(L-R) DCC Stewardship Director Kyle Winslow, DCC member David Dowley, volunteers Elaine and Bill, and new summer intern Cam Levitt at the Homestead in Machias River Preserve.
Got muscle? Like outdoor work? Come volunteer with us! Downeast Coastal Conservancy will take you to places you have never seen before!
On June 11, our valiant volunteers hiked through the Machias River Preserve to the historic Meadows Farm at the top of the Homestead Trail.
Located southeast of Whitneyville, the old farm was one of the larger, more successful agricultural properties in the Machias area. William Albee established the farm after the Revolutionary War. Albee, one of Machias’ first settlers, participated at the Battle of the Margaretta against the British on June 12, 1775 and later fought in our Continental Army.
Albee’s abandoned farmlands were acquired by the Downeast Coastal Conservancy in 2010 as part of the 1000-acre Two Rivers project. Now DCC is revealing the long-covered historic remains of that once active farm for public viewing and interpretation.
Led by Stewardship Director Kyle Winslow and energetic intern Cam Levitt, the work team of DCC members David Dowley and Robin Pinto and Ellsworth volunteers Bill and Elaine cleared brush and trees overgrowing a deep stone foundation – perhaps a sheep pen – at the central homestead site. Like many DCC properties, the Machias River Preserve is both ecologically and historically rich. Barn foundations, cellar holes, stone-lined wells, pasture walls, old roads, apple orchards, lilac bushes and an enormous elm tree at the Homestead site remind us of the men and women who lived in and worked this landscape. A visit to this site offers not only great hiking through stunning woodlands but also a history lesson in the lives of our Machias ancestors. When more features have been cleared, DCC plans to install interpretative signage that will guide visitors on a loop tour through the historic site.
DCC’s next volunteer opportunity is an expedition to Tibbetts Island off of South Addison to clean the shore line of trash. On Saturday June 26, DCC and Maine Island Trails Association will ferry volunteers out to the island. For more information about Tibbetts Island and this event, you can visit our events page at https://downeastcoastalconservancy.org/events/. We hope to see you there!
Elaine and Bill haul cut brush from around the historic stone foundation. Kyle and Cam reveal an old stone-lined foundation at William Albee’s historic Meadow Farm.