Thomaston - New England's first town

Thomaston is 8 miles north of Port Clyde on the St. George River, just west of Rockland. Few stop there, though some head by and for boats to Lyman Morse - the all-purpose yard specializing in luxury yachts. Some check in at Jeff's Marine where the "pirate of the Midcoast" will sell you a skiff with a Yamaha 4-stroke on the back.

Thomaston has a great Fourth of July parade - and a great Halloween too. Crowds line the Main Street for 1/2 mile in front of classic colonial homes, and the monument-studded mall.

The site of George Waymouth's first sustained anchorage - in 1605 - at what is now George's Harbor - 12 miles south - is the acknowledged founding spot of New England. The cross placed there in 1905 by the governor of Maine marks Waymouth's first sustained anchorage in the New World.

But Thomaston has a distinct claim to fame: Waymouth landed and claimed a right of possession there, where the River narrows and turns west. A bronze plaque marks the event. Some highlights of the parade are above.