Goodbye History, Hello Wal-Mart?
Hartford Courant, WILLIAM MORGAN July 16, 2006
Wiscasset is one of the most attractive towns along the scenic midcoast of Maine. A white-columned meeting house and a brick courthouse overlook a common; narrow streets lined with cottages and Federal period mansions amble down to the banks of the wide Sheepscot River. History is palpable here, where two centuries ago a thriving maritime economy built and sent wooden ships around the globe, briefly making Wiscasset one of the wealthiest towns in America.
Like so many once-prosperous Yankee seaports, Wiscasset's architectural patrimony survived because its economy languished. Jefferson's 1807 trade embargo hurt the New England states so much that they seriously considered secession. By the time the War of 1812 was over, Wiscasset had been mortally wounded. Huge schooners continued to be built on the Sheepscot, but they carried unglamorous cargoes such as lumber to Boston and New York; the mansions built by the West Indies trade remained, but the glory days were gone...
Ed Note: Wiscasset was founded as a Catholic community, the only one in Maine
Wiscasset is one of the most attractive towns along the scenic midcoast of Maine. A white-columned meeting house and a brick courthouse overlook a common; narrow streets lined with cottages and Federal period mansions amble down to the banks of the wide Sheepscot River. History is palpable here, where two centuries ago a thriving maritime economy built and sent wooden ships around the globe, briefly making Wiscasset one of the wealthiest towns in America.
Like so many once-prosperous Yankee seaports, Wiscasset's architectural patrimony survived because its economy languished. Jefferson's 1807 trade embargo hurt the New England states so much that they seriously considered secession. By the time the War of 1812 was over, Wiscasset had been mortally wounded. Huge schooners continued to be built on the Sheepscot, but they carried unglamorous cargoes such as lumber to Boston and New York; the mansions built by the West Indies trade remained, but the glory days were gone...
Ed Note: Wiscasset was founded as a Catholic community, the only one in Maine
posted by Local Ale | 10:28 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home