VII. Maine / "Eastern lands" , 1690-1835

William and Mary's colonial charter of 1691 not only established Massachusetts as a province rather than a colony but also expanded Massachusetts' territory to encompass what was then known as the Province of Maine. As a result, between 1691 and the establishment of Maine's statehood in 1820, the expansive lands of Maine belonged to Massachusetts. Although frequently interrupted by war and unrest, the Maine lands (often referred to as "Eastern lands") slowly began to be settled in the early eighteenth century. In the years following the American Revolution, settlement in Maine increased as leaders of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts realized the potential economic boon of selling off parcels of land in Maine to generate revenue and help pay off war debt.

In 1783, the Commonwealth owned 17 million acres of Maine land. Numerous sales committees were formed in the following decades, and as early as 1786 approximately 100,000 acres of Maine land had been sold, primarily in small parcels of 150 acres and 500 acres. In order to increase sales, a land lottery was established, allowing interested buyers to purchase tickets which guaranteed a parcel of land, though its quality and location were left to chance. The lottery drawing, held in 1787, was less successful than had been hoped, though. Sales of Maine land continued into the nineteenth century, with agents specializing in the task and an increased focus on the persecution of squatters and timber thieves.

Squatters were the problem which most plagued those responsible for the Maine lands. Given the distance from Massachusetts, it was a great challenge to monitor the illegal settlement of the lots, and on many occasions squatters not only built homes and barns on the lands, but also removed timber and sold it, greatly reducing the land's value. The prevention of timber theft was increasingly a concern from the 1790s onward.