Mystery of the Lost Red Paint People
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A recent videotape examines a poorly understood "culture" of Maine and the
maritime provinces of Canada representing groups of sea mammal hunters and
fisherfolk well established there between 3,500-7,500 years ago. They are
notable not only for their economic orientation and navigational skills, but
also ritual ceremonialism surrounding the internment of the dead in cairns
mounded over with stone. The "Red Paint People" represent one kind of Archaic
pattern of subsistence-settlement behavior among many that emerge across the
continent in the millennia following the end of the Ice Ages.

One early item of interest in Washington was the "paint mine".  This was a
large deposit of red and yellow ocher found in the soil, which had been used
long before Europeans arrived,  by the Indians, who took their name "Red
Paint People" from the red ocher which they used to decorate their bodies.
An early recipe for paint called for red ocher mixed with fish oil derived
from fish called pogies.

Town of Washington, Maine
- Founded in 1797
- Incorporated 1811 as PUTNAM
- Name changed to WASHINGTON in 1823
Town of Washington Official Flag
Adopted March 30, 1984
The red panel at the hoist represents the early history of the area.  The
local aboriginals were known as The Red Paint People because of the red ochure
they used in their ceremonies, which was once mined on Patrick Mountain.
The dark blue zig-zag represents the rivers and streams that flow through the
town and upon which the early inhabitants depended.
The three stars and two bars, all red on white, are taken from the shield of
George Washington's Coat of Arms, recalling the town's namesake.
Taken together, the red-white-blue echo the colors found in the Flag of the
United States.
The flag has overall proportions of 2:3.
Designed by David Boice Martucci of Washington, Maine, January 27, 1979.