Brunswick Region

Freeport Historical Society, Freeport

Freeport Historical Society is located in the historic Harrington House built in 1830, one block south of L.L. Bean in Freeport. Its collections include a sculpture of Admiral Donald MacMillan, who lived in Freeport for many years, as well as photographs and correspondence relating to him. He had family and friends in town, and so visited and lectured often. Freeport Historical Society houses a logbook from MacMillan’s explorations on the schooner Bowdoin in 1938. There are also photographs, ephemera, and a bone-tipped Inuit paddle brought back by MacMillan’s engineer John Jaynes in the collection.

freeport-historical-society-macmillan — Donald MacMillan

Address: Freeport Historical Society, Harrington House, 45 Main Street, Freeport, Maine 04032

Website: http://freeporthistoricalsociety.org/

Photo courtesy to Freeport Historical Society.

Peary’s Eagle Island, Casco Bay

This Maine State Park and National Historic Landmark was the summer home of Arctic explorer Robert E. Peary and his family. The original house and caretaker’s cottage were built in 1904 and expanded in 1911. It was at Eagle Island in 1909 that Robert Peary’s wife Josephine received a telegram bringing her the news that Peary had reached the North Pole. The explorer spent much time on the island in the years after his North Pole achievement and before his death in 1920, writing and investigating the new possibilities presented by air travel. In 1967 Peary’s children gave Eagle Island to the state of Maine. Today, Eagle Island is managed by a full-time park ranger assisted by volunteers from The Friends of Peary’s Eagle Island. Eagle Island and the Peary home are open seasonally from June 15 to Labor Day, although nature trails are closed until July 15 to protect nesting birds. Access is by boat only. Moorings are available for visiting private boats or visitors can take a scheduled tour from Portland, Freeport, or Harpswell.

Eagle Island on Google Earth. Accessible by boat only, 3 miles off the coast of Harpswell – see website for directions.

Website: http://www.pearyeagleisland.org

Image courtesy of Xin Jiang’20 and Friends of Peary’s Eagle Island.

Maine Maritime Museum, Bath

The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath offers many opportunities to explore the state’s rich maritime heritage and culture. The museum preserves the site of one of Maine’s last commercial wooden shipyards. It presents permanent, interactive exhibits and demonstrations, daily lighthouse cruises and trolley tours in season, and play areas for younger visitors. The museum’s Arctic collections and archives (not always on exhibit) include scrimshaw (whale tooth and walrus ivory carvings) items made by whalers, historic ships’ logs, and photographs.

Address: 243 Washington St., Bath ME 04530

Website: http://www.mainemaritimemuseum.org

Image courtesy of the Maine Maritime Museum, Bath.

Bowdoin College, Brunswick

A stuffed and mounted adult polar bear gifted and captured by MacMillan in Northern Greenland in 1916

Among Bowdoin’s many distinctions is the fact that College faculty have been leading expeditions to the Arctic since 1860. Even Bowdoin’s mascot (on view at the entrance to the Morrell Gym) is a polar bear, in honor of these Arctic connections. The school’s notable alumni include Robert E. Peary (class of 1877), leader of the first successful North Pole expedition, and Donald B. MacMillan (class of 1898) who joined Peary’s expedition in 1908-1909 and went on to lead 26 Arctic expeditions. Faculty, staff, and students continue to work in the Polar regions, investigating environmental, cultural, and historical problems. Visitors can take an Arctic-themed walking tour of campus – maps are available in the Arctic Museum. Bowdoin College is a private liberal arts college; campus visitors are welcome.

bowdoin-college

Address: 255 Maine St, Brunswick, ME 04011

Website: http://www.bowdoin.edu

Bowdoin College Hubbard Hall and Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum — Bowdoin College Hubbard Hall and the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum

Polar bear statue by Smith Union — Polar bear statue by David Saul Smith Union

Image courtesy of Bowdoin College, Brunswick.

White Cedar Inn, Freeport

This Victorian-era New England house was once the home of Arctic explorer Donald B. MacMillan. The house is thought to be one of the original homes built by E.B. Mallet to house workers employed in his many industrial operations. Subsequently, pharmacist Winthrop Fogg purchased the house. He married Letitia MacMillan, one of Donald MacMillan’s sisters, and after their mother’s death young Donald went to Freeport to live with Letitia and Winthrop. MacMillan attended Freeport High School and became a familiar figure around town. Years later local residents often encountered MacMillan, back from one of his expeditions, and he would give them impromptu lectures about the Arctic. Many of the rooms in the inn are named in reference to MacMillan, his relatives, and his famed schooner Bowdoin.

Address: 178 Maine St. Freeport, ME 04032

Website: http://www.whitecedarinn.com

Image courtesy to White Cedar Inn, Freeport.

Brunswick Region

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