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28-787: Pejepscot is a historical settlement first occupied by a subset of the Androscoggin Native Americans (Formerly known as the Anasagunticooks ) 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. Before the European colonization of the Americas , Pejepscot

56-626: A Boston merchant, except for a few islands. In 1714. in the Massachusetts General Court , the land was sold to a group of Boston merchants. organized as the Pejepscot Proprietors . They sold land in small lots as a commercial enterprise to establish a settlement. By 1715, in the Brunswick portion of Pejepscot, there were only thirty to forty residents. The region of Pejepscot kept that name and location until

84-549: A capacity of 3.5 megawatts. Since 1809 when the first cotton mill was erected at the falls, fish have been blocked by dams from the Androscoggin River. Salmon, sturgeon, alewife and shad were very abundant in the Androscoggin, but their number has greatly diminished during modern times. In 1871, a substantial stone fishway was made at the middle falls. To construct it, the ledge on the northwest end of

112-627: 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. Large sand dunes accumulated in this glacial period as winds picked up outwash sand forming river valleys , such as

140-670: The Merrymeeting Bay Pioneers Project found a 17th-century dwelling in a field at the Hunter Farm on Foreside Road in Topsham. The home, found in a field, was built with wood, clay, and stone. Stones were placed below the timbers to keep them from rotting. Androscoggin people The name of the Androscoggin is derived from an anglicization of the Abenaki-language term Ammoscongon, which

168-409: 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 . 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

196-533: The Androscoggin River at head of tide . 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. 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

224-437: 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 m ) 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

252-452: The Androscoggin River. As the climate warmed, the modern stream and river network was soon established, including Brunswick Falls. 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. Paleo-Indians , over several millennia, settled into

280-665: The Massachusetts General Court constituted the three towns. The Pejepscot Site is a prehistoric archaeological site on the banks of the Androscoggin River in Topsham, Maine . The site is a small Native American habitation site dating to the Late woodland or early classic stage . It was discovered in the 1980s during planning for a water power project on the river above Brunswick Falls . In 2020

308-679: The Plymouth Company granted a patent to Purchase and his brother in-law George Way for the lands at Pejepscot, in the current towns of Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell Maine. Purchase settled at Pejepscot Falls adjacent to the Site of Fort Andross . In the proceedings of the Plymouth Council in England, the following minutes were entered: ( Early Modern English ) 16 June 1632. 8 Cat. I. The said Councill graunt certaine, called

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336-714: The River Bishopscott, unto George Way and Thomas Purchase.... A Graunt part to George Way and Thomas Purchase of certaine Lands in New England, called the River Bishopscotte (Pejepscot), and all that Bounds and Limitts of the Maine Land, adjoining to the said River to extend two myles: from the said River Northwards four myles, and the Pejepscot proprietors reserved seven hundred acres of land for

364-662: The approximate locations of areas occupied by members of the Wabanaki Confederacy (from north to south): Brunswick Falls 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 ,

392-467: 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 . During the time of the Wabanaki natives, they embraced the resources of the falls. Pejepscot Falls, as it

420-410: 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. While

448-571: 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. In 1982, during the construction of the Brunswick Hydroelectric Dam, a fish ladder , at a cost of US$ 2   million,

476-535: 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. Throughout

504-504: 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. During the various Native American Wars in the region, there were two fortifications established adjacent to

532-582: The heirs of Thomas Purchase, i.e., "Elizabeth and her five children by Mr. Purchase, and her son, Samuel Pike." from the house 1 there to the Ocean sea with all other Profitts and Commodities whatsoever, paying to the King one fifth part of gold and silver oare, and another fifth part to the President and Councill, also paying twelve pense to the said President and Councill for every hundred Acres of Ground in use, to

560-474: 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). During the Industrial Revolution , there was a multitude of cotton mills that harnessed the water-power of the falls. 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

588-463: The rent- gatherer for the time being, as by the same Graunt may appeare. On August 22, 1639, purchase made a legal agreement with John Winthrop , Governor of Massachusetts, placing his land under the jurisdiction of that colony. This was a right to the jurisdiction only and not the soil. On July 7, 1684, and after Purchase fled to Boston during King Philip's War , the land was next settled and purchased through Native Americans by Richard Wharton ,

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616-999: The southernmost of the Abenaki tribes and were therefore one of the first in contact with the English colonists of New England . In 1675, the Androscoggin took part in King Philip's War . The renowned hunter, trapper, fisherman and guide, Metallak (1727-1847), was a member of the Androscoggin tribe. In 1725, the Androscoggin joined the Pequawket and migrated to the Connecticut River in New Hampshire . They later migrated north to Canada, where they settled in Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec , present day Abenaki First Nations of Odanak . Maps showing

644-490: 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. 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

672-413: The year 1620, a charter was granted by King James II of England to forty noblemen , knights , and gentlemen , calling themselves the Plymouth Company . Their territory extended from the fourteenth to the forty-eighth parallel of latitude, and from sea to sea. Arriving in 1628, the first permanent European settler in Pejepscot was Thomas Purchase from Dorchester, Dorset England . On June 16, 1632,

700-450: Was built. 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. Shad, salmon and sturgeon are sometimes able to make it up, but are often beaten or injured along

728-515: Was inhabited by the Wabanaki Native Americans . The word Pejepscot has its roots in the Wabanaki language and has different translations ( long, rocky rapids part and crooked like a diving snake ). This area refers to a specific section of the Androscoggin River , the major waterway and lifeblood for all that inhabited the region. Pejepscot is the current towns of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine, in Sagadahoc and Cumberland counties. in

756-465: Was the name given for the portion of the Androscoggin river from Lewiston Falls northward, as stated by Pere Pole in 1793. The Ammoscongon once lived in the Androscoggin River watershed, located in present-day southern Maine and northern New Hampshire . Their main village was located in the vicinity of present-day Lewiston, Maine . Together with the Pigwacket near Fryeburg, Maine they formed

784-466: Was then called, was the site of a trading post that the Wabanakis established to exchange furs with other local Native American tribes . 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

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