about 30 members
and described a unique water and land “trail” available to Saco Bay hikers
who want to experience history and natural beauty.
At a brief reception before the meeting, the attendees were able to examine
FOWIL’s large display that Diane Noble had set up showing who organization
is and significant features of Wood Island Lighthouse. The FOWIL DVD tour of
the island was also played to give the audience a sense for the lighthouse
and the island. The group was encouraged to take a guided tour to the island
aboard FOWIL’s landing craft boat, the Light Runner, but Brad also
described a more involved route the “hikers” might take via kayak.
The first step on the “trail” that Brad described would be Stage Island,
where in the late 1800s the Biddeford Pool herring and cod fleets erected
staging to dry their catches and where Wood Island keeper – Frank Verrill,
had once lived. He also described the 60-foot stone “monument” built on the
island in 1825, which still stands today as a navigational marker to aid the
entry into the harbor.
The next stop would be Negro Island, believed to have gotten its name during
the Civil War as one of an archipelago of islands in the “underground
railroad” taking escaped slaves to Canada by boat. It was formerly known as
“Tappan’s Island” after a grocer by that name that ran a fully stocked
grocery store on the island to supply the fishing fleet.
Finally, the hikers were told they would land at the Coast Guard boat ramp
on the western tip of Wood Island and traverse the half-mile raised
boardwalk on foot to the lighthouse on the eastern end. Brad then talked
about the lighthouse – its history and the evolution of the building, its
stone oil house and the light illumination. A number of questions were asked
about the island and FOWIL, and many in the audience indicated they would be
“hiking” out to the lighthouse this summer.
(Special thanks to the Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse for this update)
Posted 5/25/06
