Cornelia Crosby was a well known sportswoman in Maine. She did many different things to make her famous, but one of the things that she was most proud of was being named the first Registered Maine Guide. Cornelia was also known for her fishing ability. That was how she got her nick name "Fly Rod".

She was born in the town of Philips, Maine in 1854. Her father died when she was two. Later she went to a girl's school in Augusta and graduated in 1872. She went to work in a bank, but found that she did not like to work indoors all the time. Her doctor told her to get more air.

Cornelia started hiking around the state and tried fishing as a hobby. She became quite good at it. She decided to write stories about her fishing adventures and found that she was very good at it. Many of her stories were printed in newspapers. Soon some magazines began to put in her stories. She began to be quite well known in the eastern United States. She took the nickname "Fly Rod" to go with the stories she wrote about fishing.

In 1895 she represented Maine at a Sportsman's Show in New York City. She was good at this and went back for many years. She told many people about the state of Maine and the natural resources that we have.

"Fly Rod" became famous as an outdoors person. She knew the woods of western and central Maine as well as she knew her home. She became an excellent shot and shot the last caribou ever taken in the state. She also was an excellent fisherwoman. In 1897, she was awarded the first guiding license given out in the state of Maine. She was very proud of that!

Two years later she had an bad accident that caused her not to be able to walk well. She could no longer do many of the outdoor things that she loved. She put her energy into raising money for a chapel. She raised $5000.00 and the chapel was build in Opuossoc, Maine.

She continued to write about the outdoors for many years. She died at the age of 93 in the year 1946.

Adams, Herb and Verde, Tom. Maine's Claim to Fame. Augusta: Maine Department of Education, date on publication not available.