Machias Bay History
Machias, which is an Indian name meaning "bad little falls" is a former lumber center wedged between the sea and the flat open country of wild blueberry barrens to the north. The river was the region's first highway providing a steady conduit for the running of sawlogs and pulp from its jewel-like headwater lakes to mills and waiting schooners along the coast.
Incorporated in 1763, the village's history goes back centuries and its unsung role in America's Revolutionary War is fascinating. Off Machias the first naval battle of the revolution was fought when local patriots, armed with sidearms and little more than knives and pitchforks, attacked and seized a British naval vessel. Only one man was lost on the American side and the Captain of the British vessel Margaretta was captured and later died at the Burnham Tavern, now a museum and the oldest building east of Bangor. Check out the East Machias Historic District too. The entire region teems with Revolutionary War History!
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