Sandy River (Kennebec River)
Encyclopedia
The Sandy River is a 73.3 miles (118 km) tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Kennebec River
Kennebec River
The Kennebec River is a river that is entirely within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward...

 in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

.

The Sandy River originates in the Sandy River Ponds (44.8937°N 70.5406 °W) at an elevation of 1700 feet (518.2 m) in Sandy River Plantation. The river flows south to a confluence with Chandler Mill Stream in Maine Township E and then easterly to its confluence with Saddleback Stream in Madrid
Madrid, Maine
Madrid is a former town, now a part of the unorganized territory of East Central Franklin, in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 173 at the 2000 census.-History:...

, and Orbeton Stream in Phillips
Phillips, Maine
Phillips is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 990 at the 2000 census. It is home to the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad, a heritage railroad.-History:...

. The river then flows southeasterly through the villages of Phillips and Strong
Strong, Maine
Strong is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,259 at the 2000 census. Strong is home to the annual Sandy River Festival.-History:...

. The river flows south from Strong to Farmington and flows northeasterly from Farmington Falls through New Sharon
New Sharon, Maine
New Sharon is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,297 at the 2000 census. Native Fred H. Hale, Sr., born December 1, 1890, was the world's oldest living man from March 5, 2004 to November 19, 2004.-Geography:...

 to discharge into the Kennebec River
Kennebec River
The Kennebec River is a river that is entirely within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward...

 in Norridgewock a short distance south of the Madison town line. Maine State Route 4
Maine State Route 4
State Route 4 is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, running from the New Hampshire border in South Berwick to Haines Landing on Mooselookmeguntic Lake in the town of Rangeley...

 follows the river from the Sandy River Ponds to Farmington. The river is bridged at Farmington by the Maine Central Railroad
Maine Central Railroad
The Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...

 and by U.S. Route 2
U.S. Route 2
U.S. Route 2 is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada...

. Route 2 follows the river downstream to New Sharon where it makes the last bridged crossing of the river before its confluence with the Kennebec.

History

The Abenaki people found the lower river a good route for canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

 travel; Phillips remained an important fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 location until dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

s prevented anadromous fish migration
Fish migration
Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousands of kilometres...

. Fish would wait at Salmon Hole until flow enabled them to swim into the higher-gradient spawning
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...

 gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...

s upstream of that point. European settlement of the lower valley began during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

. Building of water-powered mills had produced incorporated towns as far upstream as Madrid by the time of Maine statehood in 1820. Early European settlers farmed the river lowlands between the last spring frost in May and the first autumn frost in September. Tree-cutting began after the autumn harvest; logs and lumber were moved on sleds while snow covered the ground from December through March.
A major flood in October 1869, locally known as the "pumpkin freshet", destroyed every bridge over the river and most of the early mills. Rebuilding brought larger mills to Phillips, Farmington, and New Sharon, and the river was closely followed by the narrow gauge Sandy River Railroad
Sandy River Railroad
The Sandy River Railroad was built to serve the towns of Strong and Phillips in the Sandy River valley upstream of Farmington. The Sandy River Railroad was the first narrow gauge common carrier railroad built in the State of Maine.- History :...

 from Phillips to Farmington in 1879. Construction of the Phillips and Rangeley Railroad
Phillips and Rangeley Railroad
The Phillips and Rangeley Railroad was a gauge narrow gauge common carrier railroad in the State of Maine.It connected the towns of Phillips and Rangeley and was built to serve the forestry and resort industries of Franklin County. This railroad pioneered the use of large 2-foot gauge rolling...

 up Orbeton Stream in 1891 enabled logging of the headwaters. Large steam sawmills on Redington Pond at the head of Orbeton Stream and on Toothaker Pond in Phillips converted the aboriginal spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...

 forests to lumber between 1891 and 1908. Pulpwood cutting kept the railroad profitable through World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, but sustained forest yield was insufficient to pay operating costs. The railroad went into receivership in 1923 and was dismantled from 1934 to 1936. A week of rain on accumulated winter snow washed out the Redington Pond dam and produced the largest recorded river flow of 38000 cuft/s on 18–19 March 1936.
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