Directions for Ovens Mouth East:
From the monument at Boothbay Center, travel north on Route 27 for 1.6 miles. Take a left onto Adams Pond Road. Proceed .1 miles. Turn right onto Dover Road. Continue 2.4 miles to the dead end. Parking is on the left.
In 1994 the Boothbay Region Land Trust purchased 146 acres on Ovens Mouth, including both the eastern and middle peninsula. The Ovens Mouth is a narrow passage leading from the Sheepscot and Back Rivers to the extensive tidal basin known as Ovens Mouth River. Edgecomb lies to the north, Boothbay to the south. Early English explorers are believed to have seen a resemblance to an oven, hence the name.
The area was settled in the mid-1700’s by the Hutchings family and four generations of Hutchings lived and died in what became known as the “Dover” area. That part of town was so called because of the many families who moved to the area about 1757 from
Dover, New Hampshire. Included in the Dover migration were the Tibbetts, Giles, and Pinkham families. Some time after the Civil War, the property came into the hands of the extended Tibbetts-Welsh family and its tenure in their hands continued for more than a hundred years.
The Ovens Mouth River area has always been inviting for maritime activities because of its deep-water access and protected location. One of the earliest shipyards in town was located on its banks, and its waters hid both British and American vessels during the Revolution.
While both peninsulas have grown up to woodland, they were not always so. The middle peninsula was cleared for sheep pasture early in the 19th century and was let go back to woods by about 1850. The top half of the east peninsula was field, while the lower
half was pasture; it too grew up into woods after the 1930’s. The middle peninsula was cut off for lumber once during World War I and again during World War II. Today a fine stand of pine blankets the peninsula. The BRLT plans to continue to manage the forest for recreational use, aesthetics, improvement of wildlife habitat and timber production.
There are two coves on the Boothbay side of Ovens Mouth and, in passing from west to east, the second cove is known locally as “Ice House Cove.” In 1880 when there was a growing demand for ice, this cove was dammed to form a fresh-water pond. An icehouse
was built, and the ice was shipped by schooner mainly to Boston and New York. The icehouse has long been gone and only remnants of the dam can be seen at low tide. A salt marsh has replaced the ice pond, and it is thriving with wildlife.
The peninsulas are home to a variety of wildlife, including blue heron, osprey and occasionally an egret. Eagles, otters and deer have also been sighted.
Download Trail Guide PDF
Download Self-Guided Tour PDF
|
