I meant to take my camera with me when I visited my parents' last week in southern Maine. I've been trying to figure out what happened with the "welcome to" sign in their town, so wanted a photo to illustrate my question. I once again forgot, so hopefully can describe it instead.
All the signs say that the town was founded "c. 1640." What's more interesting is that this date is on a wooden block mounted to the sign. It looks like they changed the date after the signs were put up.
So, what happened? Did they put up signs saying that the town was settled in 1640, only to have someone dispute that date? Was the solution to adjust them to say "about"?
Why might someone dispute a settlement date? It always reminds me that coastal areas were settled much earlier than those of us farther inland (we had a whole other conversation about whether Maine's Cumberland and York counties were formed before or after Pennsylvania's).
But what constitutes settlement? Is it the first time some fisherman decided to land there, because they needed to repair a boat? The first time someone came up from Massachusetts and built a temporary building? Is this why it might be in dispute? In any case, it appears to be an interesting example of historical uncertainty and interpretation?
I'll do a bit of googling to start to answer my question. Maybe I'll head over to the local historical society the next time I visit. Maybe I'll find the right person to get the full scoop on the signs.
