Retracing the Remains of the "Old Dead River Road" to the Underwater Townships of Flagstaff Lake 🏞🌲

Last month on Saturday, October 16, 2021 I posted a flight called "Lost Roads to the Underwater Villages of Flagstaff Lake 🏞". Here are links to it:
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RUclips (maximum quality in 4K): • Lost Roads to the Unde...
On this Saturday, November 13, 2021 the water level in Flagstaff Lake was even lower (down over 6 feet from the normal high water level of 1146 feet above sea level). With a clear sky and almost no wind I decided to follow the visible parts of the "Old Dead River Road" that leaves Stratton, Maine and heads toward Savage Beach in Bigelow Township and beyond toward Flagstaff Mountain. You can see these roads in Satellite view at maps.google.com and in Maps on an iPhone amongst other maps that can display satellite imagery. But the satellite imagery is at a higher water level than it was at yesterday... the very low water level seen in this video reveals a lot! 😮
These roads used to connect the now lost villages of Flagstaff, Dead River, Bigelow, and Carrying Place that are now submerged beneath the water of Flagstaff Lake after Central Maine Power Company cut down all the trees and then closed the Long Falls Dam gates in 1950, forcing the Dead River to flood the land. "Construction was controversial dating back to 1923, pitting the president of Central Maine Power Company, Walter Wyman, against state legislator and future Maine governor Percival Proctor Baxter." en.wikipedia.o...)
The flight starts and ends on Myers Beach. On the way back I look straight down into the water at some large rocks under water where Bigelow Township is located. I am not sure what was here, but they may have been used as rocks for foundations. I can only speculate. Someone sent me a photo from this area taken from the ground of an old plow inside a stone foundation.
🎶 A song was written about this that tells the story of the flooding:
"Below" by Slaid Cleaves & Nicole St. Pierre
• Below by Slaid Cleaves
📚 Books have been written about this as well:
📖 "There Was a Land. Memories of Flagstaff, Dead River and Bigelow. 1845-1949. (Maine)."
📖 "Lost Villages of Flagstaff Lake (Images of America)" by Alan L. Burnell and Kenny R. Wing
Description:
"Permanent settlers began arriving at the village of Flagstaff around the 1820s, drawn by its advantageous location along the Dead River floodplain and the availability of waterpower at the outlet to Flagstaff Pond.
In 1923, the Maine legislature passed a bill condemning a 25-mile section of the upper Dead River Valley to inundation, causing the eventual permanent flooding of the villages of Flagstaff, Dead River, and Bigelow. The bill authorized the construction of a dam at the river narrows at Long Falls and the subsequent creation of Flagstaff Lake. The properties in these towns were obtained by the process of eminent domain, and residents were forced to relocate. In the spring of 1950, Flagstaff Lake was officially created when the gates in Long Falls Dam were closed. It remains a controversial project today."
🎙 Here is a podcast about it as well: "The Ghost Town Beneath Flagstaff Lake" www.darkdownea...
🛬 Here is a video posted by Clifford Dow of (his?) Super Cub landing on the lost roads of Flagstaff Lake years ago: • Super Cub landing on r...
I don't know how he had enough space to take off again! :-o
There's plenty to think about and imagine as you watch 🤔 … enjoy the flight.
🎵 "Telegraph Road" by Dire Straits from the album "Love Over Gold"
I used this same song in the first flight video because it again fit so well with the flight and the story
🚁 DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone capturing 4K video
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