Bucksport Region

The Penobscot Marine Museum is Maine’s oldest maritime museum encompassing thirteen historic and modern buildings. The museum is designated to celebrate and preserve the rich maritime history of Searsport. During the 1800’s, over 200 ships were built in eleven shipyards in Searsport and the town produced over 500 captains. Penobscot Marine Museum houses many photographs, prints and other objects that tell stories about whaling and exploring in the Arctic. Check if they are on exhibit during your visit.

Website: https://penobscotmarinemuseum.org/

Address: 2 Church St, Searsport, ME 04974

Photo courtesy of Penobscot Marine Museum.

During the nineteenth century people from Maine’s Cranberry Isles traveled the world, and some made a living whaling and sealing in the far north. After a trip to Labrador, Cranberry Isle resident Samuel Hadlock (1792-1829) returned home with a group of four Inuit, dogs, and a variety of artifacts. Hadlock became a showman and took the Inuit on tour throughout New England and Europe in the 1820s. Tragically, none of the Inuit survived the experience. In 1828 Hadlock sailed to Greenland in the Minerva, a two-masted schooner that was locally built. This trip also met with disaster when everyone on board was lost along with the schooner. Visit the Great Cranberry Isle Historical Society, and its smaller counterpart, the Islesford Historical Museum, on Little Cranberry (Islesford) to get a sense of the lives of island families. You can get there by ferry or boat from Northeast Harbor or Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island.

Address: Cranberry Road, Geat Cranberry Island, ME. Access by ferry from Northeast Harbor or Southwest Harbor.

Website: http://gcihs.org

Photo courtesy of Great Cranberry Isle Historical Society.

Located in the former train station on Main Street, the Historical Society displays and collects objects related to the town’s history and citizens. The collection includes items donated by the family of George Wardwell, a Bucksport man who served as chief engineer on the SS Roosevelt in 1905-06 and 1908-09, and some from the Peary family in remembrance of Robert E. Peary’s time in Bucksport overseeing the construction of the Roosevelt. The Bucksport Waterfront Walkway, which runs along the Penobscot River, is nearby and provides views of Verona Island, Fort Knox, and plaques commemorating the region’s role in Arctic exploration.

Address: 92 Main St, Bucksport, ME 04416

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Bucksport-Historical-Society-160640010621539/

Photo courtesy of English Wikipedia.  CC SA 1.0

Built in 1887, the Buck Memorial Library houses over 26,000 books, periodicals, and genealogical materials. Located near the site where Peary’s ship S.S. Roosevelt was constructed, the library features a scale model of the vessel a showcasing the proud Bucksport-Arctic connection.

Address: 47 Main St, Bucksport, ME 04416

Website: http://www.buckmemoriallibrary.50megs.com

Image courtesy of Buck Memorial Library, Bucksport.