I’ve been visiting Popham Beach for summer vacation on and off since 1973. As a result, I have many fond memories of this bucolic spot at the mouth of the Kennebec River. Of course, it was hard when we lost Percy’s a few years back. Visitors have since had to find another place to shop for sundries. But now I’ve learned someone has taken our cannon.

For more than half a century, No. 221 stood guard above the dunes at Popham Beach. Fashioned in the West Point foundry in 1865, this not-so silent sentinel is commonly known as a 100-pound Parrott Rifle. A muzzle-loaded artillery piece, they were widely used for coastal defense during the Civil War. No. 221 was originally housed at Fort Popham before being moved to the beach a few hundred yards away. Now the town’s only surviving cannon, which numerous kids played around, has gone missing.

Reports suggest that it’s ended up on someone’s lawn in Phippsburg. Clearly, the whereabouts of this landmark, as well as the reason for its disappearance, needs to be explained. It’s not only a unique part of Popham’s history, but beloved by many. After all, how many places remain unchanged from our childhood? Popham Beach is one of the few.

I don’t know how or why No. 221 disappeared. Its removal may be legitimate. But if it is, I don’t want it to be. One thing I know for sure, I want our cannon back.

John Geoghegan
Novato, Calif.