[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 109 (Thursday, July 22, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THE TOWN OF MATTAWAMKEAG

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL H. MICHAUD

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2010

  Mr. MICHAUD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the town of 
Mattawamkeag, Maine as it celebrates its Sesquicentennial this month.
  Mattawamkeag is the historical site of an early Native American 
fishing village located on the Mattawamkeag River, a tributary to the 
Penobscot River. The Indians once told of an ancient burial ground on 
the northern bank of this river, not far from the town today. Maine 
residents began settling the area in 1829, and it became incorporated 
into the state in 1860.
  The citizens of this small town, currently numbering around 825 
residents today, have experienced their fair share of history, both 
within the State of Maine and the greater United States. During the 
Civil War, thirty soldiers from the town left to fight for the Union; 
seven did not return. And in 1847, Henry David Thoreau visited and 
wrote about Mattawamkeag during his travels.
  The town's background is also closely tied to the complex railway 
systems of the United States. It served as a key stop on a 
transcontinental railway linking Maine to the city of Saint John in New 
Brunswick, Canada during the late nineteenth century. The network later 
expanded, and Mattawamkeag became connected to the cities of Megantic 
in Quebec and Vancouver in British Columbia. Even today, this town 
plays an important role in interstate exchange, operating as the final 
eastern stop on the Guilford Rail System connecting Maine, New York, 
New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
  I am pleased to share in the celebration as Mattawamkeag looks back 
on 150 years of rich history.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in wishing all the citizens of 
Mattawamkeag well on this joyous occasion.

                          ____________________