Perkins, Frances

Frances Perkins Center on Main Street in Damariscotta (2014)

While she was born in Boston, Frances Perkins considered her family’s “Brick House” in Newcastle to be her home. As the National Park Service observed in its National Landmark Nomination document: The Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, is nationally significant as the ancestral home and lifelong summer residence of Frances Perkins, U.S. Secretary of Labor…

Archives, Maine State

Maine State Cultural Building in Augusta (2004)

Maine State Cultural Building in Augusta with the State’s Archives, Museum and Library near the State House (2004) The Maine State Archives, located in Augusta, is the custodian of the permanently valuable records of state government, including early court records and vital records (births, deaths, marriages, etc.). According to its website, “The permanently valuable records…

Stroudwater

Cumberland and Oxford Canal with Maine Historic Civil Engineering Landmark recognition

Stroudwater, a neighborhood in the City of Portland, lies west of the railroad tracks to the Westbrook border. Several locations of historical significance include the Tate House Museum, a portion of the Cumberland & Oxford Canal, and an old dam on the Stroudwater River. It is a highly developed residential and commercial area.

Pittston Academy Grant

Pittston Farm Sign on the Northern Road (2008)

This township is mostly south of the Golden Road where the Northern Road turns down toward the Pittston Farm, established by the Great Northern Paper Company. According to John Gould, In lumber camp lingo a “farm” is a depot and base of operations serving a considerable area of working timberland.  Pittston Farm had storage sheds,…

Woolwich

Woolwich Shore on the Kennebec River from Thorne Head in North Bath (2010)

Woolwich, across the Kennebec River from Bath and with long shores on Merrymeeting Bay, is home to two nature preserves. Settled in the 1600s, it has several historic buildings. Alewives have been a historic part of the community.

Wiscasset

is on U.S. Route 1 and the Sheepscot River. See photos and videos. With many historic structures, the town was host to “The Greenland Expedition of 1925,” which included explorers Richard Byrd and Donald McDonald. Since 1918 Camp Chewonki has been offering outdoor programs here. The town was once best known for its Maine Yankee Atomic Power plant.

Wilton

Location Map for Wilton

Located on the shore of Wilson Pond, the main village lies at the intersection of U.S. Route 2 and Maine Routes 4 and 156.. See photos. George H. Bass began making boots for farmers in 1876. For more than 100 years, the G. H. Bass company made footwear in Wilton.

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.

Washburn

Location Map for Washburn

Long a potato growing and processing area, it lies northwest of Presque Isle on Route 164, which curves through the town and links it with Caribou to the northeast. See photos. Washburn’s main village is in the southwest near the Aroostook River, which crosses its southern portion. The villages of Bugbee, Crouseville, and Adeline are along the river on Route 164.

Stockholm

Named for the Swedish capital, the village lies on the Little Madawaska River, just off Maine Route 161 and just north of New Sweden, also part of the Colony. The village, essentially off the main highways, is not “on-the-way” to anywhere. This small community, with a continued significant reliance on agriculture and a declining population, still supports three churches: Catholic, Baptist, and Lutheran.

St. Francis

St. Francis down the St. John River from Allagash (2003

The St. Francis River, which forms the northeastern border with Canada along with the St. John River, joins the St. John at the town of St. Francis. Across the St. John lies Madawaska County, New Brunswick. The St. John River forms the northern boundary of this small community, which has been declining in population for the past two decades. It is the last organized town on Route 161, which follows the St. John River from Fort Kent.

Southwest Harbor

Location Map for Southwest Harbor

It lies on the southwest entrance to Somes Sound, diagonally across from Northeast Harbor, a village in the town of Mount Desert. Southwest Harbor has been both a fishing and summer resort community from its earliest days as a town. See photos. Maine Route 102 begins at entrance to Mount Desert Island and leads directly south to the main village of Southwest Harbor. Here the Wendell Gilley Museum celebrates the life and work of Gilley, a pioneer of decorative bird carving. South of the harbor, the small villages of Manset and Seawall face the entrance to Somes Sound and the Cranberry Isles.

South Bristol

Boats and Osier

The Darling Marine Center of the University of Maine is located in the village of Walpole. See photos. The population centers in the town’s southern most reaches are on Rutherford Island, perched at the end of a peninsular. The community is home to three nature preserves. Plummer Point is a 74 acre wooded peninsula with over a mile of shoreline. The Tracy Property is a town park with public access to the Damariscotta River. The wooded 18-acre Witch Island Sanctuary, provides two beaches and views of Johns Bay.

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.

Scarborough

A sample of the diverse wildlife in Scarborough Marsh (2010)

A suburb of Portland, the rapidly growing community now ranks as tenth most populous in Maine according to the 2000 U.S. Census, up from 13th place in 1990, having grown almost 36 percent in ten years. See photos. The Scarborough Marsh Wildlife Management Area is managed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in a federal-state partnership program. The town’s fine beaches and the Scarborough Downs race track and off-track betting facility are attractions for many.

Saco

One half of the Biddeford-Saco metropolitan area, the city has its own extensive beach and Ferry Beach State Park. See photos. It is one stop on AMTRAK’s Downeaster rail service. Occupying the east side of the Saco River as it enters Saco Bay, the city is the eleventh largest community in Maine.

Rockland

The Farnsworth Museum (2005)

a city in, and the county seat of, Knox County, it is the home to the Farnsworth Art Museum, the Maine Seafood Festival, a historic working waterfront, historic structures, and birthplace of notable cultural and political figures. Located on U.S. Route 1, the city is a regional service and retail center.