Atop this hill, surrounded by some 400 acres of lowbush-blueberry shrubs, hikers can take in sweeping views of both the ocean and Maine’s distant western mountains. The little knoll, just 643 feet tall, is named for a family that settled on it before the Civil War. An old history text also notes a neighbor, one Mr. Whitney, who “had the first merry-go-round to operate in town. It had about 10 wooden ponies and was made to revolve by a man turning a crank. Mr. Whitney stood near and played a fiddle. All for a nickel a ride.” Today, recreation on the hilltop is free, but it’s more subdued. Birders gather at what’s now a nature preserve to spot two rare species of grassland birds, the upland sandpiper and vesper sparrow, and to watch the fall hawk migration, beginning each September, as the blueberry barrens around them turn crimson.
This month’s Where in Maine is sponsored by
If you can name this hill and the town where it’s found, submit your answer below. We’ll feature our favorite letter in an upcoming issue — and send the winner a Down East wall calendar.
