The story of the West Branch began thousands of years before settlers arrived and started harvesting marsh hay.
Formation
After the retreat of the last glaciers in what is now Addison and Columbia, fine marine clay and other sediments built up over the course of the last ~4000 years to form extensive mudbanks and mudflats suitable for the growth of salt marsh vegetation. These mudbanks are as much as 70 feet deep, according to tests done by Maine DOT during the construction of the main bridge over the Pleasant River in 1981.
Early use and settlement
The original caretakers of these lands were Indigenous Americans. Prior to European settlement of the area now called Downeast Maine, the Passamaquoddy relied on the bountiful native wildlife and flora of the coastal marshes, spending summers hunting, fishing, gathering, and trapping. Early European settlers first arrived in the area in the late 1700s with the incorporation of Columbia in 1796 and Addison in 1797.
This 1881 map of the Addison Point Village shows how little development existed in the West Branch floodplain prior to the construction of the dike.
West Branch industry
Salt hay farming, shipbuilding, timber milling, and quarrying were the main industries in Addison and Columbia following European settlement. Lumber processed at a sawmill built at the present day “Four Corners” was rafted down the river and loaded onto vessels at Addison Point. These industries created a need for better transportation, which resulted in the first road and bridge constructed across the mouth of the “West Branch Stream” in 1824.
“A great quantity of salt marsh lies along the banks of the West Branch Stream, which flows into the Pleasant River at Addison Point. When the state of Maine granted permission for a bridge to be built across this stream in 1824, it was with the condition that the bridge be high enough for “gondolas loaded with hay” to pass beneath it.” – Unknown
This bridge was later modified to be a drawbridge to allow passage of small vessels in and out of the West Branch.
Wooden bridge across the mouth of “Branch Stream”, as the West Branch was called at the time (1924).
Salt hay agriculture
Salt hay production was a major economic driver in Downeast Maine from the late 1700s to the early 1900s, and drew families from southern Maine, Massachusetts, and beyond. The very first recorded settlers in Columbia were William and Noah Mitchell, who came from Falmouth (Portland) in 1759.
“In entering the mouth of the Pleasant River they saw large areas of marsh land which they thought would afford them great privilege for cutting hay for stock.” – Levi Leighton, 1896
To enhance the quality of the salt hay, farmers built and maintained berms, dikes, sluices, and ditches throughout the Pleasant River marshes to reduce the saltwater content. While it is unknown exactly when the first dikes were built, the earliest were documented around 1793. These were called by their French name “aboiteaux”, which to the Acadian people meant both the process of draining the marsh and the drainage systems used to do so. Today, these areas of the West Branch marsh are referred to as “the abadors”.
During the 19th century, ships brought goods to merchants in Addison and carried away local crops. These crops included both marsh hay and “English hay”, which was sold by the ton. An estimated 1000 tons hay were harvested from Addison’s diked marshes in 1890. (Machias Republican, August 23, 1890.)
Mowed salt hay was piled onto raised platforms called “staddles” to dry before being sold
Around the end of the 1800’s a main sluice gate was installed at the bridge over West Branch Stream, to aid the marsh owners, but individual property owners were responsible for the maintenance of their own marsh modifications. However, by the start of World War II, the demand for hay had declined so much that many dikes and sluices were abandoned and deteriorated. The decision to construct the new Ridge Road Dike Bridge with tide gates in 1940 was influenced by this deterioration, because it would reduce the maintenance burden of individual marsh owners.
Installing the tide gates in 1940
While some harvest of marsh hay continued past this point in time, it was mostly used to aid in burning blueberry land. Over time, the reduced tidal flow into the West Branch led to a substantial reduction in the salt marsh grasses harvested for hay. Trees and other upland plants have taken over the marsh surface without manual maintenance or salt inundation to prevent them from becoming established. Today, the West Branch is bordered by a mix of brackish and freshwater grasses, scrubby alders, and some trees.
Typical vegetation found in the upper reaches of the West Branch. Photo by Kate Cough for the Maine Monitor.