Short
by most standards, the Presumpscot rolls twenty-five miles, from Sebago
Lake to Casco Bay, passing through Windham, Gorham, Westbrook, Falmouth
and Portland. In that short distance, however, it drops 270 feet.
Its name, "Presumpscot", having its origin from local native culture,
means "many falls" or "many rough places", revealing its true natural
identity. In 1650 it was noted that, "...at certain times, the entire
surface of the river for a foot deep was all fish." The river embraced
vast amounts of river spawning Atlantic salmon, shad, and alewives as
well as being home to land-locked salmon, brook trout, and the now extinct
Presumpscot Jumper. In its natural state, the Presumpscot was both beautiful
and bountiful.
No longer seen as a river destined to be defined by man's use, with careful
stewardship, the river can move to a rebirth of its once original beauty
and bounty.
|