March 28, 2024
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Park to offer look at ancient midden Heap of oyster shells were shucked by Native Americans 2,000 years ago

DAMARISCOTTA – A new state historic site on the banks of the Damariscotta River is hoped to offer a rare glimpse into Maine’s primitive history.

Whaleback Park will provide views of a large mound of white oyster shells that were shucked by American Indians 2,000 years ago. The Glidden Midden, which is about 100 feet long and 20 feet deep, is the largest oyster shell heap north of Florida, according to Dr. Arthur Spiess, an archaeologist with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.

“It’s a huge embankment that is all white. It looks like the cliffs of Dover,” said Larry Townley, president of the Damariscotta River Association. “It’s amazing when you think about the Indians, who sat around on the riverbank for centuries and threw shells over their shoulder.”

The heap sits on the Newcastle side of the river, opposite Whaleback Park. The 8-acre parcel on the Damariscotta side of the river is under development by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and the Damariscotta River Association.

The park, which could be ready to open by late August, will be located on state-owned land off Business Route 1, near the Great Salt Bay School. It will cost about $25,000 to develop the site, which will include parking for six cars, walking trails and interpretative signs.

There is no land access to the shell pile at present. The Damariscotta River Association closed a 3-mile-long hiking trail because hikers were crushing shells and contributing to erosion.

Faced with restricted access, the state and the association collaborated to develop the park as a state-owned historic site. It was agreed that the park would provide unlimited views of the Glidden Midden while preserving it at the same time, Townley said.

“It’s a sight worth seeing,” Spiess said. “It provides us with a visually stunning remnant of the Native Americans who used to live on the coast.”

An even larger shell heap was once situated in the area, Spiess said. Whaleback Midden was one of the largest shell middens on the East Coast, but it was mined between 1886 and 1891. The shells were crushed and used as a calcium supplement in chicken feed.

Aside from a few shells protruding from the ground, there is now little left of Whaleback Midden, Spiess said.

The Whaleback Midden and Glidden Midden were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.

In 1998, 309 acres around the middens was added to the national register under the designation of The Damariscotta Shell Midden Historic District.


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