Westport Island, Maine

Westport Island stretches 11 miles through the waters between the Sheepscot and Back Rivers. A narrow wedge of land that has attracted settlers since before the American Revolution. Originally known as Jeremysquam, the island was home to Captain Joseph Decker, who built his house at the head of Squam Island in 1774, and to the families who have fished these waters ever since.

The island’s geography shaped its history. Numerous coves and points along the indented coastline made it attractive to 18th-century settlers with fishing vessels, while the surrounding rivers provided both protection and access to the sea. At Squam Heights on the northern tip, Fort McDonough rose during the War of 1812. Its earthwork remains still visible as evidence of a time when these waters needed defending.

Westport became a separate town in 1828, breaking away from Edgecomb to chart its own course. Through the decades leading up to the Civil War and beyond, fishing and maritime work dominated island life, with fishermen and mariners outnumbering farmers. The late 1800s brought summer visitors who discovered what islanders had long known, the quiet beauty of this place between the rivers.

Four structures have earned National Register of Historic Places recognition: the Town Hall (originally the Union Meeting House), the Westport Community Church, the Squire Tarbox Inn, and the Josiah Parsons House. Together they tell the story of a community built on faith, commerce, and the sea.

The 159-acre Squam Creek Preserve now protects land where Native Americans once harvested sweetgrass for basket making. Three forested trails wind through the preserve, passing salt marsh and the sites of bygone settlements. A quiet place to walk and reflect on the layers of history that have accumulated on this island between the rivers.

Today’s Westport Island balances year-round residents with summer visitors, much as it has since the late 1800s. Lobster boats still work the waters around the island, maintaining the maritime traditions that have defined this community since Captain Decker’s time. For those who cross the bridge from Wiscasset, the island offers something the mainland has increasingly lost: a pace of life shaped by tides and seasons rather than schedules and traffic.