Ragged Island (Harpswell, Maine) is a privately owned island in

Harpswell, Maine 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 ...

, in

Cumberland County, Maine Cumberland County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the population was 303,069, making it the most populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Portland. Cumberland County was founded in 1760 from a portion of Y ...

, which is geographically within

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 s ...

in the

Gulf of Maine , image = , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = GulfofMaine2.jpg , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Major features of the Gulf of Maine , location = Northeast coast of the ...

. It is located at .

History

Ragged Island is notable as having been the summer home of poet

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...

and husband Eugen Jan Boissevain from 1933 until her death in 1950. It is now a private residence. Whatever the history of the island's name, at least one 1790 maritime chart identifies it simply as Cold Arse.

Preservation

Ragged Island provides habitat for a large and diverse population of nesting seabirds, including the

eider duck Eiders () are large seaducks in the genus ''Somateria''. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The down feathers of eider ducks, and some other ducks and geese, are used to fill pillows and quil ...

, black guillemot, greater black-backed gull,

herring gull Herring gull is a common name for several birds in the genus '' Larus'', all formerly treated as a single species. Three species are still combined in some taxonomies: * American herring gull (''Larus smithsonianus'') - North America * European ...

and

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

. Maine Coast Heritage Trust led an effort to protect the island, and in 2008 the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

’s National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant program awarded a $323,000 Coastal Wetland grant to purchase a conservation easement on the property. The easement, held by Maine Coast Heritage Trust, permanently protects the natural area used by seabirds for nesting on Ragged Island.

Notable people

, poet * Elijah Kellogg, minister, lecturer, author

References

External links

Ragged Island on Google Maps

Maine Coast Heritage Trust

Songs about Ragged Island"Harpswell and Adjacent Islands, Casco Bay, Maine"
(1894) by J.H. Stuart & Co., from the ''David Rumsey Map Collection'' {{Maine Islands Islands of Cumberland County, Maine Harpswell, Maine Private islands of Maine