When I was young we lived up in that area. The rivers had such a nasty odor and there were paper mills all along most of the rivers around the greater Brunswick area.

Weren't there stock car races on that river in the winters? I remember river races but am not sure which river(s).

Man, that was a while ago.

But Mr PotatoChip said he doesn't remember any races. He does however, remember this last log drive and even knew (or rather his dad knew) some of the guys in the video.

The rivers are quite nice now but yeah, I heard that they were terrible back in the day. I think it was the Androscoggin that even caught fire at one point...

Maybe someone else here knows about the races.

As an aside, I heard that people still occasionally find submerged logs in Moosehead to this day. Apparently, they are worth a lot of money. Something to do w/how the wood has aged in the water, I guess.

the races advertised on TeeVee back in the 60s, it was a big thing back then. I guess it's still popular in the midwest.

The Androscoggin was absolutely horrid back then. There were a few years wen we lived in Bowdinham (along Doughty Lane, the house has long since burned down). We had to drive over the river when we went to Brunswick, which was the nearest place to get groceries back then, I remember my brother and I would try to hold our breath all the way across. The fumes were so bad that you would be rather ill if you tried to walk or ride a bicycle across. There were several paper and fabric mills on either side Brunswick/Topsham, especially on the north side of the river where the Pejepscot paper mill was just below the dam spillway. There was always a large plume of brown foam floating on top of the water. I remember going to the bridge with a friend on an adventurous day and dropping rocks over the edge and hearing them splat in the foam. If you lived in Brunswick or Topsham, you got used to the smell after a while. Walking to school on most mornings was really bad smelling... paper mills, ewwww! I think the Androscoggin did catch fire at some point but I didn't live there then, I don't think. It wasn't like the community was eager to have that news get out far and wide.

That river experienced a lot of abuse for a couple centuries. My mother used to take a whole day to drive up to Lisbon Falls to buy mill end fabric (she made all of our clothes) at the Worumbo Mill store. There was a Sear and Robuck catalog store and a couple other places she liked to shop that were not available in Brunswick... would have been a drive to Portland for anything that looked like a big box store these days. Back then, Lisbon Falls was a bit of a long drive up river.

Interesting site: http://www.bethelhistorical.org/A_River%27s_Journey.html

I remember the same smell in milltowns in Wisconsin. The cities of NH had a different odor. Most rivers in New England were pretty nasty when I lived there. Left New England in the early 70s.

Do you have any family still in the area? Maybe they could offer some lodging.

Things are so much better now. At least environmentally speaking. As mentioned earlier, I'm not a native Mainer, therefore didn't experience what you describe, but I believe you. Everything I've read regarding Maine history seems to back up what you are saying. And eew, paper mill towns still stink. It's like a rotten egg/sulpher smell... or something.

But things really do seem to be better overall, imho.

I'm of course not trying to imply that everything is perfect. Far from it. We've got a lot of problems here still. Not the least of which are high poverty and unemployment numbers. Especially in areas north of Bangor and Augusta. The infrastructure is a mess, and need I even mention the idiot Governor we've got at the moment? Ugh!

But the Brunswick/Topsham areas are now quite nice. I was down there a couple of years ago, and was impressed w/what the folks there have done to make it into a nice, thriving, progressive community. I can't remember the name of the place where I ate, but it was some former industrial mill that has since been tastefully redone into a brewery/restaurant. Good food, great atmosphere!

Thanks btw, for sharing your experiences. I love hearing about Maine's past from folks who have lived it.

PS- I look forward to checking out your link!

go back and visit someday.

The economic woes of that state have been there for a very long time, all of my life for certain.

There were surely many things I do recall, as well, that made it joy to be there when I was. It is nice to know that many of the industrial cities have cleaned up their act as much as they have. I have heard some good things. I am sure that I was there during the ecological turning point. I have been back to some of the cities I inhabited in southern NH in the past twenty years and was favorably impressed by the changes on some issues and unfavorably impressed in others. But I don't live there anymore so I guess it's not for me to say.

I do have a couple relatives in the region whom I would like to visit again, I'll make sure to make a drive up the coast when I do.

BTW, that isn't my site. I just found it for reference, some of the pictures reminded me of things I had long forgotten.

Thanks for bringing up the subject, though. It was a nice little trip in the "way back" machine for me!!

I'm only about 1/4 into it so far, but am already hooked! There is so much to absorb here... Amazing stuff that I would recommend to anyone who would like to know more about our state's history beyond what our euro-centric history books taught us.

This link is specifically about the Androscoggin River, and it's known historical origins. But that does not change the fact that other Maine rivers very likely have very similar histories.

I found it really interesting as well and bookmarked it myself. I thought you might appreciate the info too.

As a child I spent most of my years there in the Bowdoinham/Brunswick area an still remember much of what I saw and learned. I recall moose in our garden in Bowdoinham, I attended Nathaniel Hawthorne School (across the street from Harriet Beacher Stowe's house -which was then a fine dining establishment but I think it's a museum now). And used to ride bicycles with my older brother around the Bowdoin College campus and past Nathaniel Hawthorne's house... It was a great place to be a kid... but I really got into the wildness of Harpswell when we lived there - on the peninsula not the islands.

Anyway, glad you like that site, I have to explore it more myself. Most of the Native American info I have in my brain these days is of the Great Basin tribes... because that's what we had to study close at hand out here in the midst of "Indian Country". But with some coaxing and personal recall, I'm sure I can dredge up some info on the area of my childhood too.

I remember the log drives. That was employment for a lot of people. It did do a job on the river. That was another day and age now all that is left are the piers in the center of the river as a reminder of days gone by.