Stolenislandreview’s Blog

The story of the Review begins historically enough with one John Marsh, in about 1774–or, perhaps more accurately, with the Penobscot tribe who have lived in the Orono area for generations untold.  

Regardless, Marsh made himself a settlement on the island, and was, at first, friendly with the Penobscot, often acting as an interpreter for them.  However, Marsh soon became the recipient of a misinterpreted gift.  Time has made the details murky, but suffice it to say, the General Court of Massachusetts–for Maine had yet to become an independent state–granted Marsh the entire island, Penobscot aside, and renamed the island Marsh Island.  

Unsurprisingly, when the Penobscot discovered this imposition they were thoroughly displeased, to the point of attempting Marsh’s life.  Marsh “was thus obliged to keep out of their way for some time, in order to avoid the consequences of their just indignation.”  And so, despite his geographic victory, success was short-lived for Marsh, and the stolen island slipped beyond his grasp even within his lifetime.

While the flagship campus of the University of Maine and the Review itself currently reside on Marsh Island, early editors have taken it as our cause to re-appropriate the island’s history through the name of The Stolen Island Review.