We went to look at a property in Amity, Maine. This property was off Estabrook Settlement Road, and we didn't like it much. Now first let me explain about Amity. If you are thinking Amityville Horror, you have the wrong town. That took place in Long Island, New York yet if you keep reading, there must be something about the name Amity that solicits horror, as this place in Maine comes with its own struggles. This area in smalltown Maine is population ZILCH by big city standards. Last census 2020 had the population at 253 according to Wikipedia here.
My ideas for going green and solar were quickly shot when I realized we may get mauled by a bear (or worse) because it was so very off-grid. Now I have to say, much of the area is still wilderness. I have to admit that coming from the big City it's surely wonderful to see lack of humanity and nature gone wild. The elevation is over 600' in most parts of Amity, so when the polar ice caps melt, (at least that's what the greenies say) then my husband and I, we should be on dry land. We already have a camp on East Grand Lake, but were looking for property so we can move permanently. At the time of this post, we lived half a day away!
Amity's Horrors
Going back to problems in Amity, it has its own set of past and modern-day horrors. The area where we were looking had a lot of history with the Estabrook Settlement. The early settlers had a rough and hard life trying to live off the land as loggers. A lot of their stories are compiled on Roots.Web and I found myself reading hours into it. The man who shot himself who was dying of cancer, or the little boy who didn't know the lizard in his tea would secrete toxins to kill him. The information I read was mesmerizing and gave me more respect for the early settlers. They talked of the forest having large pine trees that grew several feet around, and the tribulations of the wild.
More modern-day issues included a triple homicide (including a father and son who lost their life) which made national headlines. My heart goes out to the families who were impacted over such as senseless crime. Source: The Worst Murder Case in the History of Maine | by Sal | Lessons from History | Medium \
Not to mention, at the time of this post, as I write it, my news app informed me that a house burnt down with the owner still in it just today, which is horrifying and sad to know.
Most of Amity is still a big forest, it's the wilderness....and with that, I mentioned to the wonderful realtor that we would wait for something a little more "cleared" and closer to utilities or a main road. He quickly mentioned that he had a property in mind he had not listed yet. In fact, none of the parcel (he had six or so lots) had been listed. He took us there the next day, with the help of some highly intelligent beavers, I fell in love.
My husband, not so much. He was overwhelmed by overgrowth of the "cleared lot." I quickly explained from my time at my family's house in Maine that this was red bush, or at least that's what Mom called it. It's an invasive bushy thick weed whose stems and brush is all dark red. A bush hog will be needed to get that out. It was a cold day in November, and it was windy. Quickly he was stuck in the surrounding sticker bushes and couldn't make his way around too well. The moose poop which was the size of giant chocolate malted balls didn't bother him much until he happened upon the bear crap. All of this was about 20' into the 31.58 acres I was looking at.
I hate to throw him under the man bus, but this scared him immediately. He said, "we aren't going to explore more unless we have protection." He saw our future as being trampled by moose or eaten by bear. I saw nature reserve at its finest. Glass half full, glass half empty. Then, I saw the trees.
I immediately thought it was beavers, but where the heck were they? They had wittled and removed 10-12 trees about 3" in girth. I immediately was thankful as if I was to get the property they were doing me a favor. I did not see water anywhere around, so I was a bit confused. That day, I had to let the property sink into my husband's brain a day or two, before I revisited the possibility of buying it. It was getting colder and raining, and it was time to go. When I went to leave, I got attacked by a burr bush. I think this was nature telling me not to go. Little did the bush know, it would only be a few days, and I would be back.
Further Reading: How To Tell If A Beaver Is Going To Attack And What To Do
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