Bailey Island is an island in
Casco Bay
Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its south ...
, and a part of the town of
Harpswell
Harpswell is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. The population was 5,031 at the 2020 census. Harpswell is composed of land contiguous with the rest of Cumberland County, called Harpswell Ne ...
, in
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
*Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberlan ...
,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
. As of the 2000 census, the island had a year-round population of 400.
History
Bailey Island originally bore the name Newaggin, given to it by the local
Abenaki
The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...
Native Americans, and was first populated by European settlers in the 17th century.
The first settler of the island was William Black, son of Black Will who was a freed slave from Kittery, Maine. William sold the land his father had left him in the Upper Parish of Kittery and settled permanently on Bailey's Island. Because of this, the island became known as Will's Island.
The story goes that in 1742, Reverend Timothy Bailey may have bought Will's Island for one pound of tobacco and a gallon of rum from William Black. In another variation of the story, the minister's wife liked the island and so the Baileys bribed municipal officials to find a flaw in Will's title to the island and award it to them. In any event, after Timothy Bailey and his wife took possession of the island, William Black left to live on
Orr's Island
Orr's Island is an island in Casco Bay and the Gulf of Maine, part of the Atlantic Ocean. The island is within the town of Harpswell, Maine, U.S., and forms an archipelago with Sebascodegan Island (also known as Great Island) to its north and B ...
. From then on, the island was known as Bailey Island.
On July 27th 2020, Bailey Island was the site of Maine’s only fatal shark attack in recorded history. A 63 year-old woman from New York City was fatally mauled by a confirmed Great White shark while swimming with her 27 year-old daughter. She was only 20 yards from the Bailey Island shore.
Bridge
The
Bailey Island Bridge
The Bailey Island Bridge (also called the Cribstone Bridge) is a historic bridge in Harpswell, Maine, the town of Harpswell within Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County in the United States, state of Maine.
History
For many years, the resid ...
, which spans Will's Gut and connects Bailey Island to
Orr's Island
Orr's Island is an island in Casco Bay and the Gulf of Maine, part of the Atlantic Ocean. The island is within the town of Harpswell, Maine, U.S., and forms an archipelago with Sebascodegan Island (also known as Great Island) to its north and B ...
, was completed in 1928. Will's Gut is the only geographical feature that still bears the name of the original non-native inhabitant of the island.
It is the only cribstone bridge in the world, which is made up of rocks, sand and gravel. A popular rumor held that there was another cribstone bridge in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
that was later destroyed, but no records of such a bridge have ever been found. The unique cribstone design of the bridge permits the substantial tides of that area to flow freely through it, greatly reducing the effect that flow would otherwise have on boats transiting its narrow channel opening. The Island is also known for its statewide football game that is held every year on the island.
Notable residents
Three prominent female psychoanalysts,
Esther Harding, Eleanor Bertine, and
Kristine Mann
Kristine Mann (August 29, 1873 – 1945) was an American educator and physician, with a particular interest in working women's health. She was an early practitioner of psychoanalysis in North America.
Early life and education
Kristine Mann was b ...
, were followers of
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
and long-time summer residents of Bailey Island. Kristine Mann, known in Jung's work as ″Miss X”, was one of Jung's subjects. Jung is also known to have visited Bailey Island and to have lectured at the
Bailey Island Library Hall
Bailey Island Library Hall (locally just Library Hall) is a historic community building at 2167 Harpswell Island Road, on Bailey Island in Harpswell, Maine. Built in 1911–12, it has been a center of community life on the island since its constr ...
.
Illustrator
Ida Waugh
Ida Waugh (October 24, 1846 – January 25, 1919) was an American illustrator of children's literature who often collaborated with her lifelong companion, Amy Ella Blanchard.
Personal life
Ida Waugh was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on O ...
and writer
Amy Ella Blanchard
Amy Ella Blanchard (June 28, 1854 – July 4, 1926) was a prolific American writer of children's literature.
Early life
Amy Ella Blanchard was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1854, the daughter of Daniel Harris Blanchard and Sarah Reynolds.
She ...
, lifelong companions, owned adjacent summer cottages on the island. Together they organized the founding of a summer chapel for the Episcopal church. The chapel was completed in 1916.
Frank Aydelotte
Franklin Ridgeway Aydelotte (October 16, 1880 – December 17, 1956) was a U.S. educator. He became the first non-Quaker president of Swarthmore College and between 1921 and 1940 redefined the institution. He was active in the Rhodes Scholar progr ...
, president of
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...
, summered at Bailey Island where he became acquainted with
Holbrook Mann MacNeille
Holbrook Mann MacNeille (May 11, 1907 – September 30, 1973) was an American mathematician who worked for the United States Atomic Energy Commission before becoming the first Executive Director of the American Mathematical Society.
Personal l ...
and Stephan Mann MacNeille in the 1920s. With Aydelotte's encouragement, both attended Swarthmore and later went on to lead distinguished careers in physics and mathematics.
Another prominent summer resident was the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
-era composer
George Frederick Root
George Frederick Root (August 30, 1820August 6, 1895) was an American songwriter, who found particular fame during the American Civil War, with songs such as "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" and " The Battle Cry of Freedom". He is regarded as the first A ...
, who died on August 6, 1895, while summering on the island.
Landmarks
*
Bailey Island Bridge
The Bailey Island Bridge (also called the Cribstone Bridge) is a historic bridge in Harpswell, Maine, the town of Harpswell within Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County in the United States, state of Maine.
History
For many years, the resid ...
;
* Mackerel Cove, one of the most photographed places in Maine;
* Land's End, a famous rocky beach at the end of the island;
* the 'Maine Lobsterman', a bronze statue originally created for the 1939 World's Fair;
* The Giant Stairs (also known as "The Giant's Steps"), a rock formation on the edge of the island resembling a large flight of stairs;
* “The Nubble″, an often-photographed bait shack where all the local lobstermen leave their
buoys
A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents.
Types
Navigational buoys
* Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...
;
* Two World War II-era
fire control tower
A fire control tower is a structure located near the coastline, used to detect and locate enemy vessels offshore, direct fire upon them from coastal batteries, or adjust the aim of guns by spotting shell splashes. Fire control towers came into g ...
s near the southern tip of the island.
References
* Nancy Orr Johnson Jensen, ''Bailey Island: Memories, Pictures & Lore'', Mayhaven Publishing, 2003, .
Harpswell Historical Society Website* Beth E. Hill (1992), ''The Evolution of Bailey's Island''
Peter P. Hill, Ph.D, "Summer Days and Childhood Shenanigans" https://maineboats.com/print/issue-145/summer-days-and-childhood-shenanigans
External links
Photograph of the Bailey Island ferry, ca. 1910, from the Maine Memory Network
{{Cumberland County, Maine
Harpswell, Maine