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One of the privileges to living in coastal Maine is being surrounded by numerous
wetlands, beaches, woods, and rocky coasts which help give towns like Cape
Elizabeth, such a peaceful feel. As residents, we are fortunate not only
for the presence, but the availability and accessibility to these sights
and sounds of nature. Although surprising to most, some of Cape Elizabeth's
most appreciated natural resources have not always been completely open to
the public. One of these resources happens to be Great Pond, Cape Elizabeth's
largest wetland. Unknown to many, the history of Great Pond is almost as
decorative as its scenic landscape.
In the midst of urbanization in the early 1900's, a group of sportsmen from
the Portland area formed the Great Pond Gun Club. In its formation, charter
member Frederick O. Conant, through his rights and position with the Great
Pond Mining and Agricultural Company, was beginning to believe he had complete
control over the life and prosperity of Great Pond. As the club grew in number
and status, the Great Pond Gun Club began insisting that Great Pond and its
surrounding area was their private property. Needless to say, this attitude
was not congruent with that of the Town's people, and a heated debate was
sparked.
However, what Great Pond Gun Club President, Fred H. Thompson, and other
members did not understand, was that Great Pond was open to the public under
a law prompted by the Massachusetts General Court in 1641. The law reads,
"Ponds containing more than ten acres of water are free for any man to fish
and fowl there, and he may pass and repass on foot through any man's property
for that end so that he trespass not upon any man's corn or meadow."
To further the Town's concern over the issue, at a special Town Meeting on
December 7, 1903, the residents of Cape Elizabeth voted to accept a plan
to build a throughfare from Fowler Road to the northern edge of Great Pond.
After having their decision reversed by the Supreme Judicial Court, the Town's
people formed the Bowery Beach Association to continue their fight to keep
Great Pond open to the public.
 On Tuesday, October 27, 1910, after years of arguments
and meetings, the court came to a decision. To the Town's delight, Great
Pond was ordered to be kept open to the public, and to continue following
the law enacted by the state of Massachusetts in 1641.
Free fishing and fowling is still as prevalent today as it was in the day
of the Great Pond Gun Club. In fact, to provide better access, a trail system,
the Great Pond Link, has been created, and stretches along from Route 77
to the Alewife Brook. Informational signs are posted along the trail at specific
points to show the varying degree of beauty. Whether it be the wooded fields
or the beaver lodges, the trail aims to highlight the diverse nature, along
with educating the community on the importance of Great Pond, not only as
a place of public enjoyment, but as an ever-changing ecological process.
- Information was gathered from A History of Cape Elizabeth, by William
B. Jordan Jr.
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