Freeport Historic Register

House on Upper Mast Landing in the Harraseeket Historic District (2017)

National Register of Historic Places – Freeport    Mallett, E. B., Office Building [Mill Street] E.B. Mallett Office Building (2016) Perhaps more than anyone, Edmund Buxton Mallett, Jr. (1853-1923) shaped the town’s character. In 1883 he moved from Pownal to launch his empire. Between 1884 and 1892, he built and operated two shoe factories, a…

Harpswell Center

Widgeon Cove Trail in Harpswell Center (2014)

During Harpswell’s early settlement and before a bridge connected it to the rest of the town, Harpswell Neck was the site of several small villages.  Harpswell Center hosted a church, the 1759 meetinghouse (later the town office), a 200-year plus old cemetery, and a 1793 cattle pound. The cemetery is  the site of “The Witch…

York

1787-1794 John Hancock Warehouse and Wharf in York (2018)

Most of the town’s inhabitants are located between U.S. Route 1 (inland) and U.S. Route 1A which runs along the coast. Its population has more than doubled in the past thirty years, and grew by nearly 31 percent between 1990 and 2000. Beaches and cottages characterize the coast.

Wells

Cottages along Wells Beach (2012)

in York County north of Ogunquit, Wells Main Street is a commercial strip, hosting some community facilities, including the Junior High and the Historical Society. See photos. Wells Beach is a destination for locals and tourists alike. In 2004 the town estimated its peak summer population at about 39,000, including seasonal homes, lodging houses, and recreational vehicle parks. That is four times the resident population.

St. George

In a park near the town office, St. George and the dragon reenact their famous battle. See photos. The Fort St. George’s memorial is nearby.St. George was the site of granite quarries and was the birthplace of the Granite Cutters Union in 1877, the first in the state’s history. The town may be better known by some by its villages of Port Clyde, at the southern tip of its long peninsular, and Tenants Harbor.

Searsport

Albert V. Nickels House, now A. V. Nickels Inn, on south side of East Main Street, U.S. Route 1, in Searsport (2015)

The town has two areas with industrial potential on Penobscot Bay. See photos. In addition to substantial resources of the Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport has recreational opportunities at Moose Point State Park on Penobscot Bay, and frontage on Swan Lake inland at the northwest corner of the town.

Mount Vernon

The village of West Mount Vernon, with a small church and fire department, is located at the north end of Echo Lake and the south end of Taylor Pond. See photos. In 1926, the novelist Erskine Caldwell moved to an old farmhouse in Mount Vernon, where he lived until the early 1930’s. The main village, Mount Vernon, is in the north of the town on Minnehonk Lake.

Montville

The town seems a series of “corners” villages on Maine Route 220 from north to south: Poland’s, Bean’s, White’s, McFarland’s, and Clark’s. See photos. The Frye Mountain (Gene Letourneau) Wildlife Management Area is located in the northeast corner of the town near Poland’s Corner village. This growing community is easily linked to Belfast and Augusta via Maine Route 3.

Monmouth

Cumston Hall (2001)

The Theater at Monmouth, specializes in Elizabethan productions. See photos. Highmoor Farm is part of the University of Maine’s agricultural experiment station network. This growing town is located on U.S. Route 202 between Augusta and Lewiston, making it a convenient location for commuters to each city.

Houlton

In 1828 a military post was established and the military road to supply the post was completed in 1832. The garrison stayed until the Webster-Ashburton treaty was completed in 1842. See photos. Served by the New Brunswick and Canada Railway as late as 1886. By 1894 the new Bangor and Aroostook Railroad connected the town to central Maine. The “Houlton Band” of the Maliseet Indians has its tribal offices near the Canadian border.

Fryeburg

White Mountains in New Hampshire across a Field in Fryeburg on Route 113 (2013)

a town in Oxford County, incorporated in 1777 on the site of an Indian settlement known as Pequawket. See photos. Daniel Webster was a teacher at Fryeburg Academy in 1802. Native American Molly Ockett was born about 1740 into the Pigwacket tribe. The Battle of Lovewell’s Pond was one long day in 1725, during which the leader of the white volunteers, Captain Lovewell, was slain along with the Indian leader Pangus.

Freeport

L.L. Bean Stores Campus in Freeport (2012)

is a popular center of “outlet” stores, including the legendary L. L. Bean, which has a virtual campus of retail buildings. See video and photos. It was named, say some, for Sir Andrew Freeport, a character in Addison’s Spectator Papers. Freeport-built vessels Lafayette and Blen were captured and burned by Confederate raiders. Arctic explorer Donald B. MacMillan lived in Freeport, as did a young John Gould, later author, humorist, and newspaper editor.

Eastport

Friar Roads Channel from the Waterfront in Eastport (2013)

is on Moose Island at the end of a peninsular surrounded by Cobscook Bay and Passamaquoddy Bay. See video and photos. Visited by European fishermen and traders in the 1600’s, the area was settled in 1772. A proposed oil refinery was rejected based on concerns about oil spills and environmental threats. Once a fish canning center (the first sardine cannery in the U.S. opened in 1875), the city struggles against its isolated location. The historic downtown has undergone substantial restoration.

Cumberland

Former Town Hall, now an office building, in Cumberland Center (2005)

in Cumberland County, incorporated 1822, includes two islands in Casco Bay: Sturdivant and Basket. Basket Island, is a nature preserve of .9 acres of mixed forest and shell and gravel beaches. The town, a suburb of Portland, grew by almost 23 percent between 1990 and 2000, and continues its population growth. See photos.

Cornish

in York County, incorporated 1794, probably named for settlers from Cornwall, England. The main street features tourist attractions such as lodging, eating, and antiques. Cornish village is located where the Ossipee River feeds into the Saco River. Little River enters the Ossipee just before its link to the Saco. See photos.

Cherryfield

1850 Cherryfield Academy building, with a veterans memorial (200

in Washington County, incorporated 1816, straddles the Narraguagus River. See photos. Once a favorite spot for catching the now endangered Atlantic Salmon, it is a blueberry growing and processing center. A shipbuilding community, it produced the bark Belgrade, which rounded Cape Horn with 56 local men during the California gold rush.

Chamberlain, Frances

Frances C. A. Chamberlain, courtesy Pejepscot Historical Society, Brunswick

Frances (Fanny) Caroline Adams Chamberlain (1825-1905) was a musician and the wife of Civil War General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. She was adopted as a small child by her father’s nephew, Reverend George Adams and his wife. He was minister of the First Parish Congregational Church in Brunswick. Fanny, as she was called, was artistic and…

Cape Elizabeth

Cottages on the Shore in Cape Elizabeth (2017)

in Cumberland County, first settled by Europeans in the 1630’s, incorporated in 1765. The clipper ship Snow Squall was built here in 1851. A wealthy suburb of Portland, it has a scenic coastline; attractions include lighthouses at Two Lights State Park, Crescent Beach State Park, Fort Williams, and Portland Head Light. See photos.

Camden

The village, at the foot of Mt. Battie, is at Camden Harbor on Penobscot Bay and U.S. Route 1. In 1880 the first summer cottages were built and and a flood of seasonal and semi-permanent residents began. The Opera House hosts many cultural events, including the Camden Conference and the Camden Film Festival. Edna St. Vincent Millay graduated from high school here. See video and photos.

Brunswick

Picard Theater and Maine State Music Theater at Bowdoin College (2018)

Since the demise of textile and shoe manufacturing, Brunswick has become a service center for the region and a residential community for commuters to the greater Portland area. With Bowdoin College, Maine State Music Theater, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, Pejepscot Historical Society, and many historic buildings, it is a powerful cultural magnet. AMTRAK service to Boston resumed in 2012. The town has a 66 mile ocean shoreline and 12 miles along the Androscoggin River.