Juniper Point

The history of the Boothbay Harbor Region is the subject of a number of books and pamphlets. The following excerpts are taken from Barbara Runsey’s “Highlights of Boothbay History” as it appears in Boothbay Region Historical Sketches, Selections from Out of Our Past, published by the Boothbay Region Historical Society in 1995. She writes:

The Wawenocks, an Abenaki tribe, were the native American inhabitants of this area before the white man settled here. The Boothbay region was used by white fishermen during the first half of the seventeenth century, and by the 1660’s there were year-round families settled in the region . …By 1689, the white settlers were driven out by the native Americans. In 1729 the region was named Townsend and was finally permanently resettled by a group of around 60 Scotch-Irish,…In 1764 Boothbay became a legal town, dropping its prior name of Townsend. … By the 1760’s, Boothbay had already erected saw and grist mills, and vessels were being built…. Brickmaking was also carried on at numerous sites. …by 1820 the town did very well in coasting and fishing. … The attraction of the region as a summer resort was recognized before 1850; … by the 1880’s the big hotels and summer developments were well under way.

The history of Juniper and McKown points is interwoven with the history of the region, but unfortunately, no detailed account of our West Boothbay location exists. For the 75^th birthday of the formation of JPVIS, an extensive project was undertaken to record oral histories from many of the older members. In addition, photographs and old papers pertaining to the Association were collected and then donated to the Boothbay Region Historical Society. These papers can be found in a file cabinet on the second floor of the Museum as can be all the recordings made in 1988.

In reviewing the materials I ran across an article written by my niece, Brigitte Barton, who was then working for the summer at the Boothbay Register. Her headline was Juniper and McKown Points Celebrating 75^th. Below is her story and history:

“This summer Juniper and McKown Points are celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of their summer community organization.

There will be special events to commemorate the anniversary, with activities in July and August. The first of these celebrations was a Field Day organized by Amy Whitten Warwick and George Whitten.

For this field day, a tent was raised and many of the young people gathered to blow up balloons and organize a whole series of games and races that delighted the more than fifty children that attended. This was followed by a baseball game and a visit from Brud, a Dixieland Band, and finally by spectacular fireworks, enjoyed by all the members of the Juniper Mckown Point Village Improvement Association.

The Town of Boothbay kindly volunteered their fire department to make the fireworks possible.

During the summer there will be an anniversary dinner at the Ocean Gate Motor INN, a supper-sail on the Argo and a lobster bake late in August to complete the celebration.

The most important event will be history day on July 30. Residents will be viewing old photos and newspaper clippings. Juniper Point was originally settled before the turn of the century by the Hodgdon family. Their children, the Moores, Welches, Reeds and Hodgdons divided up the land for farming and homesteads.

In 1912, the hotel Samoset on Mouse Island was destroyed by fire and a group of ministers, led by Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, decided that, as the could no longer meet at the hotel, they would like to move to the mainland and build permanent summer homes.

Ralph fuller, the artist and cartoonist, was one of several carpenters who helped build the early cottages on the ridge at Juniper Point. His son, Robert Fuller is now treasurer of the JPVIS.

Some of the earliest families that still return to Juniper Point are, Robert Fuller, Betty Fuller Helm, the descendants of Robinson and Marion Whitten: Harriet McGillivray, Nancy Barton, George Whitten and Anne Tomkinson Swope, the daughter of the Reverend Tomkinson. Donna Reed-Waugh and William Welch are direct descendants of the original settlers, as are the Carmolis.

The parents of these families are among those that originally conceived the idea for JPVIS. Two community docks, two tennis courts and wood paths as rights of way for all the residents were among the early innovations.

In the earliest days of the Association, life was very different. Mr L.A Moore used to drive his horse and buggy to the pier by the Southport bridge and pick up the summer residents from the steamship and trundle them back to his boarding house and to their cottages. People received their mail at Mouse Island and went by canoe and rowboat to pick it up. Some of the mailboxes still remain in the original building that is now a storage area on the dock at Mouse.

The spirit of friendship and community still makes Juniper Point and McKown Point a special place to live.”

With the JPVIS Centennial only five years away, it is our hope that this section of the web site will expand greatly, to include a wide range of historical information and photographs. Please feel free to contact me at billebarton@hotmail.com if you have material you would like included, or if you are interested in working up a more complete history of the Points.