BLUE HILL — The town of Blue Hill has a weekend of festivities planned Aug. 4-5 to celebrate its 250th year.

The celebration will kick off Saturday, Aug. 4, with the rededicating of a monument on Mill Island where settlers John Roundy and Joseph Wood landed.

On Sunday, Aug 5, the Town Park will open at 11 a.m. A variety of food will be available and musicians will perform throughout the day.

Peninsula Metamorphic Arts and Learning will oversee entertainment and crafts for children.

The weekend will culminate in a fireworks show at dark Sunday.

Here’s a bit of history about the founding of Blue Hill, courtesy of the late Esther Wood.

It was 1767 when Roundy and Wood landed on Mill Island near the reversing falls.

Blue Hill was one of the David Marsh townships granted in 1762 to the veterans of the last war against the French.

“The first comers to the area were Joseph Wood and John Roundy from Andover, Massachusetts, who built homes on Mill Island at the tidal falls (Blue Hills Falls),” Wood wrote. “Other settlers joined them, and in this neighborhood were the first mill and schoolhouse. The area was first known as North Andover, then as New Port, and in 1789 the town charter established its name as Blue Hill.”

“Shipbuilding and trading by sea gave Blue Hill its first prosperity,” Wood stated. “The first vessel was built in 1792 at the tidal falls, and between 1792 and 1882, one hundred thirty-three vessels were built. Some were brigs and ships, but most were schooners.”

For more community news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.