OGUNQUIT, Maine – Joan Griswold, chair of the town’s Marginal Way Committee, recently called the Marginal Way Preservation Fund’s fundraising efforts “tremendous.”
How stunning?
During a fundraising garden party on Saturday, August 10, members of the nonprofit presented the city with a check for $500,000 for costly repairs to storm-ravaged Marginal Way.
Select Board Vice Chair Carole Aaron represented the town in accepting the check at the garden party, according to Allison Ramsey, executive director of the Preservation Fund. Independent of the town and its Marginal Way Committee, the organization is a nonprofit dedicated to maintaining the beautiful, historic trail along the Ogunquit coast.
Aaron thanked the Preservation Fund on behalf of her colleagues on the Select Board and Town Manager Matthew Buttrick.
Charlie Hindmarsh, vice chairman of the Preservation Fund board, hosted the garden party at his home.
On Tuesday, Hindmarsh said he hopes the donation can help ensure Marginal Way remains what it has been since the city was gifted the property 99 years ago.
“It’s a place that so many enjoy,” he said.
Griswold thanked for the generous donation and praised the performance of the nonprofit organization.
“They did a great fundraiser,” Griswold said. “It was very successful.”
Ramsey said she and the Preservation Fund board members were “truly touched and grateful” for all the contributions community members have made to their fundraising efforts.
“Thanks to the dedication of our supporters, this trail will continue to bring joy for many years to come,” Ramsey said.
The garden party itself raised $150,000 for the repairs, according to Ramsey. Ramsey said proceeds from the event will benefit the organization’s storm damage repair appeal.
Of these funds, the Forbes Family Foundation, Joe and GG Forbes, Karen and Tim Darling, and Matt and Amy Forbes donated $50,000.
“The Marginal Way is the ‘gateway’ to Ogunquit,” said Amy Forbes, owner of Perkins Cove Candy Shop. “The mission of the entire town should be to ensure stability, accessibility and safety.”
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Ogunquit is committed to restoring a valuable landmark
According to Town Manager Matthew Buttrick, engineers estimate the cost to completely repair Marginal Way will be around $3 million. The repairs would not only address damage from the two powerful storms that hit the Maine coast in January, but also from other weather events dating back to 2018.
In June, voters approved a $1 million bond to cover that $3 million price tag.
The January storms, which occurred within days of each other, left significant damage to Marginal Way, eroding portions of the pavement, washing around rocks of all sizes, and causing other damage.
The storms flooded the region with heavy rains and hit the coasts with powerful floods that hurled rocks and debris inland and swept entire dunes and parts of sea walls into the sea.
After the annual town hall meeting in June, Buttrick said the approved bonds and contributions from the conservation fund made it possible to begin the repair projects.
“We can start this fall and have two years to complete it,” he said.
Without the Preservation Fund’s efforts, the majority of the $3 million cost of the projects would have been on taxpayers’ shoulders, Buttrick added.
At various points along the trail, repairs include replacing eroded areas, repaving sections of the 5-foot-wide trail, filling washouts with gravel, repairing railings and concrete steps, restoring bench platforms, rebuilding walls, stabilizing the edges of Winterberry Meadow, and more.
The work would be done in phases to minimize impact on the summer season, when tourists and residents alike visit Marginal Way, as well as downtown shops and local beaches, Buttrick said.
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The story behind Ogunquit’s Marginal Way
The walkway has a rich history. According to the Preservation Fund website, a conservationist and former state legislator named Josiah Chase Jr. donated the mile-long shoreline property to the city of Ogunquit in 1925. The paved path begins in a corner of Oarweed Cove and winds through myrica, honeysuckle and “bittersweet, gnarled shrubs with fragrant pink and white water lilies.”
According to the organization, the trail is called the Marginal Way because it is built along the cliffs. Next year, the community will celebrate the trail’s 100th anniversary.
