The Damariscotta River passes through Newcastle and Damariscotta and empties into the Atlantic Ocean about 15 miles downstream of these communities, at a point between Ocean Point and Inner Heron Island in Boothbay. A boat construction company and small fishing and recreational craft use the narrow, crooked waterway.

The project, completed in 1905, involved removing a shoal that was obstructing the approach to the wharves at Newcastle and Damariscotta, immediately below Route 1A. The shoal was removed to a depth of nine feet.