5 Best Sights in The Mid-Coast Region, Maine

No trip to Bath is complete without visiting the cluster of preserved 19th- and early 20th-century buildings that were once part of the historic Percy & Small Shipyard. Plan to spend at least half a day exploring them and the adjacent modern museum. Indeed, there's so much to see that admission tickets are good for two days.

During hour-long shipyard tours, you'll learn how massive wooden ships were built, and you might see shipwrights and blacksmiths at work. One of the vintage buildings houses a fascinating, 6,000-square-foot lobstering exhibit. In the main building ship models, paintings, photographs, and artifacts showcase maritime history. The grounds also contain a gift shop and bookstore; a seasonal café; and a huge, modern sculpture representing the 450-foot-long, six-masted schooner Wyoming, built right here and one of the longest wooden vessels ever launched. 

From late May through late October, daily nature and lighthouse cruises, ranging from 30 minutes to three hours, are offered aboard the motor vessel Merrymeeting, which travels along the scenic Kennebec River. The museum also has guided tours of Bath Iron Works (June–mid-October). 

Think Maine is cold in the winter? Try the Arctic, where two of Bowdoin’s most famous alumni, Admiral Robert E. Peary (class of 1877) and explorer Donald B. MacMillan (class of 1898), spent considerable time. As a result, the college has both an Arctic Studies program and this museum, which is in the imposing Neo-Gothic Hubbard Hall.

Although controversy rages regarding whether it was Frederick Cook (in 1908) or Peary (in 1909) who first made it to the North Pole (or whether either man ever made it there at all), the museum has some of the principal artifacts from Peary's expedition, including his notebook page that reads “The pole at last!!!” and the American flag that he unfurled on reaching it. Among the many interesting things you'll learn is that Peary’s assistant, an African American named Matthew Henson, was the only other man with him when he reached the pole—and Henson was actually in the lead.

MacMillan, who made more than 30 trips to the Arctic over the course of almost 50 years, extensively documented both the region and its peoples. He also named one of his expedition schooners after the college. (The Bowdoin is now the flagship training vessel of the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine). The museum's collection includes many of his photographs and films, as well as memorabilia, artifacts, and historical and contemporary Inuit, Yup’ik, and Iñupiat art. Changing exhibitions have showcased everything from changing Arctic climate conditions to Inuit music to traditional kayak construction.

Pick up a village walking map and delve into Freeport's rich past through the exhibits at the Freeport Historical Society, located in Harrington House, a hybrid Federal- and Greek Revival-style home built in the 1830s. It's a good idea to call ahead to make sure it's open. The historical society also offers walking tours a few times a month in the summer.

A true Revolutionary War hero, General Henry Knox was responsible for bringing key artillery equipment from Fort Ticonderoga to General Washington in Boston to end the siege of 1776. He also commanded troops at Brandywine, Valley Forge, and Yorktown. Following the war, Knox settled in Thomaston (where he is buried) and built a fine mansion called Montpelier beside the St. George River. Unfortunately, his descendants allowed it to fall into severe disrepair, and it was torn down. In 1931, a carefully researched replica was built nearby, and it is this grand white building that sits on a rise at the eastern end of town today. Tour guides tell the story of General Knox while leading you through the elegant interiors.

Three small historical buildings contain artifacts from the town's past, including photographs, models, and mementoes from some of the large schooners that slid down the ways here in the 1800s. The town lays claim to having built the first five-masted schooner, the 265-foot-long Governor Ames, which at the time of construction was the world's largest cargo vessel. You'll also see beautiful examples of antique Waldoboro hooked rugs, prized for their intricate workmanship and sculptural detail. Be sure to step into the one-room schoolhouse dating from 1857 and imagine sitting in one of the old student desks beside the wood stove.