Winthrop Maine Historical Society Hosts “Fight for a Fishway” 

Thursday, October 12,  2023, 6-8 pm
Posted on: September 22, 2023 - 1:20pm
picture of presenter

The early settlers of Winthrop had their world turned upside down when Sylvester Gardiner built wooden-plank dams on Cobbosseecontee Stream in the 1770’s. The incredible bounty of alewives, eels, salmon and sturgeon the settlers depended on were suddenly and cruelly cut off from the people upstream including Winthrop’s citizens. They appealed to the Massachusetts General Court but their pleas fell on deaf ears. Water power would fuel the Industrial Revolution in Gardiner and soon the factories in Winthrop.

The Winthrop Maine Historical Society will host Upstream Cobbossee’s Steven Brooke of Farmingdale and John Graham, Jr. of Winthrop on the evening of October 12 to present the “Fight for a Fishway and Restoring Sea-Run Fish to Cobbosseecontee”. 

Upstream Cobbossee was formed seven years ago by Tina Wood, a direct descendant of  late 1700’s Winthrop settlers, Henry and Enoch Wood, and run by volunteers dedicated to native fish restoration. Steve and John are board members of Upstream and longtime activists with Maine Trout Unlimited.

At least one hundred years after Winthrop gave up on its fight for a fishway, the bitter loss still stung. Stackpole’s 1925 History of Winthrop dedicated a chapter to the efforts – “Fight For A Fishway”. Sadly, by then another harsh cost of manufacturing was also noted. “Had the people foreseen the sawdust and chemicals now poured annually into the running waters of Maine,” Stackpole observed, “they might not have contended so long for fishways.” Happily, the 1972 Clean Water Act was less than 50 years later.

The presentation will be in person at the Winthrop History and Heritage Center at 107 Main Street, Winthrop, Maine but for those who opt for a zoom option, find the link below. If you have difficulties getting onto the zoom option, please call the Center at 207-395-5199 or send an email to winthropmainehistorical@gmail.com.

Speaker Series:

 https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82107710940?pwd=d1oxL1lrSCs2cEF1SEhkclZ2SDNhUT...

The next WMHS Business Meeting will take place on Thursday, October  5, 2023 from 6-8 at the Center or on zoom:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81781837381?pwd=b1I2T041UmlkZlNsUnBsYU01QXBuZz09

WMHS business meetings and WMHS Speaker Series are free and open to all.