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.

The Desert of Maine

The Saharan vistas were once a flourishing Maine farm. Now, it is the only desert in the North East, surrounded by perfectly healthy Maine vegetation. This place is only miles from the ocean and even closer to Freeport, the shopping mecca of New England. How did this piece of land become an arid, moon-like landscape. Most people attribute its creation to the bad farming practices of the eighteenth century; others believe there is an infernal ploy at play, a curse which drove the farm owners away.

View a video (YouTube)  made by people who work at the site.