When can I get there from here? Early 19 th Century Stagecoach Networks and Settlement Development in Maine

When can I get there from here? Early 19 th Century Stagecoach Networks and Settlement Development in Maine Donald G. Janelle University of California, Santa Barbara Local organizer: Dave Chaplin Curtis Memorial Library Brunswick, Maine 9 Sept 2010

This presentation is dedicated to Maynard Weston Dow native son of Brunswick, Maine BSc US Naval Academy, PhD Syracuse U retired Colonel (USAF) retired Professor of Geography (University of New Hampshire, Plymouth) resident: Bristol, NH / Camden, ME devotee of the Maine landscape and of all things New England

Background to studying Maine stagecoach networks Settlement systems and the competitive status of places Maine documentation from early European occupancy The research: Time tables, registries, Census Prelim. analysis Northwestern U. Trans. Library (1967) U. Western Ontario (1974), Free U. Amsterdam (1975) Revival (2010), Liberty ME

Context of stage network development in Maine 1820s Rapid frontier expansion (demand for resources & land; accommodating immigration) 1820 300K to 1830 400K (growth rate: 33%) Statehood (1820) and selection of new capital at Augusta Transition in transportation/information technologies (dawn of steam era)

Alan K. Philbrick Dimensional Regions of Coastal Maine in DG Janelle (ed.) Geographical Snapshots of North America (NY: The Guilford Press, 1992), pp. 245-249.

Frederick Gardiner Fassett, A History of Newspapers in the District of Maine, 1875 1820, University of Maine Studies, Second Series, No. 25 (Orono: University Press, 1932), p. 184.

Frederick Gardiner Fassett, A History of Newspapers in the District of Maine, 1875 1820, University of Maine Studies, Second Series, No. 25 (Orono: University Press, 1932), p. 185. Summary of Journalistic Expansion

Stagecoach Networks Maine

Stagecoach Networks Maine 1826

Discrepancies Goodrich (map) Burley & Arnold Sun none A to B Mon B to A B to A Tues none A to B Weds A to B B to H Thurs B to A H to B Fri none B to A Sat A to B none A = Augusta B = Bangor H = Hallowell

Stagecoach Networks Maine 1829

Layover time (hours)* at Augusta 1826 Departing stage Arriving stage A B C D E Row Totals Augusta & Bangor (A) 32 32 44 12 9 129 Augusta & Belfast (B) 32 128 20 12 9 201 Maine Stage Augusta & Waterville (C) 8½ 8½ 32½ ½ 69½ 119.5 Maine Stage Portland & Augusta (D) 37 37 1 16 11 102 Portland, Hallowell & Augusta (E) 34 34 46 14 11 139 Column totals 143.5 239.5 143.5 54.5 109.5 690.5 *Average delay between arrival and departure

Bangor stage arrivals and departures Sun Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat 1826 Weekly Totals Arrivals 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 5 Departures 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 5 1829 Arrivals 2 6 7 6 6 6 7 40 Departures 2 7 6 6 6 7 6 40

Shortest scheduled trip times in hours (one-way, either way) Maine stagecoach system 1826 Augusta Ban. Bath. Bel. Brun. Buck. Gor. Par. Port. Saco Thom. Wat. Bangor 16 Bath 9 30 Belfast 16 6 22 Brunswick 6½ 32 2 24 Bucksport 29 3 27 3 29 Gorham 24 50 22 42 17½ 47 Paris 35 60 30 53 28 58 24 Portland 11½ 39½ 6 30 4 35 1 11 Saco 26 50 10 40 8 45 14 13 2 Thomaston 41 38 9 6 11 23 29 40 17 27 Waterville 3½ 16 13 16 11 29 28 36 15½ 26 40 Wiscasset 30 28 2 20 4 25 22 32 10 20 6 34

Layover times for stage connections at principal transfer centers Maine, 1826 and 1829 Average layover (hours) 1826 1829 Augusta 27.6 16.2 Bangor 25.3 12.7 Bath 4.1 7.8 Belfast 24.2 10.5 Brunswick 9.3 3.2 Paris 37.0 12.0 Portland 25.4 13.1 Saco 6.3 7.9 Waterville 8.0 6.3 Wiscasset 10.0 9.3

Shortest scheduled trip times in hours (one-way, either way) Maine stagecoach system 1829 Augusta Ban. Bath Bel. Brun. Buck. Farm.Gor.Ken. Ken-p Nor. Paris Pars. Port. Saco Thom. Wat. Bangor 8 Bath 7 28 Belfast 8 6 9 Brunswick 6 23 1 16 Bucksport 11 3 24 3 26 Farmington 12 32 38 34 27 35 Gorham 13 27 11 25 7 31 34 Kennebunk 15 31½ 11 33 10 34½ 35½ 10½ Kennebunkport15½ 32 11½ 33½ 10½ 35 36 11 ½ Norridgewock 10 34 28 36 29 37 36 36 33½ 34 Paris 12 32 28 34 27 35 36 34 35½ 36 38 Parsonfield 27 36 14 38 13 49 60 7 13 13½ 38 106 Portland 9 18 5 20 2 29 29 1 2½ 3 20 29 8 Saco 14 30½ 10 30 9 34 35 10 ½ 1 32½ 34½ 12 2 Thomaston 24 20 6 6 21 17 52 26 28 28½ 54 52 31 25 27½ Waterville 3 27 21 29 11 30 29 29 26½ 27 7 31 31 13 25½ 47 Wiscasset 9 26 1 8 2 23 35 10 12 12½ 38 34 24 7 11 5 31

Changes in Stage Network Flows: 1826 1829 Total Absolute Percent Rank* Rank* Rank* weekly change change of center percent absolute 1826 departures 1829 1826 1829 increase Augusta increase 15 40 25 167 6 5 9 5 Bangor 5 16 11 220 16 14 6 13 Bath 21 35 14 67 3 7 17 10.5 Belfast 10 30 20 200 9.5 9 7 7.5 Brunswick 35 58 23 66 1 2 18 6 Bucksport 4 9 5 125 18.5 18 11 18 China 6 26 20 333 14 10 3 7.5 Gorham 4 10 6 150 18.5 17 10 16 Gray 8 6-2 - 25 11 22.5 22 22 Hallowell 18 33 15 83 5 8 16 9 Hampden 6 7 1 17 14 20 20 20 Kennebunk 7 47 40 571 12 4 1 1 Orrington 4 18 14 350 18.5 12.5 2 10.5 Paris 2 2 0 0 22 27 21 21 Portland 33 68 35 106 2 1 12 2.5 Saco 20 55 35 175 4 3 8 2.5 Standish 4 8 4 100 18.5 19 13.5 19 Thomaston 6 12 6 100 14 15.5 13.5 16 Vasselboro 10 38 28 280 9.5 6 5 4 Waldeboro 12 18 6 50 8 12.5 19 16 Waterville 3 12 9 300 21 15.5 4 14 Wiscasset 13 25 12 92 7 11 15 12 Total* 246 500 254 103 *Totals/Ranks include 1829 departures for Farmington 3, Fryeburg 2, Kennebunkport 6, Norridgewock 6, Parsonfield 2

Average Time- Space Convergence Land 60 min/yr (1658 1966) Land -Air 29 min/yr (1776 1966) Railroad 3.4 min/yr (1850 1966) DG Janelle, Central Place Development in a Time-space Framework, The Professional Geographer, 20 (Jan 1968) 5 10.

Avg TSC 26 min/yr

Changes in stagecoach accessibility for places in Maine 1826 1829 Avg. travel Absolute Percent Accessibility Convergence time* (hours) convergence change rankings rankings 1826 1829 (hours) trip times 1826 1829 Absolute Relative Augusta 20.60 10.33 10.27 -.50 5 1 1 1 Bangor 30.70 20.71 9.99 -.33 12 9 2 2 Bath 15.17 12.58 2.59 -.17 2 2.5 9 7 Belfast 23.20 16.16 7.04 -.284 7 6 5 3 Brunswick 14.70 12.58 2.12 -.14 1 2.5 10 9 Bucksport 29.40 22.16 7.24 -.25 11 10 3 6 Gorham 26.70 19.50 7.20 -.27 10 7 4 5 Paris 35.00 31.88 3.12 -.09 13 13 8 11 Portland 15.21 13.33 1.88 -.12 3 4 11 10 Saco 23.40 19.83 3.57 -.15 8 8 7 8 Thomaston 23.90 23.04.86 -.04 9 11 12 12 Waterville 22.30 24.79 + 2.49 +.11 6 12 13 13 Wiscasset 19.42 13.92 5.40 -.283 4 5 6 4 *Average travel time required to go from each place to all other 12 places

Defining the core of Maine s settlement system Numbers = percent of all places that each town has access to without need for overnight lodging. Core defined: as less than 1-day access without overnight delays for at least half of all places in the system at least once per week and for all centers within the core on any day of the week. 1826 1829 Augusta 50 88 Bangor 33 18 Bath 58 71 Belfast 42 41 Brunswick 58 65 Bucksport 17 12 Farmington - 6 Gorham 8 47 Kennebunk/Kb-p - 47/47 Norridgewock - 12 Paris 17 6 Parsonfield 41 Portland 75 65 Saco 42 53 Thomaston 42 17 Waterville 50 24 Wiscasset 33 71

Summary Volatility in frontier settlement access Frequent changes in schedules (difficult to document) Discontinuity of space and time (periodicity) Stability and reinforcement of places and routes Emergence of interior corridor from Portland to Bangor Emerging centrality of Augusta (accessibility gains, convergence) First bridge (1797/1819), head of navigation, and capital conferred centrality Persistence of Portland as dominant center/gateway Technology transitions (complementarity to hegemony) stage to rail to auto

Extending the research Include rail, limited-access-highway, air, and the era of instant communications Add qualitative insight to quantitative assessment: Experiential (diaries/stories/anecdotes) Motivation of transportation entrepreneurs Motivation of travelers Role of information Leading centers and their information hinterlands Content analysis of newspapers and legislative debates Uncertainty (economic, environmental, weather, accidents, technology, information accuracy, etc.)

Thank you! Special thanks to Dave and Joyce Chaplin Don Janelle janelle@geog.ucsb.edu www.csiss.org/janelle For information on the UCSB Center for Spatial Studies http://spatial.ucsb.edu