EASTPORT, MAINE
Home of Eastport Lobster & Fish Company
Eastport is host to the most spectacular scenery on the Eastern Maine coast.
It is actually on Moose Island, connected to the mainland by a man-made
causeway. From the highest points on this "Most Easterly City in the
USA" one can see water and islands on all sides. Eastport is first
to see the sun rise over Campobello Island, New Brunswick every morning,
and it is said that life here is in fact "the way it used to be".
Climate And Weather
Summertime is beautiful in Eastport. Day temperatures run anywhere from
the mid-70's to the mid 90's Fahrenheit. There is always the benefit of
refreshing sea breezes, which keep the whole island comfortable, no matter
how hot the sun gets. Nighttime breezes cool the air to the crispy 60's
- perfect to throw on a light sweater and go for a moonlit stroll. Summertime
is indeed magical to Eastporters. The winters here are not as hard as those
experienced inland, but they are long. Spring is always very welcome, but
short. Autumn in Eastport is divine, and those who summer here are pained
to leave as autumn begins - not because summertime has faded, but because
they don't want to miss the second best season of the year.
A Big History For A Little City
Eastport was considered the "Sister Port To Boston" by seagoing
travelers during the 19th century. It was a booming fishing and sardine
factory town. Those little herring which swam into the Passamaquoddy Bay
brought much affluence to the Most Easterly City in the USA. After the great
fire of 1886 which destroyed the entire downtown and much of the surrounding
area, Eastporters rebuilt it all - but this time as impressive brick and
granite structures - all within one year! These buildings still stand today
and are listed on the National Historic Register.
Presidential Ties To F.D.R.
Tiny Eastport had presidential ties as well. Franklin D. Roosevelt had a
summer cottage on Campobello Island, which sits just east of Eastport in
the Passamaquoddy Bay. The two islands linked by a ferry, F.D.R. and his
wife, Eleanor, would frequent the fine shops on Eastport's waterfront, as
well as attend Eastport's traditional Fourth of July celebrations. (Look
for pictures of F.D.R. in Eastport on the walls of our restaurant) Roosevelt
was a proponent of the "Quoddy Dam Project", which an army core
of engineers had designed. They had planned to build a series of dams between
Eastport and her surrounding islands to harness the strongest tidal flows
in the world, (Eastporters still witness a staggering 28 foot difference
between low and high tides today!) and turn them into an incredible source
of hydro-electric power. But the timing was wrong. The Great Depression
took hold and the funds for the project responsibly went elsewhere.
To Learn More About Eastport...
Eastport indeed has a much facinating history. Visit the Barracks Museum
on Washington Street (housed in an old army barracks from the Civil War)
and look up the Border Historical Society (who has a wonderful scale model
of the proposed Quoddy Dam Project). The "Quoddy Tides Newspaper"
office on Water Street has a facinating geographical diorama of Eastport
and the surrounding islands, showing the unbelievable canyons of the ocean
floor responsible for the strength of out tides. And don't forget the Peavey
Library, also on Water Street, which houses every sort of historical reference
you could want, in addition to hundreds of first editions! And of course,
for more information about Eastport today, visit the Eastport Chamber of
Commerce located at 72 Water Street.
Directions:
If You Come By Plane
If You Come By Car
If You Come By Bus
1-888-EASTPORT (327-8767) TOLL-FREE
167 Water Street, Eastport, Maine 04631
Copyright© 1997 Eastport Lobster & Fish Company