Atwell's Creek
Folly Creek
Atwell's Creek is on the left in this 1864 north-facing view of Yarmouth's harbor
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMaine
TownYarmouth
Physical characteristics
MouthRoyal River
  location
Yarmouth, Maine, U.S.
  coordinates
43°47′45″N 70°10′38″W / 43.79573317°N 70.177190°W / 43.79573317; -70.177190

Atwell's Creek is a former watercourse in Yarmouth, Maine, United States.[1] It is named for John Atwell, who married Elizabeth Felt, daughter of Joshua.[2]

Flowing into the southern edge of Yarmouth harbor, it was used from the early 18th century to power various mills, the first being Massachusetts native Gilbert Winslow's sawmill in 1720.[3] The creek received its nickname of Folly's Creek at this time, because Winslow's venture was expected by many people to fail, but it proved to be "a profitable concern."[4] The creek was "a considerable watercourse then";[5] now, though, it is nothing more than a tidal inlet.

References

  1. Corliss, Augustus W. (1877). Old Times in North Yarmouth, Maine. Augustus W. Corliss. p. 684.
  2. Felt, Dorr Eugene (1921). A Register of the Ancestors of Dorr Eugene Felt and Agnes (McNulty) Felt. D. E. Felt. p. 4.
  3. Lowell, Mary Chandler (1911). Chandler-Parsons: Edmund Chaundeler, Geoffrey Parsons and Allied Families. T. R. Marvin & Son. p. 69.
  4. Collections of the Maine Historical Society: Volume 2. Maine Historical Society. 1847. p. 181.
  5. Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636-1936: A History, William Hutchinson Rowe (1937)
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