Meddybemps Village, Maine, 1881 and Contemporary views.
Map
Stores, houses and businesses join J.G. Tarbell's Grist and Sawmill and Blacksmith Shop on the the Dennys River, in this view of the village of Meddybemps, Maine from the Colby Atlas of 1881. The Canal, seen on this map as a dark line, bypassed the dams and allowed alewives and salmon to travel upstream into Meddybemps Lake. Located on the original site of the Baptist Church, the Novelty Mill used mostly birch to make small kitchen items. The foundation is still in evidence directly behind the church. The canal was originally dug to supply power to the novelty mill. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, Allen Gillespie and others used a structure to harvest Alewives through the months of May and June. Most of them went to the Puss and Boots cat food factory in Lubec.
Atlas of Washington County, Maine, published by Colby Co., 1881
![Map of Meddybemps Village, 1881; Stores, houses and businesses join J.G. Tarbell's Grist and Sawmill and Blacksmith Shop on the the Dennys River, in this view of the village of Meddybemps, Maine from the Colby Atlas of 1881. The canal bypassing the dam, visible as a dark line, was the alewife harvesting area, a novelty mill, and fish ladder leading to Meddybemps Lake.](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/9956/86e5a620-04ab-11ee-a3cc-8f87976c3908-ulEZ2ms.lg@2x.jpg)