For the past seven years, Portland Fire Engine Company has held history and sightseeing tours from inside a vintage red fire engine. The tours are led by local guides and run for 50 minutes. The truck holds up to 13 people, allowing for an intimate ride past Portland’s lighthouses, historical buildings, and cobblestone streets. During the tour, a guide displays old photographs of Portland’s landmarks from the Maine Historical Society.

Washburn-Norlands Living History Center | Livermore

Maine’s oldest living history museum was once home to the Washburns, a prominent political family of the nineteenth century. Located on 445 acres of working farmland, the estate encompasses a Victorian-style mansion, a farmer’s cottage, a meetinghouse, and a one-room schoolhouse. Interpreters who work at the living museum dress in nineteenth-century clothing and encourage visitors to join them as they act out a typical farm day from the early 1800s.

Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site | New Harbor

Located on the shores of the Pemaquid River, the Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site includes Fort William Henry, a replica of a 1692 fort of the same name built in 1907 for Colonial Pemaquid’s 300^th anniversary. Visitors can explore the stone fort and climb to the top of its 29-foot bastion, which overlooks a burial ground from the early 1700s, a small village, and a memorial to the Angel Gabriel, a 240-ton ship that brought settlers to New England from England and was wrecked by a storm in 1635.

Olson House | Cushing

Off a dirt road in Cushing sits a nondescript colonial farmhouse that is the setting of several of Andrew Wyeth’s paintings, including his most famous, Christina’s World. The eighteenth-century home once belonged to Christina and Alvaro Olson and is now owned by the Farnsworth Museum and open to the public during the summer months for guided tours. While little furniture remains inside the home, visitors can walk through the weathered building and imagine what it was like when Wyeth was painting there many years ago.

Woodlawn Museum, Gardens + Park | Ellsworth

This Greek Revival home sits on a 180-acre estate built in 1824 by Colonel John Black. Inside the main brick house, also known as the Black House, are original furnishings and possessions, including portraits of three generations of the Black family, sleighs, china, and books. Visitors can tour the house, enjoy afternoon tea in the gardens, play croquet, or walk along the Woodlawn trails, which were first used to exercise the Black family’s horses.

Castle Tucker | Wiscasset

High on a hill in Wiscasset sits Castle Tucker, a Victorian-style a successful sea captain, is now a museum offering a look into Maine life during the turn of the twentieth century. Visitors can walk through the downstairs parlor to view an original rococo-revival furniture set, find an original Empire Crawford stove in the kitchen, and look out on the Sheepscot River and Wiscasset village through two-story-high windows on the upper floor.

Montpelier | Thomaston

General Henry Knox named his mansion after a city in France as a way to honor that country’s support during the Revolutionary War. Montpelier, which is part of the General Henry Knox Museum, is open for the public to explore. Its ten acres of colonial gardens and 19 rooms make up what was once the grandest residence in Thomaston. Docents of the mansion lead tours and teach guests about the life of General Knox and his family, who farmed on the property.

Schooner Lewis R. French | Camden

This nineteenth-century schooner, launched in Christmas Cove in 1871, is the oldest surviving two-masted schooner in the United States and the oldest Maine-built sailing vessel. Passengers looking to board the historic tall ship can choose from one- to six-night charter trips, where they stay in single or double cabins located in what used to be the cargo hold. The ship became a National Historic Landmark in 1992.

The post Historical Tours appeared first on The Maine Mag.

By Susan Pritzker, Marketing Manager, The Brand Company

Photographs + stories by Maine magazine staff

It’s snowing. The wind is howling. The temperature is dropping. It’s a perfect time for a road trip to the midcoast. My husband Rob and I find our sense of adventure as we chat excitedly about the weekend and head north into the storm.

Friday

4:15 p.m. @ Berry Manor Inn

We are greeted by Jordan, who gives us a tour and tells us that Charles Berry built the inn in 1899 as a wedding present for his wife, Georgie. We walk through the restored Victorian and into the large working kitchen where there’s a “free-for-all” drawer in
the fridge, with beer. I can see Rob making a mental note. On the counter, pie is available 24/7—recipes for which have been handed down by the “pie moms” of the inn staff. We can see the remnants of blueberry and raspberry pie and a cherry one is cooling. I make a mental note. Jordan leads us to our room, which has a gas fireplace, king-size bed, and more pillows than I can count.

5:30 p.m. @ Fog Bar & Cafe

Heading out into the mix of rain and snow, we make the short walk to Main Street. The restaurant is warm, airy, and funky. The movie Shall We Dance is projected on the wall, and Bob Marley plays in the background. We pull up to the bar and enjoy some local beer and cider, along with a half-dozen oysters and duck wings that are out of this world.

6:30 p.m. @ Rock Harbor Pub and Brewery

This brewery opened in 2011 and has a great selection of its own beers on tap. Jessica, behind the bar, tells us the bar hosts fun theme nights, like trivia on Mondays and open mic on Tuesdays.

7:30 p.m. @ 3Crow

Our innkeepers were kind enough to make a reservation for us at this Southern-influenced restaurant from chef and owner Josh Hixson. We meet our bartender, Dan, who just moved here from the Boston area after his girlfriend landed a job with Pen Bay Healthcare. We order a variety of dishes to share—all impressive, but my favorite is the corndog made with Andouille sausage.

Saturday

8:00 a.m. @ Berry Manor Inn

Downstairs we grab a piece of homemade lemon-poppy seed cake and get ideas for the day from Cheryl Michaelsen, one of the inn’s owners.  As we head out, Rob notices that Cheryl’s husband, Mike LaPosta, has cleared all the snow and ice off of guests’ cars, including ours—a much-appreciated gesture.

9:30 a.m. @ The Highlands Coffee House

We meet our next-door neighbors from Portland, Chris and Janey, who split their time between the city and Thomaston, at this bank- turned-coffee-shop, which has live jazz every Sunday. Huge lattes hit the spot as we catch up with our friends and get a glimpse into their midcoast lives.

10:45 a.m. @ Port Clyde General Store

At the land’s end of a windy peninsula with spectacular ocean views sits this store. It’s the kind of place where you can buy anything from rope for your boat to a glass bottle of Coca-Cola Classic. The store also serves breakfast and lunch all day—a good thing, because we’re hungry. We sit at the counter and our server, Chris, makes us blueberry pancakes and a Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll.

11:45 a.m.@ Marshall Point Lighthouse

We take in the breathtaking view of this small lighthouse, which sits out on the icy blue sea, and remember Forrest Gump running by this very spot.

12:30 p.m. @ Maine State Prison Showroom

I’m fascinated by this showroom and store, which contains beautiful, intricate wood products all handcrafted by inmates working in the state prison wood shop. The products are the result of a program that enables inmates to develop the marketable skills, work ethic, and responsibility necessary for re-entry into the work force.

1:00 p.m. @ Rockland galleries

Rob and I planned on visiting the Farnsworth Art Museum, but with the snow and wind, it is closed for the afternoon. Lucky for us, there is no shortage of interesting artwork in Rockland. We stop in at Jonathan Frost Gallery where we chat with the owner and have a look around the space. Next we head into Dowling Walsh Gallery and view striking works by artists like Tadashi Moriyama, Tollef Runquist, Cig Harvey, and a display of gold leaf photographs by Joyce Tenneson that I fall in love with. Finally we hit up the multi-level Harbor Square Gallery, a former bank space, and check out pieces by William Crosby, Imero Gobbato, and James R. Pyne.

2:05 p.m. @ Archipelago Island Institute Store

We’re drawn in by the merchandise, but stay a while learning that a large portion of the proceeds from the store go into programs that facilitate the mission of the Island Institute, which sustains Maine’s beautiful islands and remote coastal communities.

2:35 p.m. Shopping on Main Street

We pop into Motifs, admire the home- decor items, and buy a fun painting of two pigs. At Fiore, we taste flavors of olive oils and vinegars, buy a few gifts, and grab a mushroom and sage olive oil for ourselves. Next I stop into Distinctive Tile and Design, where I check out a beautiful white tile with different fish stencils, while Rob visits the Loyal Biscuit Co. and picks out a new collar for our dog, Goose.

3:30p.m. @ Time Out Pub

Needing a place to rest our feet, warm up, and have a bite, Time Out is a perfect choice. We grab a beer and two steaming cups of chowder, which hit the spot. There’s a pool tournament in full swing and we can tell this place has a great local following. Owners Kathy and JB offer to show us the upstairs, where a DJ will be spinning tunes later that night.

4:50 p.m. @ Berry Manor Inn

Time for a nap in front of the fire. It’s just what we need before freshening up for the evening.

6:30 p.m. @ In Good Company
The wind is still howling, but it’s warm and cozy in the small but open wine bar and restaurant. We enjoy a few drinks and the Peppadew peppers stuffed with goat cheese, a recommendation from our server, Cathy, and they are delicious. We chat with her about what it’s like to live here in Rockland and she uses the word “serene.”

7:30 p.m. @ Suzuki’s Sushi Bar
Rob and I never miss an opportunity to try a new sushi place, especially one that has a reputation like Suzuki’s. We enjoy miso soup with black trumpet mushrooms, and a beautiful selection of maki, sushi, and sashimi.

9:00p.m. @ Rock Harbor Brewery

Back at the brewery, which is conveniently across the street, we round out the night with a few beers and some live music. Before we leave I look around and notice groups of friends smiling, laughing, and singing along to familiar songs.

10:14p.m. @ Berry Manor Inn

Innkeeper Mike is finishing cleaning up when we get in and encourages us to grab
a slice of cherry pie before bed. Who are we to say no? (It was well worth it.)

Sunday 8:l0a.m. @ Berry Manor Inn

We take advantage of the inn’s
full breakfast and are entertained by Mike’s charming antics. Rob and I agree that he’s a character— it would be hard to wake up in a bad mood here.

10:00a.m. on Clark Island

After a bit of indulging the past few days, we spend the morning outdoors. Clark Island is a secluded, private island that is inhabited by just one person who doesn’t mind visitors on foot, as long as you leave your car on the mainland. We walk across the causeway, snowshoe into a field, find a path, and meander along the cliffs with the ocean on our side. We are the only ones here. The temperature is cold, but our bodies warm up as we trek through the deep snow. We remark on how lucky we are to have been able to experience this weekend, meet so many wonderful people, and get to know a great part of our state. I look over to Rob and consider the morning a gift. I breathe in the fresh, beautiful air, ready to begin a new week ahead.

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