History
According to island lore, the name "Chebeague" comes from a Native American word meaning "Island of Many Springs" (pronounced "sha-Beeg"), as there are, indeed, many deep-running, underground fresh-water streams all over the island, in some places literally bubbling from the ground. Some Native Americans were still present after the European colonization of the area, as late as the 1870s.
The Native Americans did not dwell year-round on the island but paddled over by canoe during the summer months to fish. One can still notice areas of the island where clam shells are abundantly packed into the soil. This is mostly due to "shell piles" the Indians regularly made after their meals.
Original settlers in 1730 cleared much of the land for farming. Lobsters were so plentiful that they were not eaten, but rather used as fertilizer for fields. Great Chebeague was once home to the famous "stone sloops" that carried quarried granite down the eastern seaboard, and marine contractors who built breakwaters, lighthouses, and set navigational markers.- By the late 19th century and throughout the early 20th century, tourists from Canada, Boston and points south began to visit Maine in a phenomenon sometimes known as the "rusticators" movement. Cottages, rooming houses, and inns, such as the historic (but rebuilt) Chebeague Island Inn, were scattered around Casco Bay, served by steamboats from Portland where crowds of tourists from the industrial cities of New England could get back to nature for a few days or weeks. This tradition faded some, but continues to this day. Many of those who visit Chebeague in summer are middle-class workers from towns and cities as far south as Baltimore, who have a family "cottage" on the island, one that has been passed down through generations.
In 2002 Chebeague Island explored secession from Cumberland, with whom they had been tied for 184 years. The initiative gained traction after school district 51 considered downsizing the island elementary school. The island won independence from Cumberland after votes in the Maine Senate (31-3) and House of Representatives (131-1) on April 5, 2006. The separation took effect on July 1, 2007.
Read more about this topic: Chebeague Island, Maine
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