Another glorious day and opportunity to explore the area around Lubec. We opted for a hike in the Klondike Mountain preserve and, of course, we weren’t disappointed. While a short hike, it was a little more rugged than the others we went on, but very enjoyable.
We’ve decided that Ffly should be named “Blaze” (as in blaze the trail!) or “Scout”, because she is always out front!
This history of Klondike Mountain is taken from a plaque at the entry to the preserve:
How did Klondike Mountain get its name? In 1897, two strangers checked into the Lubec Inn. Mr. Charles Fish- er and Reverend Prescott Jernegan were two men look- ing for a way to make a quick buck. They claimed that they could extract gold from seawater, and founded the Electrolytic Marine Salts Company. The two hired 100 workers to convert an old grist mill into their plant, and the following spring they sunk 240 “accumulators” into Cobscook Bay to collect gold. While they claimed that the high tides and rapidly flowing waters of the Lubec Narrows were perfect for their process, they likely set up shop in Lubec due to its remote location. When investors from New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut came to inspect the process, Fisher and Jernegan duped them by diving into the bay at night and planting gold in the accumulators. The two men were so successful in attract- ing investors that that they began construction of a sec- ond plant with the help of over 700 laborers, mostly Ital- ian immigrants who had been working on a rail line in Machias. In July of 1898, as word spread that all was not well at the plant, Jernegen and Fisher fled the area and were never prosecuted for their deception.
A quick jaunt to Lubec for an early afternoon pint!
