Quick History Stops: Southern Maine

After a hiatus from the blog due to lots of traveling and photo editing, I’m back with an overview of quick history stops in southern Maine, where I visited back in August.

A fun feature of many Maine towns is Museum in the Streets, described on its website as a “heritage discovery trails for the benefit of a community’s inhabitants and tourists”. Panels with easy-to-read text, images, and maps describe the buildings and past events in the local area. The ones I read were in Wiscasset, where Castle Tucker and Nickels-Sortwell House are located, and Augusta.

Other quick outdoor history stops in Augusta include visiting the Maine State House and the nearby Capitol Park and its Vietnam War Memorial. Maine’s state capital building was constructed based on a design by Charles Bulfinch beginning in 1829. Bulfinch’s other notable architectural works include the Old State House in Connecticut, the Massachusetts State House, and the rotunda and dome of the United States Capitol. Additions to the Maine State House were added based on a design by John C. Spofford in 1891, and another by G. Henri Desmond in 1910.

If you want to get out of the city, although Augusta is not a busy area, walk through the Vaughan Woods trails. These carriage roads were constructed by the Vaughan family for over a hundred years beginning in 1890 and culminating a land donation to Kennebec Land Trust in 1991. The stone bridges and waterfalls are a gorgeous photo opportunity.

Halfway between August and Wiscasset and not far from beautiful Bowman House are a few quick history stops. Major Reuben Colburn House State Historic Site is on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is now home to Arnold Expedition Historical Society, an organization commemorating an ill-fated and nearly forgotten march taken by Patriots during the American Revolutionary War in an attempt to capture Quebec. Colburn was tasked with building boats for the expedition, but due to lack of time and resources, the boats leaked. Colburn would attempt to recoup his losses by becoming a slave catcher for hire. On a lighter note, the First Congregational Church of Pittston is a classic New England white wooden church and perfect for a picture.

Down the road is Pownalborough Courthouse, built beside the Kennebec River for Judge Jonathan Bowman, first owner of Bowman House, in 1761 and now managed by the Lincoln County Historical Association. This building is on the National Register of Historic Places as the “only pre-revolutionary courthouse in Maine”. A well-marked trail system across the street, appropriately called Pownalborough Courthouse Trails, provides additional hiking and even more photo opportunities, with old stone walls lining the paths.

Southern Maine is full of delightful stops not far from the highway or the main tourist areas. If you are looking to learn history on a budget and just off the beaten path, this is a great region of New England to visit.