Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail - Star #21 - Greenville/Moosehead Lake Region 1872

This image is of the "2nd" Kineo House, you can get a sense of why

thirteen-year-old TR would have made the notation "Good", in his journal,

after he wrote Kineo House :) The first Mount Kineo House was built during

1848 and burned in 1868. The second Mount Kineo House was built during

1870 and opened in 1871. This second house would burn in 1882. The

third Mount Kineo House opened in 1884. This third house burned

shortly after 1938. PWM postcard

Update 1-3-2024

I first started researching Theodore Roosevelt in 2010. As a volunteer at Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, overseeing the Narcissus project (Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914), I felt the need to learn more about Roosevelt's visit to Maine. That initial research piqued my curious nature to want to learn more about Theodore Roosevelt.

    Twelve years later, that seed of curiosity has taken root and blossomed, into the development of what is the: Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail: Connecting Maine Communities. Insight throughout the State of Maine is what this trail provides by tracing and describing Theodore Roosevelt's connections with each of these communities.

Each community is identified with a star with a number or

a moose with a letter. The key to the logo landmarks is below.

Each moose represents a community that has an indirect

connection with Roosevelt, meaning he may not have paid the

community a visit, but there is a meaningful connection to

Roosevelt in that community. The stars indicate a community

that Roosevelt visited and probably engaged with the people

and or the local geography. As research continues, other

communities will be added to the logo.

Logo: "Designs by Reece" - Reece Saunders

Over the ensuing weeks, each of these

communities/landmarks with its Roosevelt

connections will have a separate page describing

details of TR's connections. Each will also

have a link(s) to local resources/venues.

Key by "Designs by Reece" - Reece Saunders

Today, we describe "Star 21" shown on the list (key) above - Greenville/Moosehead Lake Region

    Theodore Roosevelt's own biography and any number of TR historians have spoken about TR's first trip to Maine. He traveled by stagecoach to stay at a camp at Moosehead Lake. The stagecoach ride became a life-changing event for TR. During the ride, he was bullied by a couple of young boys. TR was physically unable to defend himself. Following that incident, he made a pledge to himself to work diligently to become physically fit so he could defend himself in the future. The steps he took to do just that are well documented. This stagecoach ride in Maine in 1872, clearly had a direct impact on the boy who would become the man that we now know.

Excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography - Chapter 2 -The Vigor of Life - pg 30

    "I was sent off by myself to Moosehead Lake. On the stagecoach ride thither I encountered a couple of other boys who were about my own age, but they were boys! They found that I was a foreordained and predestined victim, and industriously proceeded to make life miserable for me. The worst feature was that when I finally tried to fight them I discovered that either one singlely could not only handle me with easy contempt but handle me so as not to hurt me much and yet to prevent my doing any damage whatever in return.

    The experience taught me what probably no amount of good advice could have taught me. I made up my mind that I must try to learn so that I would not again be put in such a helpless position; and having become quickly and bitterly conscious that I did not have the natural prowess to hold my own, I decided that I would try to supply its place by training. Accordingly, with my father's hearty approval, I started to learn to box."

So, for me, being the curious person that I tend to be, in the very brief explanation of TR's visit, I see, what I consider to be several questions that need answers.  I want to know more details about TR's time in Maine in 1872. I searched in published books for more details. I wasn't successful in finding many answers locally. Even some info I did find had conflicting dates and stories of his visit. Nothing on what railroad company he traveled to Maine on. What town/city did he arrive in? What stagecoach line did he take to Moosehead? What town did he arrive in? What camp did he travel to? Did he take a steamer? If so, what was the steamer's name? Was it a boys' summer camp? Did someone meet him and spend time with him in the area? What did he do during his stay?

I sent an email request for information to Heather Cole, who, at the time (2015/16) was at Harvard University. Heather was the Curator of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection in the Houghton Library, at Harvard, in Cambridge, MA. Heather has been a great help to me over the years as I'd called on her with research questions. Heather replied with a note and link to TR's diary entries of his Moosehead trip from August 1872. Awesome!  

Theodore Roosevelt's journal page with entries of his time spent in Maine during his

August 1872 visit.  Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library,

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

1872  - August - Greenville/Moosehead Lake Region

When reading Roosevelt's accounting of his trip to Maine in August of 1872, I was very happy to read some details that helped answer some questions I had. There is no mention of an act of bullying that was to have taken place during the stagecoach ride in either direction from or to Dexter. I took this information and shared it with Candy Russell, the Executive Director (at the time) at the Moosehead Historical Society & Museums in Greenville.

Answers and updates on the Dexter portion of TR's trip to Moosehead Lake are in the post:

Star #20 - Dexter 1872

The process and results when researching the Greenville/Moosehead Lake Region are here:

1874 "Guide to Moosehead Lake" advertisements of the train schedule and Frye Stage Line.

Pages from the 1874 "Guide to Moosehead Lake."

Frye's Stage Line had a contract with

Maine Central Railroad in 1872 that

included transporting passengers

from Dexter by Stage and then by the

Frye-owned steamer, Twilight, to

Mount Kineo House Ibid

I was able to pinpoint the steamer, Twilight, as the steamer used by TR when I located this Maine Superior Court document online; William A. Frye vs Maine Central Railroad...bought the newly built Twilight in 1872...you'll read the details in the opinion in the court document...also the contractual agreement between Frye, his stage line and the railroad.

Frye v. Maine Central Railroad, 67 Me 414

(1877)

Sept. 5, 1877 - Maine Supreme Judicial Court

67 Me. 414

William A. Frye vs Maine Central Railroad Company

Penobscot.

Description of the Steamer "Twilight" in Maine Memory Network:

    There were two steamboats named Twilight. The first vessel, pictured here, was constructed in Bath by Mr. Patten in 1871 and it was brought to Lowe's Bridge by the Bangor & Piscataquis Railroad. It was then hauled by 30 pairs of oxen (60 animals) under the direction of Captain Frey to Moosehead Lake.

    In 1888, the original Twilight was rebuilt under the ownership of the Coburn Steamboat Co. It operated on the lake until the early 1900s when it burned. In 1910, the second Twilight was built by Stillman Sawyer of Greenville for Coburn Steamship Co.

    

The Steamer Twilight image is in the collection

of the Moosehead Historical Society and posted

on the Maine Memory Network

    The postcard in the first image of this post shows the "2nd" Mount Kineo House. Which would have been the one where TR would have stayed in August 1872. He makes a notation that it was "Good." During my research of the Moosehead Lake Region during the early/mid-1870s, I found a fair amount of written publications. One that is in my possession is an original copy of an August 1875 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine. The writings in general are phenomenal. In particular, the lengthy write-up of a trip to Moosehead Lake with a stay at the Mount Kineo House. The likelihood is that the trip was taken many months in advance of August 1875, to write, edit, and publish the story in August 1875. Maybe the trip took place as early as the summer of 1874? Regardless, not much would have changed as far as services, etc. that were available in 1872 when TR was a guest. Here are some excerpts from the publication.

Cover of the August 1875 publication of Harper's New

Monthly Magazine. 

Ibid

Ibid

Ibid

Ibid

Ibid

Ibid

    TR mentions that for two days he rented a rowboat and rowed over to Mount Kineo and ascended the mountain. 

    TR mentions that he stayed one night in "The Lake House." He made note of "Poor" which I reckon means he wasn't too happy with the accommodations.

The Lake House mentioned in TR's diary dated, Moosehead, August 27 was located in Greenville

The Lake House in Greenville, Maine

The image above and text from 1880 Farrar's Illustrated

Guide Book to Moosehead Lake and Vicinity.

TR mentions he went fly fishing at Echo Lake. with a man named Peter Strong. Echo Lake is basically next to Dexter. So, research to date in Greenville and in Dexter has not led to any additional information on Peter Strong. 

The research did continue, and that extended research, Thank you, Joe Banavige 😀, identified Peter Strong, not being a Maine guide, but was a family friend of one of Theodore Roosevelt's uncles, Robert B. Roosevelt.

     From this one trip to Maine, in August of 1872, TR opened the door to local history in the communities of Dexter, Greenville, and the Moosehead Lake Region. These communities present themselves famously now to those folks who are aware. How many new visitors might these communities draw into the area to experience their spectacular landscapes and storied local history?

The location of Echo Lake brings up a question of logistics and timing based on TR's entries - more research is necessary.

We continue seeking other support materials (photos, etc.) that will add more context. Contact me, Phil Morse (p.morse31@gmail.com) if you have any information or materials that would assist our research.

A portion of my collection of TR-related books :) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We continue the restoration work on the 1912, Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban. 

Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts

Being more than a century old, the stately, "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem.  This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including; time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents captivates, fascinates, then generates, interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by making a donation today!

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The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition of narratives.

Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban

     The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.

Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project

Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding

the Gold Book Award Winner plaque for

 the Middle Reader category for The Eric

Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to

award-winning Maine author,

Jean M. Flahive