Past, Present, and Future on the Water

In 2021, their travels took Our Towns Founders Deb and Jim Fallows to Bucksport, Maine. Making the case that when faced with a decision whether to turn left or right after crossing the Eastern Channel Bridge while heading Downeast from Portland on coastal Route (where most turn right toward Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park), Deb explains why turning left is a journey worth taking  here .

Why? "Because we think that Bucksport, which has faced about as big an economic downfall as one can face, has lessons for us all on how to renew a town," Deb writes.

The economic hardship? Bucksport’s paper mill, which, opened 90 years ago, and employed over 1,300 people at its peak and was paying 40% of the town's taxes, suddendly closed in 2014. That eliminated jobs for nearly 600 people —about half Bucksport residents — and dried up tax revenue and spillover economic impacts.

With the mill era of the town now over, Bucksport residents where faced with questions many towns and cities have about an uncertain future: how do we recover? how do we move ahead? what are we supposed to do now?

To answer those questions, Bucksport turned to  Community Heart & Soul , a citizen-led town development process. (CH&S is a partner and supporter of Our Towns.)

Deb reviews the list of community improvements from Bucksport's CH&S action plan -- from an upgraded playground and public pool, to transportation assistance to medical appointments for seniors, to a creative matching-multiplier program to support local merchants, to cooking classes, to community gardens, to street, sidewalk, and trail improvements; and more --  here .

She also introduces readers to a mile-long gem along the town's major natural asset: The Walkway, Buckport's river walk, more than two decades in the making, that serves as a social gathering place, an economic stimulator, a healthy-living opportunity, an environmental improvement zone, a town beautifier, a record of history, a perspective on the town’s place on earth, a celebration of local identity, art, and creativity.

Before we explore the Walkway, let's take a very brief stroll back through Bucksport's history.

Bucksport’s first known inhabitants were the Red Paint People, an indigenous fishing culture that lived in this area some 6,000 to 2,000 years ago.

Thousands of years later, Jonathan Buck arrived in 1762 to survey the land and returned one year later to settle what was then known as "Plantation No. 1."

After a British attack during the Revolutionary War that burned down Plantation No. 1, the town was resettled and called Buckstown Plantation, after its founder. Incorporated on June 27, 1792 as Buckstown, it was renamed Bucksport in 1817.

Bucksport has a history of shipbuilding, which became the town's principal occupation. Many residents also worked as fishermen, and they would sail to the Grand Banks for their catch.

In 1930, Maine Seaboard Paper opened the Bucksport Mill, which produced the lightweight coated paper used in magazines and catalogs, like Time, and Maine's own L.L. Bean catalog.

Fast-forward to today, and find that Bucksport's location on the water continues to shape its identity.

Along the Walkway, we see signs of Bucksport's past being celebrated, its new opportunity (including cruise ships!), how young people embrace a spirit of giving back, the power of public art, and more.

Although the mill is currently a reminder of what once drove Bucksport, its future, as well as the waterfront it sits on, looks promising.

Not all is lost with the mill's closure. Having gone through a series of changes and acquisitions since its closure in 2014, the mill and its properties are now partly owned by three different companies.  Whole Oceans , a land-based producer of farm-raised salmon, retains a permit until the end of 2023 for a “recirculating aquaculture system” to grow an annual 5000 metric tons of salmon. The  Maine Maritime Academy , up the road in Castine, has a Mariner Training Institute up and running. They are planning expansions.  Ironclad Energy , a company that deals in power generating properties, bought the plant’s backup power generating facility.

Many towns have river walks -- even if they don't a river. Sometimes they are along the waterfronts -- from rivers to lakes to oceans. Other times, they can be found along railroad tracks, or winding through fields or parks or marshes.

Deb notes some of personal favorites  here , including: Seattle’s  wetlands boardwalks . Greenville, South Carolina’s 22-mile  Swamp Rabbit Trail  along the Reedy River; the  Capital Crescent Trail  running between the C&O canal and the Potomac River in our hometown of Washington, D.C.; the 29-mile hike and bike trail circling  Sioux Falls ; Redlands, California‘s  Orange Blossom Trail , upgrading both the urban and undeveloped spaces; Duluth, Minnesota’s  Lakewalk  along the shores of Lake Superior; Danville, Virginia’s tree canopied  Riverwalk Trail  along the Dan River.

Bucksport is now on that list, too.

Does your town or city have a river walk? Tell us about it  here .