A knee-high granite monument bearing the Old Testament’s Ten Commandments appeared on Lincolnville Beach Monday morning, prompting concern and surprise from some residents and beachgoers.
But by late afternoon, town officials had determined the dark, stone tablet was sitting on private property and not the public beach.
The sand in question belongs to Rick McLaughlin, who owns McLaughlin’s Lobster Shack, just west of the public portion of the beach, according to Lincolnville Town Administrator David Kinney.
“Portions of the beach are town owned, and some are private,” Kinney said. “It’s well onto his property.”
Kinney said he’d fielded several calls about the stone Monday from area residents wanting to know why there was a religious monument on what they thought was the public beach.
Kelly Dionne of Thorndike was among those surprised to find the upright slab on the sand, next to a seawall this morning.
“I was taking a day to come down here with my kids,” Dionne said, “and it looks like a tombstone.”
The commandments are carved into the stone in a dramatic, vintage-style font and are shortened versions of those found in the King James translation of the Bible.
Why the stone was placed on McLaughlin’s property is not known.
Nobody picked up the phone at McLaughlin’s Lobster Shack, which was closed Monday, and a call to McLaughlin’s residence was not immediately returned.
Kinney said, as far as the town was concerned, the matter was closed for the time being.
“We’re not looking into it any further today,” he said.
