Popham Colony: A Slice of Time

In the same year in which Jamestown was colonized in Virginia, the Plymouth Company made their first attempt to establish an English colony in New England. On August 19, 1607, 120 colonists and sailors led by George Popham (aboard the Gift of God ) and Raleigh Gilbert of the Mary and John went ashore at the mouth of the Kennebec River at Sabino Point in what is now Phippsburg. At the time the Kennebec was known as the Sagadahoc, and the little colony is also frequently referred to by that name. The colonists, however, named their settlement Popham after Sir John Popham, George's uncle and Popham Colony's chief patron. Then they made an ambitious start at building a church, an earth and stone fort and 50 houses. Colonist John Hunt left a remarkable diagram of Fort St. George showing the placement of these buildings. Although modern archaeology has proved this map to be accurate, it was made only seven weeks after the colonists landed and so can hardly be considered a picture of the completed facility but rather the colony as planned and begun. It is the only map or diagram of an initial English colonization effort available to modern historians.

Before the end of December both ships returned to England leaving only 45 colonists behind. However the colonists were not without transportation. During their stay, they constructed the first ship built in Maine, a 50' pinnace called the Virginia of Sagadahoc. Some explorations of the area were made in the pinnace, including a trip up the Kennebec and perhaps to far away Jamestown.

Otherwise, things did not go well. Popham was an ineffectual leader; Gilbert was hotheaded and an unwise decision maker. The colonists were quarrelsome and not inclined to work nearly as hard as the circumstances required. Some historians have attributed the colonists' bad behavior to their previous residences in England's gaols; others say that modeling the colony's structure on the feudal system did little to encourage diligence or hard work. Absolutely nobody was prepared for a winter that was so early and severe. In February Popham, who was at least 50 or 60 years old and possibly as old as 78, died; Gilbert, "desirous of supremacy and rule" but otherwise unfitted to the task, took over.
Trade with the natives was limited, and relations were strained. Early meetings with the Pemequids involved the trading of hostages to ensure good behavior. Gilbert had a scuffle with the tribes up the Kennebec. At some point trade commenced at the fort, but by late winter, things were out of hand. The story is unclear but it seems to involve some kind of sporting event, perhaps a tug of war, using a cannon. The Indians were on the wrong end, and the cannon was fired. Chaos reigned for a bit. Some of the colonists fled; a cask of gunpowder was broken open and another explosion occurred. In the end, the storehouse and some of the other buildings burned down. Definitely not a high point in Native American/ Colonial relations.
Conditions did not improve until spring and the return of the first ships with supplies. The colonists rallied somewhat during the summer. But then, a third ship arrived in September with news that Sir John Popham was dead. Raleigh Gilbert's brother had also died leaving the colony's leader as his heir. Gilbert immediately planned to return to England to claim his inheritance. The colonists determined to abandon all their efforts. They dismantled as much of the property as possible, loaded anything of value onto the three ships and the Virginia and sailed back to England. Despite hardship and bad luck, the colony seems to have failed due to lack of leadership more than anything else.

And what became of the Virginia? We don't really know, but here are two possibilities. In 1609, the third supply fleet left Plymouth, England bound for Jamestown with 500 or 600 new settlers on nine ships. The 300 ton flag ship, the Sea Venture, towed behind it a small pinnace that some historians feel may have been Popham Colony's Virginia. About eight days from their destination a tremendous storm devastated the fleet. The Virginia was cut loose and never seen again. Unless you prefer Robert Tristam Coffin's version. He said that the Virginia "finished its days, with good Englishmen chained in it, among the Barbary Pirates."

Of the colony's abandonment, Sir Ferdinando Gorges wrote that it was a "wonderful discouragement" that ended all formal attempts by the Plymouth Company to colonize the area until the Pilgrims arrived in 1620. Although the abandonment was a set back to the settlement of Maine, Popham Colony did establish title for the English claims to Maine and New England, and the Virginia marks the advent of Maine's shipbuilding industry. More recently, interest in Popham has rekindled with the archaeological work of Jeffrey Brain. As he describes his work, "You're standing there uncovering a moment that hasn't been seen in 400 years. This is something they couldn't do in Jamestown, because it continued to be inhabited, 1607 is obliterated. But in Popham, we've got a slice of time." And so Popham may yet achieve some recognition and no longer be just a footnote to Jamestown and the Pilgrims.

Sources: Barry, Ellen. "Colony Lost And Found: Turns Out The Pilgrims Were Tardy" October 27, 1997. http://www.weeklywire. com/ww/10-27-97/boston_feature_4.html. • Coffin, Robert Tristam. Kennebec: Cradle of Americans. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1937.• Hatch, Louis. Maine: a history. Somersworth, NH: New Hampshire Publishing Co., 1974. • Hume, Ivor Noel."Wreck and Redemption, The Sea Venture Saga." The Web of Time. http://theweboftime.com/Issue-2/seaventure-a.htm • Judd, Richard W. et.al. Maine: the Pine Tree State from Prehistory to the Present. Orono: UM Press, 1995.• Lemke, William. The Wild, Wild East. Camden, Maine: Yankee Books, 1990.