Discover Eastport’s Past

Eastport is a city in Washington County, Maine, and the easternmost city in the continental United States (though the nearby town of Lubec is the easternmost municipality). With a population of about 1,300, it is Maine's least populous city. The principal island, Moose Island, is connected to the mainland by a causeway. The Passamaquoddy Tribe has called this area home for at least 10,000 years, with some archaeologists estimating habitation as far back as 20,000 years. The first known European contact came in 1604, with an unsuccessful settlement at nearby Saint Croix Island—predating the first successful English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, by three years.

On February 24, 1798, the Massachusetts General Court incorporated Eastport as a town from Plantation Number 8, naming it for its position as the easternmost port in the United States. From 1807 to 1809, the town became a hub of extensive two-way smuggling during the trade embargo imposed by President Thomas Jefferson. In 1809, Fort Sullivan was built atop a village hill, but it fell to a British fleet under Sir Thomas Hardy on July 11, 1814, during the War of 1812. Although England claimed Moose Island, control of the town reverted to the United States in 1818. The international border remained disputed until it was finally settled by the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842.

By 1833, Eastport had become the second-largest trading port in the United States, after New York City. While farms and small industries contributed to the island's economy, its lifeblood was the sea. With tides of about 25 feet (7.6 m), Eastport's spacious harbor stayed ice-free year-round. The first sardine factory was built around 1875, and the population grew alongside the sardine fishery and related canning businesses, which together employed some 800 men, women, and children.

Eastport was incorporated as a city on March 3, 1893. As the fishing industry declined over the 20th century, the city went bankrupt in 1937, and in 1976 the Groundhog Day Gale destroyed many structures along the waterfront. Today, fishing remains the city's principal industry, though tourism has become increasingly important as well. 

Each Fourth of July, the city draws thousands of celebrants, and Navy ships have docked there for the holiday celebration for many years. Every September, the city hosts the Maine Salmon Festival in its historic downtown district, and since 2004, a Pirate Festival has been held the weekend after Labor Day.