Nat Pennell and Inez Lombardo from the Washington County Soil and Water Conservation District, located and copied the two aerial images on the left of the following storyboard. The aerial images were taken in 1944. The image, top right, provides a property lines overlay, pinpointing the property owned by the McFaul's. Robert P. Scott, Eastport's town assessor, provided us with this aerial photo. If the entire trotting track was on the McFaul property there are two possible locations. One location would have removed the track's halo due to the construction of the airport runways in 1940-1941. The second location on the property show little evidence of a track. However if you examine the top right of the 1944 aerial photos you can see evidence of two possible track halos. The halo extending off the runway is too short -- only around 800 feet in length. However, if you look at the open space slanting downward to the right you can see or perhaps sense the evidence of a trotting track. (One may be the victim of a heightened track halo imagination on this one.) If this were were location of the track, then the track would have been on property owned by the McFaul's and a neighbor. Newspaper accounts of the construction of McFaul Park stated that Alexander McFaul built the park. He may not have owned all of the property upon which it was built. This may be an effort that needs the involvement of more local folks. Somewhere in Eastport or in the home of a descendant of an old Eastport family there just may be a photograph, a program, or a poster. Back in the day a steamship from Calais ventured to Eastport so fans of the trotting races could be in attendance. Where did the steamer land and how did the fans get from the steamer to the track. I have contacted the Tides Institute and others in Washington County. Hopefully, we will find the answer!
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