DownEast Maine... What’ s In a Name?
Contributed by Crystal Hitchings, Downeast Maine National Heritage Area Director and Arthur Langley, Living History Heritage
For visitors the term“ Downeast” conjures a vision of freshly caught lobster and lighthouses dotting a rugged coastline, the quiet beauty of inland lakes, or the sweet tang of wild blueberry pie. But many wonder what this term means and how it came to be.
Simply put, Downeast is a nautical term that developed during the late 1700’ s through the 1800’ s to describe the direction ships sailed when transporting goods up the Atlantic coast from their primary ports- in cities like New York and Boston- to emerging towns like Ellsworth, Machias, and Eastport.
The prevailing winds along the coast of Maine come up from the southwest and blow toward the northeast. While moving in a northeasterly direction from New York or Boston, a strong wind would often be at the backs of sailing vessels. They were sailing downwind in the direction that the prevailing wind was blowing, to the northeast: down and east … Down East. When asked where they were headed, sailors came to simply say“ Downeast”.
One of the first maps of DownEast Maine.
As sailing vessels were replaced by trains and
Courtesy of Machias Historical Society automobiles, most of Maine’ s coastal towns transitioned away from lumber, granite, and fishing to being a destination for tourism, recreation, arts, and commerce. Their working waterfronts were lost to development, and boatbuilding evolved from commercial sailing vessels to pleasure craft.
Although Downeast Maine is truly a paradise for vacationers, it is also a place where natural phenomena such as seasons, tides, and weather still dictate what lies ahead each day.
But the region’ s remote location at the northernmost end of the Maine coast slowed this transition, allowing it to remain a place where the harsh and bountiful natural environment continues to shape the identity and way of life of the people who live there. Downeast Maine remains a place where natural phenomena such as seasons, tides, and weather still dictate what lies ahead each day. It still requires a good degree of grit, resilience, and perseverance to live in this wild and beautiful place.
Today, the term Downeast most commonly refers to the region of Maine that we call DownEast Acadia and describes the cultural identity of the people who live here as much as it refers to a geographic place. While you’ re here, we encourage you to talk with locals and learn from them about their own perspective about what Downeast Maine means to them- you may be surprised by their answer.
Visit the Downeast Maine National Heritage Area website at DownEastMaineNHA. org for more historic information about the region.
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