One of the greatest legends in Maine history was a man whose tireless efforts changed the landscape of Midcoast Maine. And this great public servant was a man from Woolwich.

Frank William Carlton was born on April 5, 1859, to Ira and Harriet (Savage) Carlton in Dresden. Soon, the growing Carlton family moved to Woolwich where Frank would spend the rest of his life on a “500-acre farm” located “where route 128 meets route 127.”

By 1880, 21-year-old Frank Carlton operated “Carlton’s store and livery stable on the south side [of] the Sagadahoc Ferry” on the banks of the Kennebec River.

Carlton knew the “people in Woolwich [could not] visit in Bath … at night … ” as there was no way to cross the Kennebec River except “for the ferries at Richmond and at Bath … [which] stopped running at six o’clock in the evening.”

The “Woolwich people … could hear the church bells in Bath but could not attend … knew there were movies, but could not go. They [were] as isolated as Robinson Crusoe.” Carlton was aware that the “ferries were depreciating and were run at a loss,” and he knew something had to be done.

Carlton served several terms as chairperson of the town select board, and he knew a bridge spanning the mighty Kennebec could improve lives and businesses in the Midcoast.

By the early 20th century, Carlton had begun “work as a general contractor” and soon “superintended the building … of wharves along Bath’s waterfront and Bath Iron Works, [where] he constructed the ways from which many … vessels were launched.”

Carlton had “a reputation for frankness … [and] sound judgment, stood for what he thought to be right … and was noted for his aggressiveness in political battles.”

On Saturday, May 5, 1917, Carlton’s political “aggressiveness” saw him arrested by Deputy Sherriff John Norris for libel against Bath’s “E.W. Hyde just before the city election,” and Hyde demanded “damages of $10,000.”

When Carlton decided to enter higher office it was to help the people of the Midcoast, and by 1923, he was elected to the Maine state Senate. Now, Sen. Frank Carlton was in a position to help the people of Bath and Woolwich.

Right away, Carlton made the construction of roads and bridges a centerpiece of his efforts in the Legislature and his dream of a bridge “crossing over the mighty Kennebec” became his top priority.

By 1925, Carlton co-authored legislation to build a bridge linking Orr’s and Bailey islands, a “coffer dam in Dresden,” and a bridge connecting Bath with Woolwich.

Carlton’s bridge over the Kennebec “would cost three million dollars … [and be] of unusual character, a double-decker, with a two-hundred foot section lift-draw.” And the tracks of the Maine Central Railroad would run underneath.

Work began on the Sagadahoc Bridge “in October of 1925 when borings were started on the river bed, [and] actual construction began in the spring of 1926.” Meanwhile, Carlton was successfully elected to a second term in the state Senate.

On Nov. 15, 1927, the Sagadahoc Bridge over the mighty Kennebec River was opened to the public “as a toll bridge,” and a new era for the Midcoast had begun.

“More than 4,000 attended” the opening ceremonies, and thankful residents, political leaders and business owners soon honored Carlton by renaming the new behemoth steel span “The Carlton Bridge.”

By Labor Day weekend in 1928, Carlton’s “Crib Stone Bridge” at Orr’s and Bailey islands was also opened, as Carlton served out his last year as Maine’s senator from Sagadahoc County.

On Jan. 4, 1931, a 72-year-old Frank W. Carlton “rushed to rescue a small boy … who fell through the ice … at [the] Arrowsic Bridge.” When Carlton “plunged into the water … he grasped the boy,” saving his life. Then, as Carlton lifted the child onto land, “he recognized … the little fellow … as his own 4-1/2 year old son, Frank Jr.”

Five years later, in the evening hours of Dec. 12, 1936, Carlton was returning home on Route 1 in Woolwich when he swerved to miss a passing vehicle, and Carlton’s “four-door sedan slammed into a car” parked on the shoulder. Carlton was “the 198th automobile fatality of the year.”

In honor of the passing of a man who did so much to improve the lives of Maine people and forever change the landscape of the Midcoast, the Carlton Bridge “was draped in wreaths” of remembrance.

Today, though the remains of the Carlton Bridge rust away, the nearly forgotten story of Frank W. Carlton — the man who forever changed the Midcoast — is remembered in the long memory of our legendary Stories from Maine.

Historian Lori-Suzanne Dell has authored five books on Maine history and administers the popular “Stories From Maine” page on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.