Wadsworth Cove

Wadsworth Cove

  • <p>Modern photograph of Wadsworth Cove or the "Back Shore", 2017- Photograph by Christopher Goetting </p>
  • <p>Photograph of Wadsworth Cove, c. 1924- Collection of the Castine Historical Society</p>
  • <p>Photograph of canoers, 1898- Collection of the Castine Historical Society </p>
  • <p>Chart showing the Castine Peninsula, c. 1776- Collection of the Library of Congress</p>
  • <p>Postcard of the Salt Water Swimming Pool, c. 1935- Collection of the Castine Historical Society</p>
  • <p>Photograph of a group of people after a canoe ride, 1900- Collection of the Castine Historical Society</p>

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This beautiful cove has borne many names, but none so thrilling as “Wadsworth Cove.” In 1876, Castine resident Dr. Joseph L. Stevens proposed at a Town Meeting that the cove be named for courageous American Revolutionary War hero General Peleg Wadsworth. Captured and imprisoned by the British at Fort George in 1781, Wadsworth and fellow prisoner Benjamin Burton escaped their cell during a rainstorm. Wadsworth crossed the cove alone that night and walked seven miles up the Penobscot River before meeting Burton again.

During the American Revolution, the British and the Americans referred to the spot differently. On maps made in 1779, the Americans labeled it as “Sweet’s Cove,” while the British called it “Matthews Cove.” Both Sweet and Matthews were nearby land owners.

Wadsworth Cove saw little activity until the Great Depression. In the 1930s, the Civil Works Administration provided funds for a saltwater, tide-filled swimming pond across the road from the cove. Recently the pond has been maintained by the town and local volunteers. Wadsworth Cove is now a public beach and the perfect place to watch the sun set.