Allen Island (Maine)

Allen Island or Allen's Island is a 450-acre (180 ha) private island which is part of St. George, Knox County, Maine. it is located near the southeastern end of Muscongus Bay, roughly midway between the southernmost parts of the St. George's mainland, and Monhegan Island.

Allen's Island
Nearest citySt. George, Maine
Coordinates43°52′0″N 69°18′51″W
Arealess than one acre (listed area)
NRHP reference No.83003646[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 15, 1983

Description

The island is the largest of a small cluster of islands marking the southeastern extent of Muscongus Bay. To its northwest is Benner Island, from which it is separated by a relatively narrow channel, and to the east, across a wider channel, is Burnt Island (not to be confused with Burnt Island in Boothbay Harbor, where Burnt Island Light is located). The geographic features match those described in James Rosier's account of the exploratory expedition of George Waymouth, in which landing and exploration of an island is made.[2]

In 1979, the island was purchased by Betsy Wyeth, wife of painter Andrew Wyeth. The island had lost its full-time residents when it was purchased by Wyeth and had become "a seasonal home for two fishing families living in decaying houses on the fringe of the fast-encroaching spruce forest".[3]

Archaeological site

The island contains archaeologically sensitive prehistoric sites. It was surveyed by the state in the early 1980s, seeking confirming evidence of Waymouth's expedition landing, and a stratified Contact Period/Middle Woodland site was identified.[4] The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 15, 1983.[1]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Burrage, Henry (1889). "Waymouth's Voyage to the Coast of Maine in 1605". Collections of the Maine Historical Society: 238–239.
  3. Betsy Wyeth's World is an Island in Maine Yankee Magazine, October 2006
  4. "Androscoggin River Drainage Prehistoric Site MPS". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
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