A Visit to Jonesport, Maine

This feature is of the one and only Jonesport. That designation is to be taken literally because there is no other Jonesport in the United States.

Jonesport is located in Washington County, Maine. This part of the world is known as "Downeast." If you have the opportunity to travel the Bold Coast Scenic Byway, you'll pass through Jonesport. That entire route truly lives up to its name and is well worth the trip.

Jonesport is located on a peninsula so it is no surprise that the town's livelihood has long been anchored to the ocean. There are stories for days about lobster, sardine herring, clams, mackerel, quahogs, urchins, periwinkle, and…you get the idea. Canneries were once in operation here. Grand ships were built and launched from these shores.

I enjoyed strolling down to the working waterfront. Generations of Jonesport residents have created history here. Fittingly, the Jonesport Historical Society sits in a corner alongside the sea in the old Sawyer store which dates back to the late 1800s. The building was closed when I passed through, but later on I enjoyed phone calls with both the president and vice president of the society. I commended them on the extraordinary book their organization created in 2018 —"Jonesport America, a History Preserved in Pictures." It gave me an excellent overview of the town's story. Two items particularly stood out to me. 

The first is so small that it likely seems almost insignificant, but I am always looking for unique tidbits. Early in Maine's history, oxen were far more common than horses. The Jonesport history book includes a record of the residents who first owned horses. I’ve never seen another local history book with this information. This detail is mentioned in the historical sketch written for the centennial in 1932. Later in the book, there are labeled photos of the horses and their owners. The last names are ones that often surface in reading about the old days in Jonesport: Norton, Dickey, Mansfield, Hinkley, and Sawyer (there are, of course, other important family names in Jonesport, but these are the ones shown with their beautiful horses).

The second point was one I also came across when featuring Friendship, Maine. Jonesport had a thriving community on Head Harbor Island from 1820 until 1941. If you visited during that period, you would have found homes, stores, a chapel, and school. As was the case in Friendship, when folks left the island for good, some of them took their homes with them. I wish I had been able to witness that move. For future reference, if any of you decide to move your house from an island to the mainland, please do contact me so I can document it!

Depending which part of the state (or country) you live in, you might or might not be all that familiar with Jonesport. Today it is not as well known as places like Bar Harbor or Camden. But a century ago, Jonesport had national recognition due to a radio program with a fictional Jonesport character named Seth Parker. He was the creation of Phillips Lord who had family in the region. I was able to locate a 1929 recording of this program from Thomas Edison’s Attic (that's the name of a show; I didn't ransack Mr. Edison's attic). It is here, if you would like to get a dose of old time radio and Downeast Maine. The show begins at the 6 minute mark and runs about a half hour. 

The three photos above are of the Peabody Memorial Library in Jonesport. My thanks to Heidi the librarian for taking time to chat with me about the community.

There may be more to come about Jonesport. I'm attempting to solve a mystery I came across during this feature. No hints at this point, but this page will be updated if I can get to the bottom of it. As always, newsletter subscribers will be notified if an addition is made to any past feature. If you're not getting the Maine Features newsletter yet, it's free. You can sign up in the box below or by visiting the newsletter page.