Submitted by Becky Hallowell
Fourth-grade students from Wiscasset Elementary School recently took a field trip to learn more
about their community's history. First, the students went to the Fish Ladder in Nobleboro to
explore this innovation, created in the early 1800s to provide passage for alewives into
freshwater. The students found tiny fry swimming in the pools of the fish ladder and are eager to
return in the spring to watch the alewives return in full force.
Then the fourth-grade students visited the shell midden in Damariscotta. They have been
learning about the Indigenous people who lived in Maine thousands of years before the
European settlers arrived. The students were excited to see the “hill” of shells across the
Damariscotta River left by members of the Wabanaki nation. They were even more excited to
stand where a factory once stood, imagining the history that had taken place there.
Once the students returned to school, they wrote about their experiences to ensure they would
not forget the great learning from these two special places.
Photo Credit: Becky Hallowell
Photo 1: Erica Davis leads fourth grade students up the fish ladder
Photo 2: Amelia Gamrat, Benny West, Aubree Pomerleau, Fianna Oakes, Nathanael Bruccato,
and Wyatt Underwood check out the shell midden.
