Blue Point

Stories from South Point, Part Three

by Mary Morgan

A small point of land on the water side of Ocean Avenue, between 2nd and 4th Streets, looks like a quiet spot, but it has been the subject of controversy at least twice in the past.

According to the 1882 private development plan for the area, this point was designated as common land, so it should have remained green. In the 1930s, the City of Biddeford wanted to make it a parking lot, but the local land owners were not happy and came up with a way to stop the city.

A path leads through the vegetation from Ocean Ave. to the shore. (JH photo)

The owners of the common area were the beneficiaries and descendants of the original South Point Cottage Lots developers. On July 25, 1930, they leased the point to the families owning Ocean Avenue lots numbered 11 through 25, as well as lot number 1 on 3rd Street: i.e. 12, 14 and 16 Ocean Avenue. The terms of the leases were not specified, but it is generally agreed they were to last 99 years.

The lease depended on several conditions.  The lessees were to:

1. Maintain the area in “a better condition than currently maintained” for the benefit of the lessees

2. prevent any strip or waste by trespassers

3. quit and deliver, in good order & condition, peaceably and quietly after receiving a six-month termination notice from the lessors

4. pay the taxes duly assessed

5. not sublet without consent of the lessors

6. pay rent of one cent

Each lease was subject to easements already granted to the public and to owners of land shown on the South Point Cottage Lots Plan.

These Ocean Avenue cottagers now had the right to take the city to court over the parking lot issue. The court ruled in their favor, and the city withdrew its parking plans.

In subsequent years, this point and other non-housing lots on South Point were deeded to the Biddeford Pool Improvement Association (BPIA). In 1988, in an attempt to improve the view, the BPIA proposed removing trees and brush from the little point. Some of the lessees objected to this plan and wrote a letter to the BPIA outlining their objections. They argued that the area was a bird habitat that should not be disturbed. They also pointed out that this area protected their houses during severe winter storms. On the map that accompanied the letter, the area in question was colored blue. In this case, the BPIA prevailed.

Today, Blue Point features a broad path leading from Ocean Avenue to the rocky shore, a few scraggly trees and lots of rosa rugosa. The Biddeford Pool Land Trust maintains it. Now it is the location of a new fight, this time against bittersweet and other invasive plants. This battle will likely continue for many years to come.

References:

Deed Book 823 Page 395, the lease.

Lessors were William Hill descendants: E. Dwight Hill of Plymouth Massachusetts, Virginia (Hill) Willis of Lynn, Massachusetts, Inez M. (Hill) Staples of Biddeford, Maine and Elizabeth (Foss) A. Clary of Los Angeles, California.

The Gilbert Berry descendants: Edward T. Hyde, Grace E. Hyde and Alice H. Sawyer of Saco, Maine.

The Lessees were Edna Heard Baker of Saco, Maine, Ethel Heard Hill of Old Orchard Beach, Maine,  Arthur Wood of Granby Massachusetts and Janet J. Edwards of West Boylston, Massachusetts.