From collection Irving Nevells Collection
LB2012.17.790
View of Route 52 near Barrett Cove on Lake Megunticook with a view of the rocky face of Mt. Megunticook. Maiden's Cliiff is out of sight to the left. Penobscot Abenaki Indians called the area Megunticook, meaning "great swells of the sea", a reference to the silhouette of the Camden Hills (more visibly seen on a bright night). Part of the Waldo Patent, it remained wilderness until after the French and Indian War. MAIDEN'S CLIFF A parking lot filled with automobiles very frequently is seen at the foot of Mt. Megunticook. Locals and tourist like to make the easy climb to Maiden's Cliff to see the view of Megunticook Lake from the cross. If one is seeing it for the first time, their question may be, "Why there a white cross as a sentinel on the sheer cliff?" Answer: The cross marks a tragedy that happened many years ago. On May 6, 1862 (or some say 1864, but I am too young to either confirm or deny the date), a young girl fell from that spot. No one is sure exactly why she fell, but the correct version of the accident is taken from The Camden Herald in 1915. The young girl's sister gave the information, as she also climbed the mountain that day. Quote from The Camden Herald: "My father's name was Zadoc French, and I was the eldest of 12 children. We lived at Lincolnville Beach (but they called it French Beach, at that time.) "That day myself and the school teacher, Miss Hartshorn, were getting ready to drive to Lincolnville Center to see some friends, when little Elenora coaxed her mother to let her go with us. After dinner a young man, Randall Young, invited us to go up the mountain, and the four of us climbed Megunticook from the Lincolnville side. "We did not realize we were over the boldest cliff on the rock until Mr. Young told us so, and he said he would find a big rock and roll it down over. While he was looking for a rock, Miss Hartshorn and I were sitting down and little Elenora was rambling around us. "I remember exactly how she looked. Her hat had blown off and with it the net, and when I last saw her she was sitting on a rock near the edge of the cliff putting on her net. I turned to speak to Miss Hartshorn. I heard a scream. I looked where Elenora had been sitting and she was gone. "We were dazed for a moment and then ran to the edge of the cliff, but could not get near enough to look over. Mr. Young climbed down the face of the cliff to where Elenora had landed, nearly 300 feet they say from where she fell. "She was still alive and not a bone broken, but she was injured internally and died at 12:30 that night. I do not know how my sister came to fall. I shall always think that a puff of wind took her hat, and she fell over going after it. The cross was erected some years later." Joseph B. Stearns, the original owner of the "castle" Norumbega, had the first simple cross erected in memory of the 11-year-old girl who had lost her life.
