Our Maine Ancestors: The Waldo Patent

By 1660 the French and the English in Massachusetts both controlled parts of Maine. The French in eastern Maine claimed the land south and west to the Kennebec River, and the English claimed land north and east up to the Penobscot. Thus, the midcoast was claimed by both. In 1729 the English king attempted to establish a crown colony called Sagadahoc in midcoast Maine. He authorized Colonel David Dunbar, the [Surveyor-General of His Majesty’s Woods in America], to settle the area.

Eastern New England 1730

Major 18th Century Land Claims in Maine

Dunbar’s colony was not recognized by the wealthy merchants of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who wanted Maine’s resources. These leaders were known as the Great Proprietors, and they revived Gorges’ old land grants. Bostonian Proprietor Samuel Waldo was instrumental in getting rid of Dunbar and returning midcoast Maine to Massachusetts’ control. In return, he received a huge tract of land known as the Waldo Patent.

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