Greater East Grand Economic Council PO Box 465 Danforth , ME 04424
April 19 , 2021
Sunrise Economic Council National Heritage Area Initiative Machias , ME
To Whom It May Concern :
The Greater East Grand Economic Council represents a remarkable region in Eastern Maine that supports and looks forward to becoming an active part of the planning for and creating an important national heritage area for the United States .
The Greater East Grand Region is a compendium of diverse landscapes , combined to form a highly unique area of over 500,000 acres in size - a landscape which includes the eastern portions of the watersheds of the Middle and Lower Mattawamkeag River , nearly all of the Baskahegan River drainage and most of the Upper St . Croix River watershed including its internationally controlled waters and adjacent shore lands in western New Brunswick .
The forests and wetlands of the Mattawamkeag , the ridges overlooking the valley of the Baskahegan , and the highlands , lakes and tributaries of the Upper St . Croix comprise a region of peoples united through heritage , determined in purpose , and heavily endowed with nature . Its original Wabanaki inhabitants first traveled by this international area by paddle and foot and continue to live in and utilize the landscape to this day . Around 200 years ago it was discovered by Americans of European descent , immigrants seeking a new beginning in a land rich with waterways and hundreds of square miles of valuable timber .
It was about the year 1820 , early settlers , lumbermen by trade and farmers by necessity , began to carve homesteads from the forests and establish communities along the Mattawamkeag , Baskahegan and St . Croix Rivers . US Route 2A ( the Military Road ) was constructed thru the western portion of the region as a stage and military supply route between Bangor and Houlton in 1832 . US Route 1 , the Houlton-Calais Road , situated on the high land along the St . Croix and within the eastern part of the Baskahegan valley had been surveyed by 1826 , with actual construction languishing for some time thereafter .
It was not until 1871 , following the pioneering of the North American and European railroad thru the central part of the Region , that the area truly experienced population growth and an economic boom with a forest industry that supplied lumber far and wide for the nation ’ s expansion .
The Town of Danforth , strategically situated on the Baskahegan River , serviced by the railroad and US Route 1 become a major service center for the area . While the Town today has grown much smaller , it remains as strategically important as the only service center within the entire Greater East Grand Region .
The attached photograph of an interpretive sign currently being developed illustrates the contribution of this region to the state ’ s and country ’ s history . As citizens of once flourishing settlements of loggers , farmers and entrepreneurs , we are reclaiming our rural heritage and true sense of community .
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