Weymouth Expedition
Engraving of Captain Weymouth sailing up the Penobscot. Photo: Historical Marker Database
In 1605, the Weymouth Expedition became one of the earliest English explorations of what is now the coast of Maine. Led by English navigator George Weymouth on board the Archangel, “a fine, large ship”, the voyage was sponsored by investors hoping to find valuable resources and establish a permanent settlement in North America. The expedition explored the coast, likely entering the St. George River near present day Thomaston, where the crew spent several weeks mapping the area and trading with the Wabanaki people.
The English were impressed by Maine's deep harbors, abundant forests and rivers, believing the region offered excellent opportunities for settlement and trade. During their stay, the crew recorded observations about the landscape and the Indigenous communities they encountered. These accounts became some of the earliest written descriptions of Maine and helped encourage future English colonization.
The expedition is also remembered for a horrific decision that had lasting consequences. Before returning to England, Weymouth's crew abducted five Wabanaki men and took them across the Atlantic without their consent. English leaders hoped the captives would learn the language and help future colonists establish relations with Native communities. Instead, the kidnapping damaged trust between the Wabanaki and later English settlers, creating tensions that continued for hundreds of years.
The Weymouth Expedition did not establish a colony, but the maps, journals, and reports brought back to England increased interest in the region and influenced later colonial settlements, including the Popham Colony in 1607. Today, the expedition is remembered as both a significant exploration and a reminder that the earliest encounters between Europeans and Indigenous peoples shaped Maine's history in lasting ways.
Today, we can still see physical evidence of this expedition on a rock in the tide line in Davis Cover, a small inlet on the southern coast of Cushing. Thomas King, a boatswain, carved his name and the year 1605. This site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
