Yesterday

Verona Island today sits in the middle of a busy highway, a highway that carries a flood-tide of tourists and travelers in the summer.

For many people, Verona is indistinguishable from Bucksport, possessing little distinction. This has not always been the case, for Verona was an isolated community prior to 1932.

A narrow bridge connected the island with Bucksport, but the bridge was useful only for island residents and local laborers. The dedicated traveler, seeking to cross the Penobscot River took the Bucksport-Prospect Ferry from above the island. For those traveling the Penobscot in the 19th century, the Island was simply a landmark one passed as he traveled the river.

Verona also was plagued with land disputes, which hindered settlement, and a bewildering list of official names. Orphan’s Island was one of its earliest names, a name closely associated with Samuel Waldo and his heirs. Samuel Waldo, for whom Waldo County was named, owned a large tract of land known as the Waldo Patent. This patent included the island, the title to which was eventually handed down to his granddaughters, Lucy Flucker and Sarah Waldo. Lucy became the bride of Gen. Henry Knox of Thomaston and Sarah the bride of the lawyer William Wertmore of Castine. Wetmore acquired the island from his wife and sister-in-law in 1783, and thus the name of Wetmore’s Isle was used in 1839 when the community was organized into a plantation.

The names of Orphan’s Island and Wetmore’s Island were never fully vanquished from local usage and were used by many into the 20th century. The community was incorporated in 1861, and for reasons unknown, chose the name Verona—the name of an Italian city.

There were settlers on the island as early as 1763 with approximately 25 families living on the island in 1790.

Island residents developed an economy closely tied to the Penobscot River. The river fisheries were an important part of the economy with salmon, sturgeon and shad playing the critical role. Clams were also in abundance and there is evidence of rich cod and haddock spawning grounds in Penobscot Bay.

Orphan’s Island was also located in the middle of the weir fisheries, a fishery that lined the banks of the river from Morse’s Cove in Penobscot, past the Naramissic River in Orland to North Bucksport. These weirs were owned by families that passed them down from generation to generation.

The fisheries provided an export to such places as Bangor and Boston, generating much needed capital for the families living on the island’s small farms.

The river also provided other treasures of a more dubious sort. Rivermen the world over have always lived off the wreckage found floating past their homes. The tides brought in all manner of objects from shipwrecks and storm damage at sea, and a healthy supply of timber and lumber from the mills at Bangor.

Seasonal floods, in particular, brought many treasures to the island, and a shipwreck could provide a ready reward for the individual quick enough to claim salvage rights. As the river gave, so it took, for increased pollution and the sheer volume of sawdust produced by various mills gradually destroyed the pristine waters and destroyed the fisheries.

Bucksport built some 207 vessels between 1770-1905. Two of the most important yards were located where the Shop ‘n Save Plaza now stands. These yards by 1881 were owned by Francis Swazey and William Genn. Various members of the Buck family also built vessels in Bucksport. Joseph L. Buck, who built vessels between 1847-1872, removed his yard to Verona in 1867, now the site of the public boat launch. John Douglas worked for Joseph and may have built the schooner B.F. Farnham, 174 tons, in 1872, and the schooner John Douglas, 189 tons, in 1873.

William Beazley, a Bucksport shipbuilder, purchased the Joseph Buck yard in 1873 and commenced building vessels on Verona. The Beazley yard built the brig H.C. Bucknam, 428 tons, in 1881, and the three-masted schooner Carrie A. Bucknam, 287 tons, in 1882.

The last great shipbuilder on Verona, at the Beazley yard, was the firm of McKay & Dix. They built the schooner Edward T. Stotesbury, 1,446 tons, in 1900, and the James W. Paul, 1,808 tons, in 1901. These vessels were probably three or four masters, similar to the four-masted schooner Thallium launched in 1900.

The best known vessel, built by McKay & Dix, was the steam auxiliary bark Roosevelt, launched on March 28, 1905. The vessel was built for Cmdr. Robert E. Peary and was to accompany him twice as he sought to reach the North Pole. Peary, along with Matthew Henson, probably reached the Pole in the expedition of 1908-1909.

Verona did have a brief flirtation with the summer crowd after the establishment of Verona Park. The hotel, built for the Colony, was still in operation by 1920. Many of the lots were purchased for summer homes and were in use into the 20th century. Beyond this, the citizens of Verona remained tied to the land and the river, living with the seasons and following the tides.