Chebeague (pronounced "Sha-big") Island

Great Chebeague Island was settled by descendents of the Mayflower Pilgrims in the mid- 1700's.  Many of the island's current residents trace their roots back to these early settlers who were mariners and farmers.  During the Nineteenth Century Chebeaguers were known along the Atlantic coast as fishermen, and marine contractors who carried granite in their sloops to railheads where the stone was shipped throughout the country to build imposing buildings and momuments.  They built wharves, breakwaters, and lighthouses that stand today as monuments to these ingenious islanders.

The summer rusticators discovered the island in the 1870's.  More than thirty hotels and boarding houses wre in operation at one time or another over a forty-year period.  As time went on island farms were transformed into cottage developments.  The majority of island summer families have been coming to Chebeague for four or five generations.

During World War II the US Army occupied many of the Casco Bay islands including Chebeague where more than 400 troops were stationed at one time.  Fishing declined after the war so during the 1950's many people left the island to make a living.  Some people supported the idea of a bridge to the mainland, but the idea died after it was defeated by a statewide referendum.  Transportation improved during the 1970's, which made working on the mainland, and living on Chebeague easier.   The population began to stablize during the 1990's and currently the economy appears strong with about an equal number of islanders earning their livings from lobstering as work on either the island or commute to the mainland.

Documentation provided by:
Donna Miller Damon, Chebeague Island Historian