Travel back in time to vintage Vacationland. Nowhere else in New England can you ride the rails behind an authentic steam locomotive surrounded by historic Maine buildings preserved in a recreated village, and view a collection of 60 antique autos. A unique location for weddings and receptions.
The Society serves as the region’s memory center, housing local historical mementos, documents, and photographic collections. The society is located at the 1874 Elizabeth F. Reed house and its grounds, Fullerton Park. The museum’s six rooms contain artifacts and memorabilia that reflect the region’s colonial and coastal origins. Admission is free. Open year-round: Thursday–Saturday 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Have you seen our US Navy exhibit? This exhibit features local naval stories dating back to the American Revolutionary War. Stop by and learn more about the connection between the US Navy and Boothbay shipbuilding during WWI and II.
Framed by dense woods and set in rolling hills overlooking a pristine section of the Kennebec River, the 1762 Bowman House is a rare survivor of domestic eighteenth-century elegance in a rural setting. Lawyer and later Judge Jonathan Bowman built the stylish house and furnished it with exquisite Boston-made furniture, Chinese export porcelain, and imported silver and glassware, creating a world of beauty and elegance far away from the rough reality and challenges of life on the Maine frontier.
In 1965, after decades of being empty, the house was saved by designer, historic preservationist, and entrepreneur Bill Waters and his partner, Cyrus Pinkham. The interior is a recreation of Bowman’s world, including objects original to the house and family pieces collected by Waters over his fifty years of stewardship.
Two grand houses, both built in 1807 in very different styles with dramatically different stories. Visit these historic treasures and hear stories of the people who lived and worked in these unique houses. Castle Tucker tells the story of the elegant lifestyle of Judge Silas and Tempe Lee for whom the house was built and the story of the Tuckers, a prominent shipping family’s life on the coast of Maine over a period of 150 years. Built for shipping magnate William Nickels, Nickels-Sortwell House tells the story of the rise and fall of a maritime family, the hotel years when guests from Maine, across the U.S., and Europe stayed at Turner’s Inn and later the Belle Haven, and finally the Sortwell family who restored the house as a beloved summer home in the 20th century. Both house museums are open Friday – Sunday, June 1, – October 15 with tours given on the hour. Visit HistoricNewEngland.org for ticket and program information.
The Hendricks Hill Museum features an 1810 house with eight rooms of antique furniture. There is a beehive oven and assorted kitchen equipment, and antique toys in a child’s bedroom. Several additional rooms and buildings feature boats and boat models, ice harvesting and fishing equipment, genealogical material, firefighting tools and the old Newagen Post Office.
Shipping magnate William Nickels had this impressive mansion built in 1807 as a symbol of his wealth and status. His ships traveled to Europe and the West Indies, bringing back fine imported goods for wealthy Wiscasset households. William and Jane Nickels’ lavish lifestyle came to an abrupt end when Thomas Jefferson’s Embargo of 1807 devastated the East Coast economy by prohibiting international trade. By the time of his death in 1815, William Nickels was bankrupt, Jane had died, and their children were left with nothing but debt.
The Nickels’ house became a hotel managed by innkeeper Mary Turner for forty-four years. Known as Turner’s Tavern, it served working and professional guests while Mary also raised her family of nine children. After her death, a series of owners ran the hotel until 1899 when it was purchased by industrialist Alvin Sortwell as a summer home for his family. The Sortwells lovingly restored the house over a period of years and decorated it in the Colonial Revival style with fine antique furnishings.
The Nickel’s House is a National Historic Landmark and one of New England’s finest Federal-style houses.
