5 PORTLAND PIER, PORTLAND | (207) 772-4828 a ad Daily Oyster Farm & Seal Watching Tours Happy Hour Cruises | Oyster & Beer Pairings Oyster,Wine & Sake Tasting Cruises Special Events & Private Charters Joinusaboardthe50-foot world-famousRiverTripperand experiencetheunspoiled,natural beautyof theDamariscottaRiver. Visittheoyster capitalof Maine! 1hourfromPortland, just2minutesoffofRt.1, 40MainSt,Damariscotta‘bythebridge’ Formoreinformationcall207-315-5544 orvisitusatwww.TheRiverTripper.com 202 P r t L a n d montHL maga ine diSC very River in 1969. “There are five major mounds and many smaller deposits. The size of the oyster shells in these deposits excites the imagination. They could range from a foot in length to twenty inches.” O ne of the largest is Whaleback Shell Midden, a heap of discard- ed shells believed to have been formed over the course of one thousand years by the native people. “It used to be the size of an apartment building,” says Peter Smith. The lyrically named “Glidden Mid- den” can be found on the opposite bank. Both mounds were partially harvested and processed for chicken feed in the 1800s or eroded by tides but remain some of the largest midden deposits in the country. During the late 19th century, the elite ostreophiles of the East Coast preferred to discard their shells upon ornately de- signed oyster plates. According to Distinc- tion Magazine, the trend began with Lu- cy Hayes, wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes, who “decided to replace the White House china, [and suddenly] oyster plat-