Water Music from Gardner Lake

IF YOU DROPPED anchor some still night at a certain spot in Salem’s lovely Gardner Lake, they say you can hear a haunting melody, played on an old piano, arising from beneath the quiet waters. And if you chose next day to investigate the source of the mysterious refrain by diving with mask and tank into the depth of those dark waters, you might just find yourself standing on the roof of a house with a piano in its parlor.

Daggett Rock – Maine’s Largest Glacial Boulder

Daggett Rock, sometimes referred to as Daggett’s Rock, is thought to be the largest glacially transported erratic in the State of Maine. Daggett Rock is approximately 80 ft long, 30 ft wide, and 25 ft high and may weigh as much as 8000 tons. It has broken into three pieces since coming to rest. The power of the glacier can be appreciated by determining the source of the boulder.

A colorful legend exists regarding why the boulder is split into pieces. The story goes that two hundred years ago a woodsman named Daggett came upon the rock during a wild thunderstorm. Daggett, inebriated and upset at the storm, climbed onto the rock. Cursing, he took the Lord’s name in vain and raged that he could not be struck down. A gigantic lightning bolt flashed from the sky followed by a boom of thunder. Daggett was instantly killed and the rock was cracked into the three fragments found today.