A wide black and white photograph showing a small herd of cattle grazing in a large open pasture. In the background, a flat lake expands toward a long, forested hill under a pale sky.

Bible Point

At Bible Point, a small herd of cattle in a field, with Mattawamkeag Lake in the background. Photo by George French, 1945. Photo: Maine State Archives.

In the late 1870s, college-aged Theodore Roosevelt frequently visited the Island Falls area to camp, hunt, and fish with his lifelong guide and friend, Bill Sewall. He would hike daily from his camp at the south end of Mattawamkeag Lake to the confluence of the river, where he had found a favorite spot to read his Bible. It is widely considered the place where his appreciation for the outdoors began, and which ultimately shaped his legacy as a conservationist.

The Roosevelt Memorial Association placed a plaque at the exact spot where he used to sit in 1921. In 1970, Bible Point was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Today, Bible Point Historic Site encompasses a 27-acre point in Island Falls located on the West Branch of the Mattawamkeag River in Aroostook County and is accessible by boat, ATV, snowmobile or by a hiking a scenic trail from Merriman Road.

Bible Point State Park

A single page of a handwritten essay on lined paper titled "My debt to Maine." The cursive handwriting in black ink fills the page with several crossed-out words, insertions, and corrections throughout the paragraphs. — Theodore Roosevelt describes his visits to Island Falls in Aroostook County when he was a boy and the Sewall family with whom he stayed. Photo: Maine Historical Society.

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