied to the scenic beauty of the cultural landscape; one’s ability to work within the cycle of natural phenomena such as seasons, tides, harvests, weather, and celestial events; and to strong social and familial connections and traditions.
Topics and sub-topics include:
- Wabanaki land use practices and traditions … – to be developed with Tribal members
- Hunting, fishing, foraging
- Food, family tradition, guiding, sporting camps
- Agriculture
- Wabanaki
- Early colonial homesteading
- Back-to-the-land movement(s)
- Commercial family farms
- Built environment – development of village centers around natural resources
- Historic villages, historic buildings, (Nationally listed and Districts) and the people and businesses which occupied them (architecture defines landscape)
- Gathering places – theaters, libraries, schools, town meetings, community suppers, grange halls, churches…
- Community events and celebrations
- Inspired by Nature – Artists, craftsmen, musicians, creators, writers…
- Tourism & hospitality
- early tourism, Maine Guides, Rusticators, tourism today
- Outdoor recreation – parks, reserves, and public trail systems
- Land of opportunity – cultural and natural assets inspire and attract new people to live and visit here
Theme 4 – Reaping Nature’s Bounty – Our enduring Natural Resources Economy
For hundreds of years the abundant natural resources of Downeast Maine have supported industries that supply raw materials and foods to the Nation and across the globe; it is vital to the local economy, cultural identity, and way of life to sustainably manage these resources and build resiliency into these industries.
- Historic and Contemporary Resource Industries
- Fisheries and aquaculture
- Wild Blueberries
- Logging and lumber products
- Other forest products – balsam, maple syrup
- Ship and boat building
- Energy production – dams
- Mills, tanneries
- Granite
- Ice
- Enabling Commerce
- Mapping & navigation (lighthouses, Baseline Road, Eastern meridian)
- Washington County Railroad, Calais Branch Railroad – how this changed commerce and tourism
- Steamships
- Quoddy Dam, leading to Route 190
- Maritime transport – age of sail
- Refrigeration – how this changed commerce
- Highways and bridges – how they changed communities and commerce
- Sustaining a nature-based economy over time
- Seasonal labor, seasonal income
- Migrant and immigrant workers
- Tradition and innovation
- Regulations, self-regulation, resource management
- Research and development
- Entrepreneurship
- Survival, adaptation, and resiliency in a changing Landscape
- Sea level rise, erosion, ocean warming, and etc. are erasing, destroying, and hiding important cultural and natural features, including economic resources, seriously challenging the depths of our identity
- Changes in land ownership, demographics, and access to resources
- Conserving land & waterscapes for people
- Habitat conservation & ecological preservation
- Historic Preservation