Introduction to Matinicus Island

Matinicus Island

Matinicus Island, Maine

Matinicus is a remote island approximately 30 miles off the coast of Maine, due east of Boothbay Harbor.  It has a year-round population of about 50 and a summer population of about double that.  Unlike many of the closer-in islands, Matinicus is populated principally by lobster fishermen and has remained unspoiled and relatively undiscovered by the tourism that has taken over the rest of the Maine coast.  Matinicus has no restaurants, no tennis courts, no golf courses and no New Yorkers. 

Matinicus thinks of itself as a pirate island.  Yes, I said “pirate”.  The island’s remote location made it an ideal refuge and staging area for pirate raids along the Maine coast from the beginning of our nation's history.  Among the various pirates who harbored at Matinicus was Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard the Pirate, who spent his last summer on the island in 1718 before being killed in a ferocious battle off the outer banks of North Carolina in November of that year (where he had presumably gone to get warm).  In more recent eras, Matinicus has been a haven for rumrunners during prohibition and is rumored to harbor drug runners from time to time to this day.

Blackbeard

The first true white settler of Matinicus, Ebenezer Hall, was a missionary and squatter who moved to the island in 1750 and proceeded to burn the island to make it better grazing land for his livestock.  His burning and proselytizing drove the local Indians to write to the governor demanding his removal.  When no action was taken they took matters into their own hands and burned his house, shot him through with arrows and scalped him (always a good solution for obnoxious missionaries).

As Wikipedia says, “So began the island's 250-year era of insularity and frontier violence. Residents developed a reputation for wanting to be left alone; outsiders and tourists were not welcome. It was not infrequent for visiting sailboats to be shot at, and the Maine State Police were under orders not to be on the island after dark. Several boating magazines listed Matinicus as a "hostile harbor," and locals openly referred to it as a "pirate island." The state gave up enforcing vehicle laws on Matinicus in the 1950s, so license plates (and brakes) are optional on the rusted vehicles that ply its unpaved roads. More recently, however, outsiders have purchased property and built summer cottages on the island, whose economy is now comfortable with the seasonal influx of tourist dollars. Only interference in local lobster fishing invites trouble.”

Which brings us to recent lobster wars.  Matinicus and neighboring island Vinalhaven share the richest lobstering area in the world.  There are no legal restrictions against lobstering anywhere on the Maine coast, but Matinicus fishermen enforce a three mile limit where only fishermen with a hereditary claim can fish.  Several years ago during a slump in the lobster industry, an outsider with no meaningful ties to Matinicus began fishing in these waters.  He was shot (and almost killed) in Matinicus harbor.  A jury of the shooter’s peers did not convict him, notwithstanding the fact that the shooting took place among a crowd of witnesses.  Mission accomplished--the offending fisherman now respects the three mile limit. 

There is no law enforcement on the island.  Its governmental form is an arcane structure known as a “Plantation”, which basically means there is no government.  When the Rockland sheriff appointed a deputy on Matinicus several years ago, the appointee took his job a little too seriously and tried to bring order to the island by, among other things, reporting that the local postmaster was closing the post office a half hour early.  His boat was burnt to the waterline and shortly thereafter he left the island never to return.

Groceries, furniture, building materials and appliances all have to be purchased on the mainland and brought over by the ferry (service is twice a month) or by George (on demand).  The island has a limited number of cars and trucks, but since the total land mass of Matinicus is two square miles, these vehicles do not put a lot of miles on the odometer.  They also, due to the aforementioned lack of government or law enforcement, do not need license plates.  Conveniently, the lack of law enforcement also means that drivers need not be sober nor need they possess a drivers license.

North Haven Ferry in Matinicus Harbor

Had I known any of this I probably would have thought twice about accepting Alan and Peggy's invitation.  However, notwithstanding the colorful reputation of the island and its people, we found it to be a spectacularly beautiful spot with wonderful, down-to-earth people.  Parrots on the shoulder and peg legs had apparently gone out of fashion and hardly an "Aaaarrrrggghh!" was heard.