The Legacy of The Popham Colony
by Joseph Nowak
Spring 1607, North 44?, West 70?. The mighty Sagadahoc was racing to the sea as the never-ending snowmelt rushed into this raging river. Only weeks before, a thick blanket of snow covered the entire river valley from its wide and turbulent mouth, to its source, 200 miles deep into the dense forest. Before the Europeans arrived, the Sagadahoc region was a vast and pure wilderness. This was soon to change. English and French explorers already discovered the region’s valuable resources on land and at sea. Plans were being made in England to establish permanent settlements in this region. Specifically, King James I granted a charter that authorized two joint stock companies to establish colonies in the New World. One colony was to be established between what is today Florida and New York; the other between today’s New York and Canada. These settlements became known as Jamestown and Popham Colony, respectively. Just as summer was settling in to the Sagadahoc region, two English ships, Mary and John and Gift of God, set sail from Plymouth harbor (England) in May of 1607. Both ships were destined for the New World to establish a colony on the banks of this mighty river. Little did they know how many ships were to eventually pass through this opening to the sea, in part because of the spirit and accomplishments of this first attempted settlement by the Europeans in the New World. This settlement in “northern Virginia”, known as Popham Colony, was the beginning of England’s colonization of the New World. Unfortunately, due to an especially severe winter and several untimely deaths, this colony lasted little more than a year. In spite of its short duration, both the spirit and the accomplishments of the Popham colonists were long lasting. One of these accomplishments was the planning and construction of the ship, Virginia. “This was the first ship built by Englishmen in the New World.” The Popham Colony's contributions to American history, such as launching a continuous, ongoing, and prosperous shipbuilding industry in Maine, rivaled or exceeded those of more permanent settlements.
England’s desire to establish a permanent settlement
at the mouth of the Sagadahoc River (today’s Kennebec) was based
on its latitudinal location (assumed to be similar to their own) and their
knowledge of the many resources it had to offer. During the late 1500s
the English, French and explorers from other nations were making regular
visits to this region to exploit the great abundance of fish that the
waters there had to offer.? The highly acclaimed author and historian,
Robert P. Tristram Coffin (a descendent of the original English settlers
of Maine) referred to this region, at the time, as “a paradise for
fish.” Coffin wrote that “The cod, not Columbus, opened the
door to a new world.” As the sixteenth century was drawing to a
close, Sir Walter Raleigh claimed Maine and much of the east coast of
the New World for the English. In honor of the virgin Queen Elizabeth,
he named this region Virginia. If ever there was a doubt or question as
to why the English were so interested in this region, here is how Coffin
describes what explorers of the Kennebec and its surroundings saw.
“Norumbega [the Kennebec region] faded out into trackless forests full of a solider wealth of timber and furs and into waters alive with fish, fish enough to feed the world… He sailed into the heart of the crystal that is Maine… Here was God’s plenty, and here were the riches that were to make the Kennebec one of the arteries of a new nation.”
So, it was with much excitement and anticipation that the explorer Weymouth (having recently returned from the Sagadahoc region) met with Sir John Popham, Lord Chief Justice of England and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, commander of Plymouth Fort (in England) to discuss the colonization of “northern Virginia.” With a charter granted and knowledge of preferable sea routes, Popham and Gorges made plans to establish a colony at the mouth of the Sagadahoc. It was fish, timber and the money of Lord Popham that sent a group of Englishmen to the coast of Maine.
It was mid-August when the colonists reached the mouth of the Sagadahoc
in “northern Virginia.” George Popham, close relative of Lord
Popham (exact relation has been debated), had commanded the Gift of God.
Raleigh Gilbert, (relation to Lord Popham is uncertain) commanded the
Mary and John. “On board were more than 100 colonists, about the
same number that had been sent…a few months before to found the
Jamestown colony.” As the leaves on the trees in the Sagadahoc River
valley began to fall, the colonists worked on establishing their settlement
the best they could before the winter settled in. They soon had constructed
a large storage house, a barn, and cabins. ? They also constructed a fort,
named St. George’s, and a church where they would practice Anglicanism
with a clergyman whom they had also brought over with them from England.
So according to Coffin “…the first Protestant service in America
was Episcopalian, not Puritan, [as commonly assumed] and it was celebrated
thirteen years before the pilgrims sang psalms at Plymouth [Massachusetts].”
Not only was the winter extremely severe, midway through it their storehouse
caught on fire and burned to the ground. This would not have been so devastating
if the Natives had been willing to trade, but they still did not completely
trust the Europeans. The colonists’ provisions ran dangerously low.
However “for all its problems, the settlement might have survived
had it not been for a series of untimely deaths.” When Sir John
Popham (in England), who had managed most of the finances of the colony,
died Gorges was left with the financial burdens of supporting the colony.
Despite their struggles, the colony itself managed to survive the winter
with only one death, but unfortunately it was that of their leader, George
Popham. “Daunted by lack of leadership and fear of troubles
with the local Indians, the would-be settlers evacuated the site….”
Even after the Popham Colony dispersed, the English returned to the region
many times. Fishing trips brought an abundant supply of fish back to England.
One account noted a load of 173,000 dried fish or about 170 tons with
an estimated value of about $75,000 for just this one trip. According
to one source “By the eighteenth century, cod had lifted New England
from a distant colony of starving settlers to an international commercial
power.” “If fish drew Europeans to the coast of Maine, it
was the promise of furs and ship timber that lured them inland”
in the decades that followed. Beaver furs from the region were in high
demand back in Europe. Europeans valued the timber from this area because
it was useful in creating tall and straight masts. Ship hulls full of
masts, as long as the ships themselves, were highly valued by both private
shipbuilders as well as the British Royal Navy. In many ways, while this
settlement was not “permanent”, England’s presence never
ceased, showing that, in fact, the colony was not a complete failure after
all. The colony and its inhabitants also left a more tangible legacy that
was to benefit future generations of Maine and American people that no
other colony could rival. This legacy was the construction of the thirty-ton
pinnace, the Virginia of Sagadahoc. This seaworthy ship was approximately
fifty-two feet long and since it was a pinnace, it had a shallow draft,
deck, a rounded bow and square stern. The colonists could both row and
sail this sturdy vessel. This was a remarkable achievement for the colonists,
who had limited tools and supplies. Not only was it the first ship built
in the New World, “It was the first of a long line of ships that
were to go out of Kennebec’s mouth and whiten all the world with
their sails.” In many ways, this ship was to become the symbol of
not only the accomplishments of Popham Colony, but also its significant
contributions to an important American industry.
The construction of the Virginia at the mouth of the Kennebec River, during
the wretched winter of 1607-08, launched a new industry for this region,
shipbuilding.
In the four centuries since the Popham Colonists launched the Virginia,
the vessels sailing out of the Kennebec have evolved with the times. In
some ways this progression of the ships is a reflection of human progress
in the region and the world. These ships evolved from square-riggers to
schooners, then to steamers, and eventually to motor-powered ships. The
Navigation Acts, instituted by the English Parliament in the mid 1600s
required that goods taken to and from England and the colonies be carried
on vessels that were built by England or the colonies. The demand for
ships was quickly becoming greater than the skilled labor that was readily
available. In the late 1600s sawmills made the production of timber much
more efficient because there was no longer the need for quite as many
laborers. With sawmills, craftsmen could begin to cut raw timber not only
into planks for ships but into barrel staves, shingles, and lumber for
building. The sawmills required waterpower for operation, but this was
yet another abundant resource in the region that was to become Maine.
During the 1700s, this region had a seemingly endless supply of both wood
for timber and water to operate the machinery to make the timber. The
dense forests for timber, plenty of water for the mills and the multitude
of resources to carry as cargo in the ships, once they were completed,
was a profitable and efficient arrangement. Merchants and mariners from
this region could trade local resources, such as fish, wood products,
and granite, on ships that they built with materials that they harvested
from their surroundings. This arrangement enabled the shipbuilding industry
to finally take hold on Maine soil. There was no longer a need to ship
off the timber and masts for the ships to be made in England. This was
the dawn of a hugely successful era and industry for Maine and a new nation,
yet to be born. In referring to the Kennebec region and the city of Bath,
Coffin noted that at
“…the end of the revolution it [Bath and Kennebec region] suddenly
found itself a focal point in the growth of a nation reaching out
quickly on the seas… It had miles of waterfront and coves…It had
a forest hundreds of miles deep…Best of all it had a peculiar
kind of Yankee in it…”
This
shipbuilding industry continued to progress in New England throughout
the 1800s. In the 1850s, shipbuilders in Bath launched a total of 232
vessels, mostly square-rigged ships and schooners. Bath, about twelve
miles upriver from the original Popham Colony, was truly the center of
the shipbuilding industry in the New World. Little did
George Popham know that his colony’s achievements would spark such
a vital industry. The square-riggers and schooners were soon to be replaced
by steam-powered vessels, but these too were to be produced in Bath. It
is remarkable how the Bath community kept up with the changes. Early in
the 1900s Bath Iron Works became a major American shipbuilder. In the
late 1930s, BIW built thirteen destroyers for the United States Navy.
In the early 1940s, 83 destroyers were ordered by the United States Navy.
This was a quarter of all destroyers built in the United States and it
was also more than what all of the Japanese shipyards built combined.
“By the end of the twentieth century, ship- and boatbuilding in
Maine was advancing on a variety of fronts from military to fishing boats
to yachts… Maine also became the nursery of a movement that sought
to preserve and encourage the craft of building wooden boats, whatever
their purpose.” This is what happened, all because of the small
short-lived colony, which settled at the mouth of the Kennebec and the
ship that it produced so long ago.
In spite of the fact that Popham Colony was not a permanent settlement,
it was in many ways the foundation upon which early American progress
rested. In the decades following that fateful winter, there was continuing
and consistent activity in the trade of fish, fur and timber. Some historians
claim that there were even about fifty of the original Popham settlers
that never left the region. The constant presence of the English in this
area was a key factor in the development of New England culture and industry.
Not only did the Popham Colonists adapt to the harsh conditions (that
the other “permanent” settlements did not have to contend
with) their perseverance and resourcefulness enabled them to take advantage
of the many riches of their surroundings. Almost 400 years after the construction
of the Virginia this endeavor still seems a remarkable feat. It is now
recognized that “Shipbuilding in Maine traces its origin to the
Popham Colony in 1607.” This kind of inventiveness and adaptation
were vital skills that carried through generations of New Englanders.
Perhaps these were the seeds of Yankee ingenuity. Another first in American
history that occurred at Popham Colony was the first Protestant service
in the New World. Contrary to popular history, it happened long before
the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. “During the seventeenth century,
English Maine grew from tiny beachheads established by fishermen and fur
traders to stable colonial settlements, hosting durable governmental,
religious, military, and economic institutions.” Clearly, in the
end, it did not matter that the first attempt at colonizing on the banks
of the Kennebec did not work out as planned. It taught later colonists
what to expect and how to be prepared. They had found and explored a magnificent
river, teeming with resources, to be used for profit in the years to come.
In and around this mighty river some of America’s first settlers
had successfully built a ship that launched the framework for a new and
enduring industry. This was definitely worth all of the money and work
put into the ordeal by the Popham family and the colonists alike.
Copyright
© 2005 by Joseph Nowak
All rights reserved.
Addendum
This paper was written for my history class at Waynflete School in the
fall of 2005. Since that time additional information has been brought
to my attention – some of which clarifies certain historical aspects
or adds to the intriguing historical debate. As in all history, light
continues to be shed on the specific details of Popham Colony.
The central point of this paper remains that Popham Colony, which produced the Virginia, was immensely significant. Regardless of how long it survived, its impact is significant and everlasting.
Thank
you to all those who have helped me continue to investigate this fascinating
piece of history.
Joseph Nowak
Spring 2006
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