Sears Island

Sears Island, known as Wassumkeag or shining beach by the indigenous Wabanaki tribes of northern New England, is located off the coast of Searsport, Maine in Waldo County at the top of Penobscot Bay. [http://www.maine.gov/local/waldo/searsport/]

It is home to numerous species of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians and plant life. The shallow shoal off the west side of the island supports meadows of eelgrass (Zostera marina) and other nursery habitats and features that play an important role in the fish and shellfish populations of greater Penobscot Bay.

Named after David Sears of Boston after he agreed to grant a large sum of money towards founding of Searsport, Sears Island is currently state owned land, but is part of the town of Searsport. Formerly it had been known as Brigadeers Island.

The island has been a point of controversy for many years as the island is ideally located from the point of view of railroad, wood products and other development interests while others have expressed environmental and aesthetic concerns about further industrializing this portion of the coast. [http://www.maine.gov/local/waldo/searsport/]

There are currently plans to divide the island into an industrial park and education center. This is widely regarded as a sell-out on the part of the environmentalists, particularly the Sierra Club, which has ended its decades -long.

The island is the largest undeveloped, uninhabited, causeway accessible, island on the eastern coast of the United States.. It is convert|940|acre|km2 in area.

A causeway was built approximately 20 years ago which now connects Sears Island to the mainland via Sears Island Road. What is not apparent to visitors, but most locals know from memory, is that the island's causeway is built upon what formerly was a tidal bar. At high tide Sears Island was a true island, and at low tide the gravel bar was exposed, allowing for easy access. Locals would drive over at low tide, always careful to return in time, lest they would have to wade or swim and leave the car stranded until the next tide. Several generations ago there were farms on the island. Only stone cellar holes and a few small fields remain today.

Visitors can drive out to the end of the causeway, and even though there is a road that travels down the center of the island to the southern tip, you can not drive on the island itself, as it is blocked off by large concrete blocks and fencing. You can however walk, hike, bike, and explore the island, not only by the road (appx. convert|1|mi|km|sing=on long, which offers spectacular views of Penobscot Bay, Cape Rosier/Castine, and Islesboro Island, among many others), but also by the numerous walking trails that zig-zag their way around the island. There are beautiful beaches that surround the perimeter of the island as well.

Sears Island also acts as a great element barrier for one of the most well-protected harbors in the state of Maine, Stockton Harbor, an attractive anchorage both for the protection it offers, and its convenience to upper Penobscot Bay towns Searsport, Belfast and Castine. Bar Harbor is about an hour car ride east, and both Camden and Bangor are about a half-hour south and north, respectively. Sears Island also offers spectacular views of Cape Jellison.

See also

Searsport, Maine
Penobscot Bay

There is also a Sears Island in Worcester, Massachusetts located in Indian Lake.