Moose Island

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Moose Island is an island in Maine located at the entrance to Cobscook Bay from Passamaquoddy Bay in the Bay of Fundy.

Connected to the mainland portion of Washington County at Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation by a causeway, the city of Eastport occupies the southeastern end of the island, while the town of Quoddy occupies the northwestern end. The Eastport Municipal Airport lies between the two municipalities.

[edit] History

During the War of 1812, Moose Island was seized by British naval forces who took control of the entire Maine coast from Penobscot Bay to the St. Croix River.

Following the war, the United States relinquished its claim in 1817 on several larger islands in the Bay of Fundy that were also claimed by Britain (Campobello Island, Deer Island, Grand Manan Island) and Britain relinquished its claim on islands in Cobscook Bay.

During the 1930s, the ill-fated Quoddy Project was spearheaded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a tidal power project for the Cobscook Bay area as part of his New Deal through the Public Works Administration. Part of this project involved construction of a tidal barrage between Moose Island and Pleasant Point to contain the waters of Cobscook Bay, resulting in the present-day causeway carrying Maine Highway 190 and the abandoned Maine Central Railroad.