By Leo Kerz
The Presumpscot River drains two-thirds of the Casco Bay watershed. The health of this river and the health of Casco Bay go hand-in-hand. This summer, our Community Engagement Intern Leo Kerz explored the story of Presumpscot’s first advocate, Chief Polin, and the long history of people standing up for the waters that sustain us.
A River Divided by a Dam
The Presumpscot River teemed with life in the early 1700s when Chief Polin and his Wabanaki tribe lived along its banks.
It was also a time when English colonists began settling farther up the river, encroaching onto the long-stewarded area of Chief Polin’s people. In 1739, Colonel Thomas Westbrook—namesake of the present-day City of Westbrook—constructed a dam at Ammoncongin Falls,* near the site of today’s Sappi paper mill.
The settlers saw the river as an untapped resource of power for turning logs into lumber and grain into flour.
But for the Wabanaki, fishing was a way of life and the river held deep meaning. Even the name, “Ammoncogin,” is likely a Wabanaki term meaning “High Fish Place.” This dam at Ammoncongin Falls blocked the fish they depended on.
With an intimate knowledge of the river’s history, Will Plumley, co-founder and vice president of one of Friends of Casco Bay’s partner organizations, Friends of the Presumpscot River, shares his insights on Polin’s story. “The original residents of this region had very healthy relationships with the rivers,” reflects Will. “They nurtured the rivers, and the rivers nurtured them. They coexisted beautifully.”
A Long Walk to Boston
Seeing the dam and encroaching settlements, Chief Polin set out on foot to speak for the river and his people. In 1739, he walked to Boston to meet with Governor Jonathan Belcher. Standing before the governor, Polin explained how important the river was to his people’s way of life and asked simply, “only that a place may be left open in the dams so that the fish may come up in the proper seasons of the year.” He famously referred to the Presumpscot as “the river to which I belong.”
Polin also objected to the settlers’ expansion beyond the agreed-upon boundaries and requested that settlements above Saccarappa Falls stop. Governor Belcher was moved by his request and ordered Westbrook to build a fishway.
Westbrook ignored the governor’s order. Polin returned to Boston with the same request. Again, he was assured a fishway would be built, but none appeared. Meanwhile, English settlers continued building upstream.
A Long Walk to Boston
Seeing the dam and encroaching settlements, Chief Polin set out on foot to speak for the river and his people. In 1739, he walked to Boston to meet with Governor Jonathan Belcher. Standing before the governor, Polin explained how important the river was to his people’s way of life and asked simply, “only that a place may be left open in the dams so that the fish may come up in the proper seasons of the year.” He famously referred to the Presumpscot as “the river to which I belong.”
Polin also objected to the settlers’ expansion beyond the agreed-upon boundaries and requested that settlements above Saccarappa Falls stop. Governor Belcher was moved by his request and ordered Westbrook to build a fishway.
Unfortunately, Westbrook ignored the governor’s order. Polin returned to Boston with the same request. Again, he was assured a fishway would be built, but none appeared. Meanwhile, English settlers continued building upstream.
Wabanaki Resistance
Chief Polin and members of his tribe began attacking the dams and settlements in protest. Their resistance continued until a group of settlers killed Chief Polin in 1756. According to Will Plumley, Chief Polin’s body was carried to Sebago Lake and buried under the roots of a tree along the shore, so that no settlers could exhume his body and collect a bounty for his death.
Although Chief Polin’s death ended the fighting for the Presumpscot, opposition to the exploitation of rivers persists on Wabanaki land to this day.
During the 1700s, more dams were built, and more people settled along the river. As fishing remained a significant food source in early colonial life, settlers began to protest the lack of fish passage, too.
A River Polluted by Industry
During the industrial boom of the 1800s, the Presumpscot became a dumping ground for waste from paper mills, tanneries, and sawmills. Municipal sewage and food-processing waste added to the toxic mix, leaving stretches of the river too foul for fish or even people. “It was in its worst condition in the mid-1900s—to the point where sometimes there was zero dissolved oxygen in the lower river—and nothing lived in it,” explains Will.
At one point, 17 dams impounded the flow of water on the Presumpscot. Despite the river’s poor health and neglect, recreation along the river was still popular, perhaps a sign of hope for its future.
The River Bends Toward Health
Starting in the 1970s, environmental activism and the Clean Water Act began to help reduce pollution in our waters. A growing awareness, combined with damage from a bad storm, led to the first dam removal on the Presumpscot in 2002.
Today, seven dams remain, with the most recent removal at Saccarappa Falls, allowing the river to flow freely there for the first time in two centuries.
Belonging and Responsibility
Wabanaki leaders continue to emphasize reciprocal relationships with water, guiding Maine’s laws and policies. As Penobscot artist Jennifer Neptune said in “Sea Run,” a 2022 Maine Indian Tribal State report, “We’re always home because we belong to this land, it doesn’t belong to us. We are part of it, like the salmon and the eagles and the deer and the moose, which makes it all home, which makes us responsible to all those things.”
Nearly three centuries earlier, Chief Polin expressed the same truth, calling the Presumpscot the river to which I belong. This belonging, rooted in care, responsibility, and shared survival, remains at the heart of the river’s story.
The Presumpscot continues to be shaped by overlapping relationships, past and present, as it winds its way to Casco Bay. Restoration and renewal is possible when we see ourselves as belonging to our waters rather than them belonging to us.
Friends of Casco Bay is committed to the work of caring for the waters we belong to. We are honored to work with local residents and organizations such as Friends of the Presumpscot River, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, City of Portland, Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, Portland Water District, and many others as we work to reduce stormwater pollution, investigate PFAS, and protect our waters for the next generation.
* Historical sources indicate some disagreement about where Colonel Thomas Westbrook built his first dam on the Presumpscot River—whether at First Fall (Little Falls/Smelt Hill) or Second Fall (Cumberland Mills/Ammoncongin). He likely had a dam at each location. Importantly, neither provided the seasonal fish passage that had been promised to Chief Polin.
