Life On Chebeague Island, Maine

“The Island has one main store (Doughty’s Island Market) that also serves coffee and sandwiches.  There is also a gift shop that runs seasonally and a boatyard that  sells gasoline.  The library, health clinic, and community hall share one building, and the town office, fire department, and rescue services all share the public-safety building.  The island post office, now in a trailer, will soon be moving from a trailer to a permanent building.

The island has a recreation center with an outdoor swimming pool, exercise equipment and a gym (shared with the school).  Additionally, the recreation center runs activities such as a teen-center, exercise classes, and Sanford’s skating pond.. The island  has a small farm, Secondwind Farm.  There is an assisted-living center, the Island Commons, that helps Chebeaguers stay on the island as long as possible. One outdoor restaurant, Calder’s clam shack, opens from spring to fall as long as the weather permits. In the past there has been a hotel as well as various B&Bs…

Two ferry lines serve Chebeague Island, but no car ferry.  Chebeague Transportation Company runs 9-10 boats per day on a 15 minute trip between the east end of Chebeague and Cousin’s island, which is part of the town of Yarmouth and bridged to the mainland.  Casco Bay Lines runs 4-5 trips a day from the west end of the island into Portland, which takes over an hour.  A privately owned barge company is available to move cars on and off the island. Many people on Chebeague work in lobstering or other marine industries, and many people commute off the island; dozens of others work in the building trades as well as in a myriad other jobs that make the island tick.  Chebeague also has a large population of retirees. To get to the ferry one has to park in a fairly expensive parking lot and take a shuttle to the ferry dock.

The best online source of information on Chebeague is http://www.chebeague.org, which has links to every organization’s website, island news, and many pictures, found both on the photos link, and by scrolling back through the news updates on the main page.

After seceding from the town of Cumberland, Chebeague Island became Maine’s newest independent town on July 1, 2007.  The reason for the secession was to protect the future of its island elementary school, without which it would be extremely difficult to sustain a year-round population.

Historically, Chebeague was a famous shipbuilding center; its “stone sloops” transported granite up and down the coast.  Chebeague’s year-round population is approximately 360 people, with a summer population of approximately 1,600. Chebeague’s island school has three classes from Pre-K to fifth grade pre-k, k-2 and 3-5), after which students commute to the mainland.  Currently there are 22 students in the school, and 27 attending middle and high school off-island.”

“Typically, the island has 8–9 foot tides under normal conditions. Ocean floor geography in the general area can vary drastically, thus careful navigation must be taken when boating, even in small vessels. Many islands, including Great Chebeague, have extended rock outcroppings that are completely underwater during high tide but may be lurking just below the surface as the tide drops, and may appear 3–10 feet out of the water during low tide. The rip tide can be several knots, and rowing against it is physically impossible: Extra care must be taken when venturing out in small watercraft. Even on the clearest day, a thick fog can suddenly “roll in” out of nowhere, reducing visibility to zero.

Their ferry claims to run 365 days a year.

Here’s a photo tour of this island: