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NOBLEBORO ICE HARVESTING Nobleboro, Maine-A History written by Robert E. Dunbar and George F. Dow By: Brittany & Renee Ice harvesting was an important business to Nobleboro before electric freezers and refrigerators were invented. There were shipments by rail and by boat to a lot of distant cities. The earliest record of the ice harvesting was a news item published on January 24, 1878 which was in the Village Herald and The Lincoln Record. On March 6, 1890 it was said that, “ice operations have commenced cutting on Damariscotta Lake at Muscongus Station. The ice is to be sent to Wiscasset and loaded aboard vessels there.” Records of ice harvesting in Damariscotta Mills exist in that year (1890). April 24, 1890 ice harvesting had been finished. Ice continued to be shipped out by boat as long as the ice stock lasted. We thought that this subject was really interesting, because we live in a world with refrigerators and freezers. We didn’t know how people back then kept their food cold and that there was such a big business in our small town. In the summer both of us love to swim in our local lakes and do other activities like fishing in the summer and ice fishing in the winter. The pictures above show men harvesting ice in Damariscotta Mills and was taken from the book, Nobleboro, Maine-A History. The information for this report also came from the book, Nobleboro, Maine-A History written by Robert E. Dunbar and George F. Dow (Nobleboro residents.)

DAMARISCOTTA LAKE HISTORY Damariscotta Lake History Dan W. Damariscotta Lake goes way back to the 1800s when the first mill in Damariscotta was created. They used the fresh water falls to generate power so the mills could run. The creator of that mill was William Vaughn who had much land. They used that grist mill to grind corn, wheat, barley and other grains. Vaughn also created the first double saw mill in Damariscotta, which was powered by the fresh water falls. An annual event also happens at the falls. The is a run of alewives. The alewives run up the falls to spawn and set up a new generation of fish.

NOBLEBORO IS WATER RICH Nobleboro Town Map This map clearly shows how rich Nobleboro is with fresh water resources. Major lakes include Damariscotta, Pemaquid and Duck Puddle.

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