AM Norse Pond

Delving into ancient history, I examine the location that might prove to be the temporary settlement of ancient Norse explorers. I interview local historian Robert Kord at his house in Cutler to get some additional context.

[@greensage395]

Someone needs to Lidar this place, so as to see through all the canopy of trees and plants! What a fascinating story, and Guest! Thank you!

[@AbandonedMaine]

@@greensage395 Already did that. It's the grey pictures that show the oblong structure of the dam.

[@jjuniper274]

This was a pleasant find.
I'm looking for any evidence of some Scottish ancestors.
After their slavery in the colonies (circa 1651-1660), they moved to Maine. There is supposed to be a Scottish cemetery called Unity, the name of the slave ship that sold them in Boston.
Have you ever heard of it?

[@AbandonedMaine]

@@jjuniper274 Unity is in the middle of the state in-between Bangor and Augusta.

[@AbandonedMaine]

@@jjuniper274 There is a Facebook group for Maine cemeteries. You'd get more informed help there.

[@joane.landers9151]

@juniper274 It is possible that the cemetery, Unity, is named for the town of Unity, Maine which I located on my paper map of Maine, which is slightly Southwest of Troy, ME and North of Thorndike, ME. All 3 are neighboring towns. The town of Unity is on southern end of Unity Pond. It is possible that the town on Unity has a library where there might be info on its' early settlement or if you are lucky, might even have a historical society where you might find similar info as well as some genealogical info. It is possible that early Unity was part of a larger town and when it grew larger, separated from the town it was part of.
The Maine State Library has information that can be accessed not only by going to it in Augusta, but also on line. In past years, over several years, when I was in the state, I went there to research my dad''s ancestors, but in more recent years have researched online.
Genealogy is a great way to learn not only about our ancestry but our ancestor's part in helping a town grow to eventually becoming a state.
Hope this helps.
Some of the ancestors on my dad's side settled in western Maine in the town of Phillips, and gradually made their way north in the early 1820's-1830's and later to Fort Fairfield in Aroostook County. I've been doing/continuing the work my parents started seriously in the early 1950's on my dad's parents' sides while there still family members alive who could add to the narrative, and my sisters' and I could meet and listen to their family stories. I was born in Maine in 1940, as was one sister fou years later. Our other sister was born in Connecticut in 1948.

[@jjuniper274]

@@joane.landers9151 I don't know. I am trying to link people, and Unity and Maine keep popping up.
It could be in Massachusetts?

[@OscarStigen]

Referring to them as coming from "a pre-Christian civilization" is somewhat misleading. When the first Norsemen traveled to America, the Nordic countries had already begun to transition into Christianity. King Harald Blåtand declared Denmark and Norway Christian in 980 and Christianity became the "religion of law" in Iceland year 1000. In the Sagas, Leif Eriksson converted to Christianity before he discovered Vinland.

[@AbandonedMaine]

@@OscarStigen After reading Barry Fell, any discussion of visitors needs to include Celts, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Libyans, and other trans-oceanic cultures, not just the Norse. Let's hope more evidence is discovered.

[@OscarStigen]

​@@AbandonedMaine No matter who discovered America first or which civilization visited America. It's still misleading to refer to Viking explorers or settlers as "pre-Christians". Thanks for the otherwise interesting video, and subject. I especially enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Greetings from Sweden

[@AbandonedMines11]

Nice video, Drew! Was a great idea to get Mr. Kord’s interview as well. That certainly did look like some pretty savage backcountry you had to bushwhack through to get to that pond. Interesting to hear Mr. Kord say it is only 12 feet deep.

[@AbandonedMaine]

@@AbandonedMines11 That was a totally random happenstance. I posted a picture on a Facebook forum, he responded and invited me over to his place nearby. After chatting with him, I just asked if I could get an interview.

[@joane.landers9151]

Many, many years ago, possibly in 1950's, I read an article possibly in a Down East magazine, or a Maine Compendium/Gazeteer that was written in the latter 1880's-1890's that mentioned a boulder that was found with Norse markings in the deep woods near Millinocket, Maine. My dad had the book which probably came came down to him from his dad or grandfather (my dad's grandfather was born on Cape Cod, MA in 1830, moved to Phillips, ME in approximately latter part of 1850, and in 1867/8 with 2nd wife and 3 children, moved again, to Mars Hill, ME, where dad's father was born in 1868. My dad was born in Easton, ME, in 1910.)
The article on the boulder with the Norse markings intrigued me even tho' I was pre-teen, and over the years when other boulders have been found in other locations with Norse markings, it has made me wonder if the Norse explorers were on the North American continent Far earlier than the European explorers I read about in grade school.