This small island was the site of the McKay and Dix shipyard, where Robert E. Peary’s innovative ship S.S. Roosevelt was built in 1904-05. The Roosevelt, a heavily built wooden vessel designed to crash through ice, was the last ship built there. Traces of the shipyard’s launching ways are visible around the public boat launch. Find the spot off Route 1 just before the bridge from Verona Island to Bucksport.
Address: Verona Island, Maine 04416
Website: http://www.veroname.org
Photo courtesy of the Town of Verona Island, Maine.