Popham Beach is a small village at the end of the Small Point peninsula on the coast of Maine, where the Kennebec River meets the Atlantic Ocean (see Maps). Part of Phippsburg, Maine, Popham Beach took its name from George Popham, the leader of the attempted settlement of 1607-1608 at Ft. St. George, known as the Popham Colony of 1607. We will be hosting a celebration of the 400th anniversary of one of the earliest attempts at colonization by the English in the New World. A number of significant events took place which bind the history of the Popham Colony to that of not only our present day small village, having lent us its name, but our region and nation as well. While the colony failed and the early settlers returned to England after a particularly nasty winter, we will celebrate a common heritage over the days of August 23, 24, 25, and 26th, 2007, at Popham Beach, Maine. Schedules of our events are listed through the link above and printable copies of it are available there as well.

We hope that you will find this site a good point from which to explore the history and heritage of our area, and that the resources and activities of our partners will prove informative and interesting. The Popham Colony has a unique place in the history of the great State of Maine, the whole of early New England, and hence the country as a whole. The story of the early adventurers who tried to make a foothold in the New World is fascinating as a rich and colorful slice of a time in England. The excavations at Popham have provided a very narrow snapshot of that time in history - an archeologists dream!. The time of the Popham Colony was the time of Shakespeare, and the partners who backed the colonization attempt were prominent members of English society who had a hand in establishing what became permanent settlements in other parts of New England. Look here for a list of known participants from a web site put together by the Maine State Museum about the colony. There is also a new book out which chronicles the lives of the settlers and traces their history to their modern day descendants! Many of the ancestors of the original colonists will be joining us, and to them and to all, we extend a hearty welcome!

We are partnered with the people of our region and state as well as the people, places and organizations listed below because of our common heritage and present day goal to honor the achievements of the 1607 colony:

Maine's First Ship The first ship built by English settlers in the new world was built by the Popham Colony at Fort St. George at the mouth of the Kennebec River. Called Virginia, she is known to have crossed the Atlantic several times in support of later colonization from England, having been built by and first used to return the Popham Colony's settlers to England. Efforts are underway to build, operate and endow a full working reconstruction of that ship. There is now a VIRGINIA Exhibit at Maine Maritime Museum with ongoing Shipwright demonstrations. The Virginia was the first of thousands of ships built in these waters in the 400 years which followed. The place was not an empty barren land however. The settlers had the company of the indigenous population, who had been on the land prior to English settlement for thousands of years. We hope to have some of the ancestors of the Native Americans who greeted the colonists join in our celebration and share with us their perspectives of this early encounter with the strange men from far away England!

The First Ship web site has an enormous amount of background information, historical and otherwise, as they have been doing research and gathering information about the colony in their research about the Virginia for years. Rather than duplicate that effort here, anyone who wishes to look into the colony further should start there. Maine's First Ship will be an active participant in our celebration, both at Popham and elsewhere in the nearby community. The schedule will have an interesting and informative series of exhibits and lectures which Maine's First Ship's people have generously offered to share with us. Their research on the details of life at the colony will be an invaluable part of the celebration. Check out the enormous amount of information contained in their web site http://www.mainesfirstship.org/

The Popham Circle: This organization was founded in the 1880s (see their history here) at Popham Beach and has been an organizer of community minded events ever since. They currently are involved with the day to day organizational uses of the Chapel House and Chapel in Popham village by the community along with caretaking the grounds on which they stand. Many of our events are scheduled to take place on these grounds. The Circle has helped organize and schedule some of our main events during the celebration: The Taste of Sagadahoc, Thursday from 11:30-4:30, The Invitational Crafts Vendors/Circle fair, and the Historic Service to be held on Sunday at the chapel with the reception to follow. They have put together many detailed aspects of the celebration, and without their help we would not be able to do any of this. They will have a number of Celebration items offered for sale before and at the celebration as well as items related to the local area. Please see more information about them their history and the items they are offering up here.

Phippsburg, Maine: The colony was located at the mouth of the Kennebec River in what was to eventually become Phippsburg, Sagadahoc County, Maine. It is, to this day, a most pleasant place, full of men annd women of the highest moral character who still reflect the rugged integrity and good intention of those foreign would be settlers who first walked these shores. Well, maybe the original intentions of the foreigners wasn't exactly motivated without an element of profiting on the riches of the new land, and there were exagerations of the conditions and riches to be found in the area. Even so, the legacy of the Popham colonists lives on; surrounding towns and villages reflect the history of the colonist's visit with names such as, Gilbert's Head, Georgetown, and Parker's Head, all borrowed from those who participated in the settlement attempt. Link here to the Phippsburg web site.

Friends Of Phippsburg Closely linked to our celebration, but also dedicated to projects in and around Phippsburg at large, is the Friends of Phippsburg. This organization was founded to work " with the community, selecting programs or projects of significant benefit and value to the residents of Phippsburg and its many visitors." They have been assembling educational and historic resources about the colony and have published a series of newsletters highlighting the history of the early explorations of the area, the Popham Colony itself, the players and the daily life of the colony, and other aspects of the history of the Kennebec River. These newsletters have been distributed throughout the state's educational community as a basis for studies of the times and people who first visited these shores from abroad and as such, are an excellent background against which to start your exploration of the history of the Popham Colony and its place in the history of Maine and the nation. Check out their web site http://www.friendsofphippsburg.org/ where you can find a downloadable PDF of these extremely informative newsletters.

Maine Maritime Museum: The pinnace Virginia, built as it was at the mouth of a great river, was the first manifestation of what was to later become one of the major industries in Maine; shipbuilding. The ample supplies of lumber upriver and the skillful men necessary to turn it into fine vessels caused the shores of the Kennebec River to be filled with all manner of vessels under construction, and "on the ways". Through the centuries since the Popham colony there has always been the coming and going of ships at the mouth of the Kennebec River, and in numbers great enough in the 1850s to make nearby Bath the fifth busiest port on all of the east coast of the United States. Due to the number of world traveling fleets of ships which called Bath their home port, the "City of Ships" was home to many a ship's Captain, with houses filled with the bounty of their worldwide trade. Bath's homes, built in high style by their world traveling owners, include among them an abundance of fine examples of period architecture. The Maine Maritime Museum came out of the Bath Marine Museum and explores and celebrates the Maine Maritime heritage of Bath and of Maine. They are hosting events and exhibitions about the Popham Colony throughout the summer. There is now an exhibit on the grounds with Maine's First Ship having a shipwright on hand working on the first parts of the construction of the reproduction of the Virginia, first ship built by the English in the New World. Check their schedule for dates of talks which will focus on the Popham Colony. We will be coordinating events during our four days of celebration and we encourage a visit to the museum as an integral part of that celebration. Link here to the Museum's web site.

Bath, Maine: You have to pass through Bath to get to Popham. When you do, you will see that in the "City of Ships", the shipbuilding tradition lives on today in the form of the Bath Iron Works, one of Maine's largest employers. A centuries long involvement in the ship building trade has flourished here almost continuously since 1607. The "Iron Works" builds some of the finest of the U.S. Navy's ships, currently Aegis class destroyers and the work is done with renowned quality and speed. The signs over the gates of BIW, the modern day keepers of the flame, proudly proclaim, "Through these gates pass the best shipbuilders in the world", a claim that probably could have been made by any number of shipbuilders along the banks of the Kennebec River at any time over the last four centuries. It was at the Popham Colony that this proud tradition found its earliest manifestation.

Downtown Bath retains its turn of the century (1900!) charm and is a great place to visit. Link here to the City's web site. Maine Street Bath, a "program originated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation that focuses on revitalization of traditional downtowns to enhance the appearance & economic stability of the commercial district & to improve community pride & quality of life for residents & visitors" will be celebrating the 400th with special events throughout the summer. The theme of this year's Heritage days in Bath was the celebration of 400 years of shipbuilding in Maine. Check these sites for information on events, businesses, and facilities in charming downtown Bath. For a look at the fantastic array of architecture of the area, check out Sagadahoc Preservation Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the Bath area's rich architectural heritage at http://www.sagadahocpreservation.org/.

Maine State Museum: The Maine State Museum will be assisting in the celebration by providing exhibits from the excavations at the site, both in Bath at the Maine Maritime Museum and at Popham during our celebration. Speakers will also be provided and presentations will be made throughout the four day celebration by the Museum. The schedule, when formalized, will reflect this. Meanwhile, check out the museum's web site for information about Maine and its history, before and after the colony. The maine Maritime Museum currently has an exhibit about the colony showcasing the finds of the archaeological dig to run through October with many of the artifacts on display. Link here to the museum's web site for news of its exhibits and activities.

Those who have studied the history of the Popham Colony have said that, though it did not succeed as a permanent settlement, much was learned by it which laid the groundwork for later successful colonies that followed: don't go into northern new England! We celebrate this early attempt at settlement in what most of us who live here would agree is a less than hospitable climate for such endeavors, given the technologies of the time. It is enough to endure long winters with the technology we now enjoy, and it is all the more amazing that the members of the colony survived at all with what little these men came with at the time of their attempt. Southerly colonies did survive and become the more famous for their longevity, but none rivaled this attempt for the conditions which it sought to overcome! All who have endured a Maine winter can attest that this was no easy undertaking and so was truly an impressive and ambitious first northern attempt to get a foothold in the New World.

We have invited the Queen of England and she has now visited that other colony of 1607 in Virginia. We still hope that she may honor us, but regardless, you never know who else may show up, so check back to see what may be in store!

Please check this site and the links below as the community solidifies its schedule for a celebration that we hope will be both informative and entertaining for all!