Winthrop society to host ‘Fight for a Fishway’ talk Oct. 12

The Winthrop Maine Historical Society plans to host Upstream Cobbossee’s Steven Brooke of Farmingdale and John Graham Jr. of Winthrop from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, to present the “Fight for a Fishway and Restoring Sea-Run Fish to Cobbosseecontee” at the Winthrop History and Heritage Center, 107 Main St.

The early settlers of Winthrop had their world turned upside down when Sylvester Gardiner built wooden-plank dams on Cobbosseecontee Stream in the 1770s. The bounty of alewives, eels, salmon and sturgeon the settlers depended on were suddenly cut off from the people upstream including Winthrop’s citizens. They appealed to the Massachusetts General Court, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. Water power would fuel the Industrial Revolution in Gardiner and soon the factories in Winthrop, according to a news release from Mary Richards with the society.

Stephen Brooke, left, and John Graham Jr. Submitted photo

Upstream Cobbossee was formed seven years ago by Tina Wood, a direct descendant of late 1700s Winthrop settlers, Henry and Enoch Wood, and run by volunteers dedicated to native fish restoration. Brooke and Graham are board members of Upstream and longtime activists with Maine Trout Unlimited.

At least 100 years after Winthrop gave up on its fight for a fishway, the bitter loss still stung. Everett S. Stackpole’s 1925 “History of Winthrop” dedicated a chapter to the efforts — “Fight For A Fishway.”

By then another harsh cost of manufacturing also was noted. “Had the people foreseen the sawdust and chemicals now poured annually into the running waters of Maine,” Stackpole observed, “they might not have contended so long for fishways.”

The 1972 Clean Water Act was less than 50 years later.

WMHS business meetings and WMHS Speaker Series are free and open to all.

For those who opt for a Zoom option, the link is https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82107710940?pwd=d1oxL1lrSCs2cEF1SEhkclZ2SDNhUT09.

Those who have difficulties getting onto the Zoom option can call the center at 207-395-5199 or send a Facebook message to the society at Friends of the Winthrop Maine Historical Society.