Great Diamond Island

Portland from the south end of Great Diamond Island near the ferry dock (2018)

Great Diamond, home to Fort McKinley, is just northeast of its neighbor Little Diamond Island, linked only by a sandbar at low tide. The island has a limited network of roads, used primarily by golf carts and bicycles. Access is by about a half hour ferry ride from Portland Harbor, with two landing sites. Landing site…

Peaks Island

An Informal Stone Art Site along Seashore Avenue on Peaks Island

The Island is a City of Portland neighborhood in Casco Bay, accessible by ferry from the terminal on Portland’s waterfront.  The brief trip carries freight, vehicles, bicycles and tourists. Little Diamond Island and Great Diamond Island are just to the west. While the population is about 900, the number of people on this 720-acre island…

Kennebec Bridge

New Kennebec Bridge (2016)

This bridge, built in 1931 by the American Bridge Company was slated for replacement in 2013, and was described in the Federal Infrastructure Projects web site as noted below. The project replaced an 80 year-old movable span truss bridge at the end of its service life with a high level, fixed bridge over the Kennebec…

Stockton Springs

Penobscot Bay from the small museum at Fort Point (2007)

The town lies at the junction of U.S. Routes 1 (east to Bucksport) and 1A (north to Bangor). See photos. Fort Point is a peninsular, just north of Sears Island, that extends almost to the center of Penobscot Bay at its northerly reaches. British Governor Pownall built Fort Pownall there in 1759. Fort Point State Park marks the southern end of Fort Point Cove. Sandy Point Beach is at the northern reach of the cove.

Standish

Daniel Marrett House (one of several historic buildings) in Standish, on East Ossippee Trail (2018)

Named in honor of Captain Miles Standish, the military leader of the Plymouth Colony, the town has a very long shoreline on Sebago Lake in its southwest corner, including its Lower Bay. See photos. In the 19th century, the Oxford-Cumberland Canal allowed passage of boats from Harrison to Portland. Steep Falls was a thriving village historically, with its excellent water power on the Saco River and the railroad station in its midst. Both a recreational area and suburb of Portland, the town is served by six Maine highway routes.

Southern Maine Community College

Sign for SMCC (2012)

located in South Portland, is one of several community colleges across the state.  It was formerly know as Southern Maine Technical College, but has expanded its offerings to include additional academic courses. The college has been in existence since the mid-twentieth century and had a student body of over 7,000 in 2012.  Its Mid-coast Campus…

Randall, Benjamin

Benjamin Randall (1789-1859) a U.S. Representative, was born in Topsham on November 14, 1789, he pursued an academic course, was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1809. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1812 and began his practice in Bath. During the War of 1812 in September 1814, Randall served in the State…

Prospect

on the west bank of the Penobscot River, across from Bucksport, the main village is at the junction of Maine Route 174 and U.S. Route 1A, near the South Branch of the Marsh River. Prospect is home to Fort Knox, built in 1844 with Mount Waldo granite from Frankfort and named for Henry Knox, the first U.S. Secretary of War.

Phippsburg

Dunes at Popham Beach in Phippsburg (2006)

Even before it was incorporated, the community had its church (see photos), which was organized in 1765 and built in 1802. The tip of Phippsburg at the mouth of the Kennebec River is the site of the first English attempt at settling New England: the Popham Colony of 1607-1608. Fort Popham and Fort Baldwin, rise as a guardians of land upriver. Coxes Head, which juts out into the Kennebec River.

Masardis

Railroad Crossing in Masardis near Fraser Timber Mill on Route 11 (2015)

The Aroostook River flows northward through the middle of the township and by the village of Masardis. The small Pollard Flat Wildlife Management Area lies on the west bank of the river north of the village. A boat launch provides access to Scopan (formerly Squa Pan) Lake. Most of the Lake is in adjoining Scopan Township.

Kittery

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (2013)

in York County serves as the gateway to Maine from points south with its old and more modern bridges spanning the Piscataqua River. See video & photos. The federal government established the Navy Yard in 1806. The 74-gun ship Washington was the first vessel built there in 1815. The town’s long history is partially illustrated by the substantial list of historic sites.

Gorham

University of Southern Maine, Gorham Campus (2001)

First called Narragansett Number 7, it was granted to men who fought in the Narragansett War of 1675. Gorham Academy, founded 1803, became Western State Normal School, University of Maine at Gorham, and now Gorham Campus of the University of Southern Maine. The home of former governor Percival P. Baxter has become a museum of Indian artifacts and rare coins. Several other notables lived here.

Goddard Mansion

Goddard Mansion (2001)

is located in Cape Elizabeth on the grounds of the Fort Williams City park. It was completed in 1858 for John Goddard (1811-1870) to an Italianate design by Portland architect Charles Alexander. Goddard, a successful lumberman, had purchased the Cape Cottage Hotel in 1853 with the intention of placing his dream home on it adjacent…

Fort Williams

Sign: Brief History of Fort Williams (2001)

Fort Williams is located in Cape Elizabeth and its grounds constitute Fort Williams City Park. In 1873 construction had begun on earthworks fortifications and was known as the Battery at Portland Head. By 1892, concrete batteries had been placed over the original structure. It remained a sub-post of Fort Preble (near Southern Maine Community College)…

Fort William Henry

Fort William Henry (2001)

is located in the town of Bristol, Lincoln County, in the Pemaquid area. Built in 1692, it was destroyed in 1696 by the French under the leadership of Baron de Castin. The tower, and parade grounds are replicas built in 1908. Three forts have stood on essentially the same grounds. After and Indian attack destroyed…

Fort Pownal

Penobscot Bay at the mouth of the Penobscot River near Fort Pownall (2001)

stood on Fort Point in Stockton Springs on the Penobscot River. In 1626 the English set up a trading post at the mouth of the Penobscot River. The French and Indians attacked with great ferocity. In ten years it was abandoned. A crude fortification was build in 1640 and successful enough so that one hundred…

Fort Popham

Cannon Emplacements in Fort Popham in Phippsburg (2001)

Fort Popham stands on Hunnewell Point in Phippsburg at the mouth of the Kennebec River. This semi-circular structure was begun in 1862 but never completed. It was then that the Union realized how vulnerable the area was to potential British incursions in support of the Confederacy during the Civil War.  Concern was greatest for the…

Fort Knox

Fort Knox from Bucksport, c. 1940

named for General Henry Knox, is located in the town of Prospect in Fort Knox State Park on the banks of the Penobscot River across from Bucksport. The British controlled this area of the Maine coast during the War of 1812 and during the tensions surrounding the Aroostook War in 1838, the area felt threatened…