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The Joys Of a Long Summer's Stay in Maine
Part Two: Meandering Up Maine’s MidCoast
Story and photographs by KRIS GRANT
As my summer of watching Willie, my friends Doug and Sally Leland’s Maine Coon Cat, continued, I ventured on many daytrips to explore MidCoast Maine, just north of Freeport. Here I discovered more picturesque towns and sheltering harbors along Maine’s rugged coast where it’s sometimes hard to tell where islands end and the main body of land begins.
Most historians believe that Maine got its name from a nautical term; early documents show that fishermen referred to the bulk of the state as “Meyne” or “Maynland.”
In small towns dotting the coastline, I was endlessly fascinated with local history that included a famous Civil War hero, a famous abolitionist author and a boatbuilding legacy that continues today with contracts for our Navy ships.
Beholding the beauty that abounds along MidCoast Maine, I could readily understand why one American family of artists made the islands of the MidCoast their summer haven for generations (and that tradition continues today).
Oh, by the way, you’ll also encounter a foodie scene here that will keep you coming back for more. Let’s get started…
Pickard Theatre inside Memorial Hall, a striking Gothic-style granite building. I took in two productions, 9 to 5 and Something Rotten!, and found them both entertaining with a very supportive audience. Wish I’d be in town this summer when their season includes Funny Girl and South Pacific.
Just across the street from the Bowdoin campus, the Joshua Chamberlain Museum occupies his former home of more than 50 years.
Chamberlain’s actions in leading the 20th Maine in the Battle of Gettysburg are commemorated in the movie, Gettysburg, where Jeff Daniels portrays him. After enduring hours of battle from their position at Little Round Top, Chamberlain and his men ran out of ammunition. Chamberlain ordered them to affix their bayonets. He then led the downhill charge down the hill against the Rebels, allowing the Union army to maintain the high ground.
After Gettysburg, Chamberlain’s gallantry continued. On June 18, 1864, as commander of the 1st Brigade during the Second Battle of Petersburg, he was shot through the right hip and groin, with the bullet exiting his left hip. Despite his injury, he thrust his sword into the ground and used it to prop himself up to dissuade his troops from retreating. Finally, he collapsed and surgeons deemed his injuries fatal. Lt. Col. Ulysses S. Grant issued a battlefield promotion that Chamberlain be instantly promoted to Brigadier General. Maine newspapers reported Chamberlain’s death, but he miraculously survived and by November was back in command of the 1st Brigade. He received yet another wound, this time in the arm and chest, on the Quaker Road during Grant’s final advance; and gained the moniker “Bloody Chamberlain.”
But Chamberlain’s injuries didn’t hold him back from public service: he served four one-year terms as Maine’s 32nd Governor. Upon leaving office in 1871, he returned to his alma mater, Bowdoin College, and assumed the presidency.
In 1893, 30 years after the Gettysburg battle that made the 20th Maine famous, Chamberlain was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions there.
From the time of his serious leg wound in 1864 until his death, Chamberlain was forced to wear an early form of a catheter and bag. He underwent six operations to try to correct the original wound and stop the fevers and infections that plagued him without success. He died in 1915 at age 85 due to complications of the wound he sustained in the Battle of Petersburg. He was considered by many to be the last casualty of the Civil War.
Bath, the “City of Ships”
I made two visits to historic Bath, just 20 minutes north of Freeport on the Kennebec River. The shipbuilding industry continues strong in Bath, which turns out new Naval destroyers in about 18 months, I learned, start to finish.
I went on a 2.5-hour tour, BIW: Building America’s Navy, organized by the Maine Maritime Museum, just a couple of blocks down the road from the steel works plant. The land-and-river tour presented the full story of Bath Iron Works, which is one of the leading companies that has been building our Navy ships since 1890. Led by retired Bath Iron Works employers, the tour began with an immersive exhibit, with full-scale exhibits and historic and present day photos, explaining the processes and length of time it takes to build a destroyer.
Today, the ironworks firm is building Arleigh-Burke class destroyers, much of the work done via compartmentalizing portions of the ship that are then assembled in huge berths. You can’t really see the work from the road, but when we boarded the museum’s cruiser, Merrymeeting, we could view much of the assembly work in progress. Two ships were under construction in the berths.
The museum itself is impressive, with the main museum and gift shop plus 15 separate structures on its 20 acres that depict shipbuilding of years gone by is displayed on its 20-acre campus. At the boat shop, you can watch wooden boats being constructed using traditional techniques. The gift shop is noteworthy for its extensive selection of books on maritime and local history. It’s all contained on the grounds of a former shipyard where the largest wooden ship the world had ever seen, the schooner Iowa, was launched in 1909. A sculpture outline of the stern and bow of the ship is contained on the grounds.
As you leave, take a moment to drive along some of the residential streets that run parallel to the Maritime Museum. You’ll find some grand examples of classic 19th century American architecture, many of them the homes of former shipbuilders that have been thoughtfully preserved.
Downtown Bath is charming, filled with narrow streets and 19th century brick buildings. Bath is one of Maine’s ten Main Street communities and much of the city’s historic architecture has been saved due to the good works of local preservationists. These include an 1843 Gothic Revival Church that is now the preservation society’s headquarters and an 1847 Gothic Revival Church that is now the Chocolate Church Arts Center, home to visual and performing arts groups.
A good place to start a walking tour is at City Hall, perched atop Front Street (Bath’s Main Street) and the first building you behold when approaching the town climbing up the hill on Centre Street. It was all decked out for Independence Day when I visited. One morning I started with an espresso at Café Crema (just across the street at 56 Front St.); another afternoon I had an ice cream float at The Fountain, an oldfashioned soda fountain located next door to one of Bath’s oldest pharmacies, Wilson’s Drug store. There’s also a Reny’s, “Maine’s favorite department store” on Front Street and the original “Lisa Marie’s Made in Maine” shop (168 – 176 Front St.), featuring the works of Maine artisans, like Lisa herself. There’s a second Lisa Marie’s on Exchange Street in the Old Port. Take a moment to admire the restored Italianate Customs House at 1 Front Street.
Of course, you know there have to be a handful of breweries in Bath for all those steelworkers; one is the Bath Brewing Company at 171 Front Street.
The postage stamp-sized town Damariscotta on the river of the same name boasts some cute shops along its one-block main street. It traces its economy to oyster fisheries and, like most Maine coastal towns, shipbuilding. I recommend you drive down Bristol Road and stop in at the Bristol Road Galleries. Sculptor Marnie Sinclair, watercolorists Jan Kilburn and Kathleen Horst, and oil painter Will Kefauver host frequent exhibitions as well as the work of visiting artists at their home-based studios.
Continue down the road to the peninsula’s end at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. You can climb the lighthouse tower, visit the adjacent Fisherman’s Museum, take in the view from the rock-strewn shore and visit Pemaquid Art Gallery featuring 32 juried artists from Lincoln County.
Camden and Rockport: Working harbors and an artistic vibe
Heading just a smidge farther up the coast I came to the heart of MidCoast Maine – the picture-book gorgeous towns of Rockport and Camden. I started with a visit to Rockport’s Farnsworth Museum. It has more than 20,000 square feet of gallery space that showcases over 15,000 works from many of America’s greatest artists.
The Museum’s Wyeth Center is dedicated to collecting, researching, and exhibiting works of three generations of Wyeths – N.C., Andrew, and James – who regularly summered in Maine (Jamie Wyeth still does, often at the artist colony of picturesque Monhegan Island.) The museum also owns the Olson House in Cushing, about 30 minutes south of Rockland. Now a National Historic Landmark, it’s where Andrew painted his masterpiece, Christina’s World. The venue and its residents, brother and sister Alvara and Christina Olson, also inspired another 300 paintings and drawings by Andrew Wyeth. Tours are offered periodically of the property.
Camden’s historic downtown is worth a quick look-see, and I love to just drive up and down its residential streets to admire the handsome Georgian and Italianate or even simple “saltbox” homes and gardens.
On my next trip, I plan to head just a few miles north of Camden to Salt Water Farm in Lincolnshire for cooking classes. You can view their schedule online. Note to the wise: if a class looks appealing to you, grab it. Many sell out well ahead of time.
Also, back down in Rockland, you can stop in to the Maine Lighthouse Museum. Founded by a former U.S. Coast Guard officer, it contains a large array of lenses, artifacts and memorabilia from the state’s 69 lighthouses.
I recommend you cap off your Rockland day with a lobster roll and some blueberry cobbler at Claw’s. You can diet when you get back home.
IF YOU GO…
State of Maine Tourism Associationwww.VisitMaine.com
Recommended Lodging
Brunswick: The Federal Hotel www.thefederalmaine.com
Bath: The Kennebec InnA former sea captain’s house; Italianate design www.kennebecinn.com
Camden: Captain Swift Inn www.captainswiftinn.com
Lord Camden Inn www.lordcamdeninn.com
Restaurants:
Bath: OystHERS Raw Bar & Bubbly 97 Commercial Street www.oysthers.com
Brunswick: 555 North You’ll need reservations! www.555-north.com
Brickyard Hollow Brewing Company(plus eight more Maine locations) www.brickyardhollow.com
Sea Dog Brewing Companywww.seadogbrewing.com
Wild Oats Bakery & Caféwww.wildoatsbakery.com
Rockland: Claws www.clawsrocklandmaine.com
Wiscasset: Red’s Eatswww.redseatsmaine.com
Entertainment
Bay Chamber ConcertSummer concerts on Rockport Harbor and the Camden Village Green www.baychamberconcerts.org
Maine State Music Theatre Brunswickwww.msmt.org
2024 Festivals
Lobster Festival/Rockland July 31 – August 4 www.mainelobsterfestival.com
Camden International Film Festival Sept. 12 - 15www.camdenfilmfest.org
Pemaquid Oyster Festival Sept. 29 Boothbay Harborwww.Pemaquidoysterfestival.com
Attractions, Museums, Tours:
Coastal Maine Botanical Garden Boothbay www.mainegardens.org
Farnsworth MuseumRockland www.farnsworthmuseum.org
Ferryboats to Monhegan Island
The Laura B and Elizabeth Ann make three trips daily (except Sundays) to Monhegan Island, approximately a 60-minute ride each way. For information email Barstow@monheganboat. com or call (207) 372-8848.
Maine Lighthouse MuseumRockland www.mainlighthousemuseum.org
Maine Maritime Museum Bathwww.mainemaritimemuseum.org
Maine State CapitolAugusta (just a few miles inland)Guided tours hourly, 9 a.m. - noon www.legislature.maine.gov
Owlshead Transportation MuseumPre-1940s automobiles, bicycles, aircraftOwlsheadwww.owlshead.org
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Parkwww.bristolmaine.org
Salt Water FarmCooking School, Lincolnshire www.saltwaterfarm.com
Sail Power Steam MuseumRocklandwww.sailpowersteammuseum.org
Shaker VillageThis is the only active Shaker community in the world.707 Shaker Road, New Gloucesterwww.maineshakers.com
