Cushing Island
Casco Bay, Maine · 10,000 years
Sources

Bibliography

Primary sources first. Scholarly secondary sources next. Local histories and archival images last.

Primary Sources

  1. A Voyage into New England
    Levett, Christopher · 1628
    Levett's own account of the Casco Bay voyage.
  2. Fort Levett records
    U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps · 1898–1945
    Construction, armament, and garrison records.
  3. An Historical Sketch, Guide Book, and Prospectus of Cushing's Island
    Sargent, William M. · 1886
    Public-domain period history and prospectus: archive.org/download/historicalsketch00sarg/historicalsketch00sarg.pdf
  4. Architectural drawing, house on Cushing Island (MMN #6029)
    Stevens, John Calvin · c. 1883
    mainememory.net/record/6029
  5. Fort Topical Index — Fort Levett ('Fort Levitt, ME')
    U.S. National Archives · n.d.
    RG 77, 92 and 94 holdings: archives.gov/research/cartographic/fort-lists

Scholarly Secondary Sources

  1. Twelve Thousand Years: American Indians in Maine
    Bourque, Bruce J. · 2001
    Baseline for Wabanaki landscape use in coastal Maine.
  2. The Harbor Defenses of Portland
    Coast Defense Study Group · n.d.
    Battery Foote dates, casemating, battery list, and the cautious Levett attribution: cdsg.org/the-harbor-defenses-of-portland/
  3. SAH Archipedia — Cushing Island
    Society of Architectural Historians · n.d.
    Dates the first Ottawa House to 1862: sah-archipedia.org/buildings/ME-01-005-0085
  4. Portland in the Past
    Goold, William · 19th c.
    Discusses Levett and the probable location of his plantation.
  5. Prehistoric archaeology reports & index
    Maine Historic Preservation Commission · to 2023
    Casco Bay Archaeological Project and shell-midden research; many reports restricted: maine.gov/mhpc/programs/survey/archaeology/mprehist
  6. NPS Cultural Landscape — Cushing's Island
    National Park Service · n.d.
    nps.gov/places/cushing-s-island.htm
  7. Fort Levett (encyclopedia entry)
    Wikipedia contributors · ongoing
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Levett

Local Histories & Archives

  1. 1888 Island Plan
    Maine Memory Network · 1888
    mainememory.net/record/23340
  2. Ottawa House photographs
    Maine Memory Network · late 19th c.
    mainememory.net/record/12157

Uploaded Field Sources

  1. An Historical Sketch, Guide Book, and Prospectus of Cushing's Island
    Sargent, Wm. M., A.M. · 1886
    The primary written source for this history. Traces the island's title from Levett (1623) through Cleeves, Mitton, Andrews, and later owners, with contemporary quotations from Strachey, Josselyn, Wood, and the Trelawny Papers.
  2. 'Coastal history: Discovering Cushing Island'
    Portland Press Herald · 2019-06-05
    pressherald.com/2019/06/05/coastal-history-discovering-cushing-island/
  3. 'Coastal history: The infamous pirate Dixie Bull'
    Portland Press Herald · 2020-01-31
    pressherald.com/2020/01/31/coastal-history-the-infamous-pirate-dixie-bull/
  4. Cushing Island (encyclopedia entry)
    Wikipedia contributors · ongoing
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cushing_Island
  5. Trelawny Papers
    Baxter, James Phinney (ed.) · 1884
    Names three of Levett's ten-man garrison — Thomas Alger, Edmond Baker, Nicholas Rouse — and Trelawny's 1637 letter complaining of Cleeves's title through Levett.
  6. An Account of Two Voyages to New-England
    Josselyn, John · 1674
    Records Michael Mitton's encounter with a 'Triton' in Casco Bay — the mermaid legend attached to the island's earliest English owner.