WESTBROOK — The Friends of the Presumpscot River this weekend will unveil a monument and memorial plaque at 89 Conant St. to pay tribute to Chief Polin, the powerful leader of the Abenakis who populated the area before European settlers.

The Chief Polin Monument dedication will take place 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29. The second annual Three-Sisters Harvest Dinner, along with a silent auction and live music, will follow the ceremony. A suggested donation of $50 will go toward the group’s work. 

 “The Chief Polin Memorial is the only memorial acknowledging Chief Polin and the first people of the Presumpscot River,” said Michael Shaugnessy, president of Friends of the Presumpscot. “The Abenaki had lived along the Presumpscot for over 10,000 years yet there is nothing that signifies they were here.”

The Abenaki, part of the Wabenaki tribe, were driven out in 1756 when Chief Polin was killed. Polin had sought fish passages on the Presumpscot to secure the tribe’s primary food source.

“This memorial garden,” Shaughnessy said, “is meant to be a living memorial to Polin, his people, the river and its revival.”

Shaughnessy said the memorial, next to his house, will be “very publicly accessible.” 

“Across our property is an easement for the Conant Trail, which is part of the Portland Trail system, and it is tucked in right there,” he said.

The site is the “perfect location” for the memorial because it is next to the Presumpscot River food source for the Native Americans, and it’s near their primary planting grounds. 

The stones of the memorial are from an old barn on the property and the upright stone is meant to echo a similar marker on Anderson Road in Windham, where Polin was killed more than 260 years ago. The memorial also includes informational plaques about Polin, his people and the river.

Shaughnessy said aside from the upright stone on Anderson Road in Windham, there is nothing locally to pay homage to Polin. There is still speculation as to just where Polin is buried.

“There is a mystery where his remains are. Because there was quite a bounty on them, (the location) was kept under wraps,” Shaughnessy said.

According to the Westbrook Historical Society, the trouble between Col. Thomas Westbrook and the Abenaki  began in the 1730s when Westbrook, who had strong connection to the lumber industry, built the first mill dam on the Presumpscot River. The dam obstructed the passage of salmon and other fish as they headed to and from Sebago Lake, their spawning grounds.

Upset, Polin reportedly walked to Boston in 1739 to urge the colonial governor of Massachusetts to remove the dam. Nothing was done to help the chief’s concerns and as development along the river increased, the demands for fish, land and other resources pitted the settlers against the Native Americans, leading to some violent and deadly skirmishes.

Since 1992, the Friends of Presumpscot River has taken up Polin’s cause of pushing for better fish passage in the river and has been working on improving the water quality, recreational opportunities and natural character of the Presumpscot River.

Michael Kelley can be reached at 781-3661 x 125 or [email protected] or on Twitter @mkelleynews.

The Polin Memorial is thought to be the only local memorial acknowledging Chief Polin and the Abenaki.

A dedication of a memorial to honor Chief Polin is set for Saturday, Sept. 29, at 89 Conant St.