Underwood Spring Park

Underwood Spring Park
Underwood Spring Park in 1906
Underwood Spring Park is located in the United States
Underwood Spring Park
Underwood Spring Park is located in Maine
Underwood Spring Park
Location Falmouth Foreside, Maine, U.S.
Opening dateJuly 18, 1899
Closing date1907 (118 years ago) (1907)
Signature attractionsOpen-air theater, casino
OwnerPortland and Yarmouth Electric Railway Company
Coordinates43°44′12″N 70°12′10″W / 43.7365638°N 70.202902°W / 43.7365638; -70.202902

Underwood Spring Park was a 19th- and 20th-century pleasure resort overlooking Casco Bay in Falmouth Foreside, Maine, United States.[1] Containing an open-air theater, a casino and a gazebo, it was a popular gathering spot serviced by the trolley cars of the Portland and Yarmouth Electric Railway. The Portland and Yarmouth Electric Railway Company opened the park,[2] located to north of the town landing, on July 18, 1899,[3] to promote the line's service to and from Portland, Maine's largest city, every fifteen minutes.[4][5] A looped spur off the main line was built the month following the resort's completion to facilitate the ease of passengers' arrivals.[3]

The theater, which was managed by Edward A. Newman,[6] burned down in 1907 and was not rebuilt.[7] The park subsequently closed.[4]

The Underwood name is still in use in the vicinity, including Underwood Park[8] and the adjacent Underwood Springs Forest Preserve,[9] both on the inland side of State Route 88.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Falmouth, Maine, Casino at Underwood Spring Park". DigitalCommons@UMaine. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  2. ^ "The lookout at Underwood Spring Park, Falmouth, ca. 1905". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  3. ^ a b Cummings, Osmond Richard (1957). Portland Railroad: Part I, historical development and operations. Connecticut Valley Chapter, National Railway Historical Society Inc. p. 16.
  4. ^ a b "Derailed Trolleys, Yarmouth, ca. 1925" - Maine Memory Network
  5. ^ Portland Past and Present. Evening Express Publishing Company. 1899. pp. 89–90.
  6. ^ The Julius Cahn-Gus Hill Theatrical Guide and Moving Picture Directory, Volume 10. 1905. p. 938.
  7. ^ "Falmouth (Maine) Historical Society - From Town, to Destination, to Suburb". www.falmouthmehistory.org. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  8. ^ "Underwood Park | Falmouth ME". www.falmouthme.org. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  9. ^ "Underwood Springs Forest Preserve". Falmouth Land Trust. Retrieved 2022-11-10.