Gazetteer of the State of Maine With Numerous Illustrations, by Geo. J. Varney

BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY B. B. RUSSELL, 57 CORNHILL. 1882. Public domain image from

THE STATE of MAINE.    39

pany who proved to be rank Puritans. In 1629, The Plymouth Com-
pany granted to the New Plymouth colony a tract of land 15 miles
wide on each side of the Kennebec River, and extending from Swan
Island to the great bend in the river near Norridgewock. In the same
year grants were also made to the settlers on the Saco River. One patent
was issued to Richard Vines and John Oldham, of a tract of 4 miles
on the shore and 8 miles back from the river, on the southerly side;
and another to Thomas Lewis and John Bonython of a similar tract on
the northerly side.

In 1630 the Lygonia Patent, sometimes called the “ Plough Patent ”
was granted to a company who proposed to devote their energies to
agriculture. The patent appears to have been granted under a mis-
conception, as it interfered with the rights of Gorges and was the
cause of much strife in the early years of the settlements. The terri-
tory purporting to be conveyed, was 40 miles square, extending on
the coast from the Kennebunk to Royal’s River. In the same year the
territory between Muscongus Bay and Medomac River was granted
to some persons who had trading houses there. This was the Muscon-
gus Patent, which, nearly a hundred years later, passed into the pos-
session of the Waldo family, and thus became known as the “Waldo
Patent.” The Pemaquid Patent, issued in 1631, was the last issue by
the Plymouth Company in Maine. It included the territories lying
between the Medomac and Damariscotta rivers. West of this was
the “ Sheepscot plantation ” in what is now the town of Newcastle.
j    In 1632 commenced the troubles with the French, which continued

I    until the fall    of Quebec, in 1759. The first act of hostility was the

'    plunder of the    Pilgrim’s trading station on the Penobscot by a party

of French fishermen who thought themselves excused from punishment
for the outrage by the French claim to the territory. Another was
the plunder of    the trading vessel of Dixy Bull; and this misfortune

caused Bull to    turn plunderer also. After robbing several small ves-

sels he made an attack, in 1632, upon Pemaquid, but was beaten off
without having secured much plunder. A force of four vessels from
Massachusetts Bay and Piscataqua River was sent in pursuit of the
marauder; but he had left the coast. He. was subsequently executed
in England.

In 1635 the Plymouth or New England Company was dissolved,
and its territory was divided into twelve provinces, four of which fell
within the present limits of Maine. The first, including the region
between the Penobscot and St. Croix, was assigned to Sir William
Alexander, and was named the County of Canada; the second lay
between the Penobscot and Kennebec, and was given to the Duke of
¹ ^    York, who soon named it the County of Cornwall; the third embraced

the territory between the Kennebec and Androscoggin ; the fourth
division extended from the Androscoggin to the Pascataqua. Both
the last were given to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who named his jirovince
“New Somersetshire.” In 1636 Gorges, nephew, William Gorges,
came over as Governor; but he soon returned to England. Three
^!    years later, Gorges procured a charter from the King, giving him

rights of government in his province. Its name he now changed to
Maine,—whence we obtain the name of our State. In 1642 Gorges
planned the capital city of his province, locating it on the York River.
It had been known as the plantation of Agamenticus, but he now