Farm & House

"The Captain's Keep"
151 Searsmont Rd.
Appleton, Maine
1998 - 2007
September 14, 2007: Sold

Plot Plan

The fields produce about 700 square bales of hay
in a July/August mowing. Beaver are at work along the river.

Along the River

Then
The Georges Canal, built in 1845 to 1848 ran from Thomaston to Searsmont, and carried products to market during its few years of operation. The lumber boom in Maine brought the highest population of 1,727 to Appleton in 1850. During this productive period there were sawmills, planing, shingle, stave and heading mills, cooper shops making barrels for coastal lime, fish and local apples, a gristmill, a carriage maker, tannery, mines, blacksmiths, a hotel and many other merchants. Agriculture in the form of truck gardens, strawberry farms, dairies, cattle and pig farms and orchards, was carried on in all parts of town.

Now
The St. George River rises from Lake St. George in Liberty, and enters the salt water in Thomaston. The upper reaches, in Liberty, Searsmont, and Appleton, offer good fishing for brown trout, with the occasional brookie in May and early June. There are excellent mayfly hatches, especially red quills, from about mid may to early June. Caddis abound for the remainder of the season, along with the usual array of terrestrials, especially along stretches that border grassy meadows. The state does yearly stockings of brown trout, and there are quite a few holdover fish - those who know the river catch fish in the 14 to 18 inch range occasionally; in May 2003, a 22 inch, 4-pound brown was taken. The water warms considerably by early to mid July, and after that time the good trout fishing is early and late in the day. But there are numerous smallmouth in the river as well that offer good action late in the summer, and some grow to prodigious size.