Think of the Kennebec River in the 1620s, deep, cold and swift, flowing from the vast interior of what is not the State of Maine. Flowing from a forest larger then any in Europe, larger than all of France, this forest was a treasure house. The trees were enormous, tall and straight. Oak, cherry, beech, birch, maple, pine, spruce, fir, all of the trees we know now, but all what we call “old growth” forest, a magnificent forest. The river was full of fish, greater in variety, size and plentitude than we have seen in centuries. Birds and game were in abundance along its route. The interior was rich in beaver, marten, fox and wolf. These fur bearers were in numbers not seen since. This was the domain of the Abenaki.

The Shallop Elizabeth Tilley
Photo by Robert Dow August 2003

Up this river, into this rich primeval forest sailed John Howland. He sailed in a vessel called a shallop. Plymouth Colony sent him to open a post to trade with the Abenaki. The colonists owed their backers in England a great deal of money. And, they were being charged exorbitant interest, at times 50 percent. In 1627, the amount of the debt had been set a £1,800. Plymouth had by this time become productive, but this debt was beyond what could be produced by the colony itself.

The Abenaki had beaver in abundance. Beaver was much in demand in London. Plymouth was by 1625 producing a surplus of corn. The Abenaki traditionally had traded for corn with the coastal tribes. These had been devastated by disease. Plymouth stepped into this trade. In 1625, a shallop load of corn from Plymouth went up the Kennebec; 700 pounds of beaver came back. The exchange rate was one bushel of maize for one pound of beaver skins; beaver was worth 20 shillings a pound.

To get at the heart of the trade, Plymouth determined to obtain a patent – a monopoly to trade on the Kennebec – and to establish a trading post. The post was established in 1628, probably before the patent was actually obtained in England. The first patent was obtained in 1628, but was so “Strait and ill bounded” that a second was sought. This was issued on Jan. 13, 1629, sometimes called the “Warwick Patent,” sometimes the “Bradford Patent.” Plymouth was granted a tract of land along the Kennebec, starting a little inland from the mouth (in present day Phippsburg) and extending to the “Falls at Nequamick.” The grant extended 15 miles on each side of the river. Here was a tract of land some 1200 square miles.

The trading post was at a place called Cushnoc. This was at the head of navigation on the Kennebec, just before the falls, where the current overpowers the tide. Here is the present day Augusta.

John Howland was the commander at Cushnoc. He and his men built this trading house on the bands of the Kennebec. This is where the Abenaki came down the river in their canoes, laden with beaver, eager to trade. Here is how Governor Bradford put it:

“Having procured a patent four Kennebec, they now Erected a house up above in the river in the most convenientest place for trade (as they conceived) and furnished the same with commodities for that end, both winter and summer; not only with corn but also with such other commodities as the fishermen had traded with them, as coats, shirts, rugs and blankets, biscuit, pease, prunes, etc. And what they could not have out of England, they bought of the fishing ships, and so carried on their business as well they could.”

Establishing this trading post and opening a successful trade with the Indians was a remarkable achievement. By the year 1636, some £10,000 worth of beaver had been shipped to England. (Sadly enough, the terms of the debt were so onerous that the obligation had grown from £1,800 in 1627 to £4,440 in 1636.)

This was one of the most dramatic of adventures during the early years of the colony. John Howland played a central role. We can justly be proud to claim him as an ancestor. History is interesting and useful to instruct our present lives and policy. We should make it as alive and vital as we can. So, here is that I propose:

Our society – the Pilgrim John Howland Society – should undertake to build a shallop. It will be as shallops were in 1628. Then, we will load it with the corn grown in Plymouth Colony and other trade goods and sail to Cushnoc. When we arrive, we will celebrate with the natives we find there and feed them Johnnycakes. I hope this sounds like fun.

This, of course, is far easier to write about then to do. We need to do research and planning and fundraising. We need to build a shallop – and learn how to sail her.

But think of this – what we propose to do is just what our ancestors at Plymouth did in the 1620s. And, they did it without any power tools or weather and navigation satellites — or the U.S. Coast Guard.

We are fortunate in several particulars. Shallops are not a complete mystery. Plymouth Plantation published Notes on a Shallop by William A. Baker in 1957. The Maine folks – the Maine Historic Preservation Commission – have found and excavated the site of the trading post. So, we have a real destination. The location, even the existence of Cushnoc, was a much-debated point until their work in the 1990s. The State of Maine and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have conspired to remove the Edwards dam at Augusta. This was no mean accomplishment. The dam was a working hydroelectric dam, some 800 feet from shore to shore. Its removal was the first such project in the nation. Removal took place last summer and was quite a show. The Kennebec now flows as it did in the 17th century. It is hoped the fish will follow.

We will need some help – lots of help. We need a name for our project. This should be a great adventure, something to bring history to life. And, a lot of fun.

This article appeared in the March 2000 issue of The Howland Quarterly.