| |||
Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing Article Summaries |
Pownalborough Courthouse, 1761
In the beginning: In 1626, the Pilgrims sent a ship up the Kennebec to trade with the Indians. In 1629, they received a grant from the Crown of "all that tract of land ... which adjoyneth to ye river of Kenibeck," with 15 miles on each side of the river. Today: Walking on the historic grounds and on the peaceful wooded trail along the Kennebec River that is part of the Pownalborough Courthouse property it is easy to look back to the wilderness that greeted the arrival of the first Colonists. In the excellently-preserved Pownalborough Courthouse, it is easy to imagine the lives and times of a world almost two and a half centuries ago when Lincoln County was created in the area patented to the Kennebec Proprietors in 1629, when Pownalborough was designated the shire town, and when the defunct Fort Shirley was selected as the site of the new courthouse. The three-story building, which was constructed in 1761, is designed according to the requirements for a British colonial courtroom, i.e. large enough to also house and feed a resident family, travelers and other visitors. Courtroom, period furnishings and original features remain in place today, as well as the third floor storage area which documents the commercial goods which were stored there for consumption or shipping. Pownalborough served as the county shire until 1794, when the new towns of Dresden and New Milford (Alna) were established, and the county seat and its court moved to Wiscasset. The first and last residents of the Pownalborough Courthouse were Samuel Goodwin and his many descendants. In 1750 Goodwin had been appointed Agent of the Kennebec Proprietors, charged with conducting a survey of the area the Proprietors were calling Frankfort Plantation, encouraging settlement and overseeing the building of Fort Shirley. Built in 1752, the Fort had a stockade 200 feet square, with two blockhouses and four guns. About 40 families, mostly French Huguenots, settled in the area under the protection of the Fort. In 1754 Goodwin moved his family from Charlestown, Massachusetts into Fort Shirley, and into the Courthouse in 1761. Samuel Goodwin had seven children. Samuel Goodwin, Jr. had ten. Their daughter Rebecca had nine. Over the generations, the family included ships' captains, merchants, artists, soldiers, farmers, businessmen, educators, ranchers, gold miners and diplomats. Descendants of the Goodwin family owned and spent at least part of each year at the Courthouse until 1954, when it was purchased by the Lincoln County Cultural and Historical Association (now the Lincoln County Historical Association). 
During its active years as a Courthouse, Pownalborough was used primarily for the second and third tiers of the British colonial justice system of the age, the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and the Court of General Sessions. A number of prominent men came to adjudicate cases, including Robert Treat Paine, signer of the Declaration of Independence; William Cushing, George Washington's first choice for Chief Justice of the new United States, who declined due to ill health; and several future governors of Massachusetts, including John Adams. Besides the Goodwins, the region had connections with many other notables: Proprietors, politicians, Patriots, and post holders. Throughout its history, this unique building also was witness to the life of the times — to the routines of the families who lived there, to the preparation of food, the providing of lodging, the playing of children, and the serious pursuits of elders. The Pownalboro Courthouse is located off Route 27 between Pittston and Dresden. It is open June and September on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; in July and August, Tuesday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit the web site of the Lincoln County Historical Association. | ||