Where in Maine?

Can you name this bridge and the town where it’s found?

In October 1775, a British naval fleet laid anchor in the harbor at Falmouth, which would later be Portland, in the state that would later be Maine. Its commander ordered the townsfolk to swear allegiance to King George. When they declined, the fleet replied with incendiary canon fire, then sent a landing party to burn what they’d missed. After the attack, in a seemingly odd compensatory gesture, the Massachusetts colonial government granted Falmouth’s displaced residents an inland parcel, some 100 miles away from their former home.

That parcel became the town where you’ll find this bridge, one of the last unaltered examples of an early American wire suspension bridge. At the time of its construction, the river beneath was known as Seven Mile Stream. Come spring, ice chunks pile up along its banks, and after snowmelt, they’re displaced by anglers looking for trout.

A few years back, some Maine film students used CGI effects to give the bridge a magical origin story (flaming towers! levitating beams!) in a short film adaptation of one of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter spinoff tales. Filmed with the blessing of Warner Bros., the film was never widely released but has ardent fans among the online Potter faithful. Wizard or muggle, you have to admit, it’s a spellbinding view.

Where in Maine March 2019
Photograph by Benjamin Williamson

Submit your answer here.


Down East Magazine

We're the Magazine of Maine.