In March 1785, a meeting was held and it was voted to petition the General Court in Massachusetts asking that the people of these islands be given full possession of the lots they occupied, with the promise of constructing a place for public worship, a minister hired for such, and a public school be built for the town’s children. (A copy of the petition can be viewed at the museum.)
Following a survey conducted by Rufus Putnam in March 1786, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts granted the land to the settlers as long as the above-mentioned conditions were met. On June 25, 1789, the islands in Penobscot Bay commonly called the North and South Fox Islands, in the County of Lincoln, were incorporated into a town by the name of Vinalhaven (named after the Boston attorney, John Vinal, who was employed by the people of the islands to present the petition to the Court). In 1785 there were 75 settlers living on the islands, but by 1790 the population, including those living on Matinicus, had increased to 578.
In the ensuing years many changes came to the islands. According to town reports, taxes were collected, schools were constructed, churches erected and roads were built. For reasons unknown to us, there were many years in which neither schools nor churches were funded. In fact, it wasn’t until 1888 that Vinalhaven saw its first high school graduating class. A few other interesting facts from early reports are: In 1818, it was voted to pay four cents per hour for labor on roads, down from twenty-five cents per hour just three years earlier; from 1822-1825, an alewife fishery was set up on the North Island, the alewive privilege was sold to a local man, who in turn, was obligated to sell the fish to said town for no more than 33 cents per 100; in 1831, it was voted to build a bridge across Old Harbor Falls; in 1846, the North Island was set off and incorporated; in 1849, the contract for building a bridge across Carver’s Mill Stream was awarded to John Carver for $300; and during a special meeting in July 1862, to fill the town’s quota for the Civil War, anyone who volunteered would be paid $100 when mustered into the service.
Some Early Settlers:
John Smith built his home on 320 acres at Poole’s Hill. Married twice, fourteen children were born to him. He was one of the islanders who was forced to work on the fort at Castine during the Revolutionary War. Mr. Smith used to tell that the British got very little benefit from his labor, as he would pound his axe on a rock at every opportunity, so that it took up most of his time sharpening it.
Thaddeus Carver came to the island with his family in 1766 when he was but 15 years old. Later he worked for Francis Cogswell who owned and operated a sawmill. In 1776, he bought Cogswell’s interest here which consisted of the sawmill and 700 hundred acres of land. He married Hannah Hall of Matinicus and ten children were born to them. Part of the original homestead still exists on the current site of the corner apartment at the John Carver Apartment complex.
Timothy Lane resided on Lane’s Island, was married to Rebecca Smith and had six children. Sometime about 1850 he commenced curing fish and furnishing outfits for fishing vessels. At one time he owned between 20 and 25 vessels. He amassed a great deal of property and wealth and in 1875, paid the largest tax to that date, ever assessed to the town.
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