The Machias River was long a vehicle for the lumber trade. For
many years the town of Machias exported all sorts of sawed wood
products, much of it on British vessels. When the British
schooner "Margaretta" arrived in Machias in June of 1775 to pick
up Machias River lumber to help build British barracks, the town
captured the schooner, thereby engaging this country in its
first naval battle of the Revolution. The most important
topographical feature of the Machias River occurs in the town of
Machias and gives both the river and the town their names.
"Machias" is an Indian word that means "bad little falls" and
refers to the steep, rough falls in the heart of the town where
the river makes its final plunge. Subsequently the name was
applied to both the town and the river. The Machias rates with
the Allagash, the Penobscot, and the Saint John as one of
Maine's most scenic waterways. It offers semi-wilderness travel
with lakes, swamps, intermittent rapids up to class III, ledges,
waterfalls, and portages - all i