It is hard to imagine traveling in mid-coast Maine and not being forced to go through the exquisite bottleneck that is Wiscasset.
Wiscasset is known for unbelievable back-ups in the summer, especially on weekends. I have been stuck countless times in such traffic, which could be especially bad if one had just come through the Bath/BIW shift change.
Because all of that mid-coast traffic flows right through the center of the village, there has been, for many decades, talk of building a bypass. Finally after so much time, money and effort, (and nesting eagles) the committees have once and for all given up.
But this notoriety should not overshadow its true uniqueness. The town bills itself as "The Prettiest Village in Maine" and it is hard to argue that.
Earle Shettleworth, when he was the Director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission (he is now State Historian), cites Wiscasset as one of three architecturally significant villages in the state, along with the towns of Paris Hill and Castine.
Samuel Chamberlain, in his book
Towns of New England, chose Wiscasset to represent the State of Maine. He noted that millions were spent restoring Williamsburg, while Wiscasset remains essentially intact.
Great prosperity had come to Wiscasset as a result of shipbuilding/shipping in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which is why one sees the construction of what are arguably Wiscasset’s two finest houses, Nickels-Sortwell House and Castle Tucker, in 1807. (Both are now owned by
Historic New England).
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| The Nickels-Sortwell House was the summer house of an old and dear friend’s grandmother. Our friend (whom my husband and I both knew before we knew each other) would come up from Boston each year to spend the summer with her (she was a Sortwell), and moving as an adult to Wiscasset year round. |
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| Pumpkin House, also built in 1807, was another family house of his. |
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"It was said that at one time one could walk across the Sheepscot River, from ship to ship, it was such a busy harbor," according the nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places from 1973 which also states the condition of the historic structures in Wiscasset was surprisingly good.
(I have long said that if Wiscasset had more money thrown at it, it would be ruined. The lack of conspicuous spending is conspicuous. As one Mainer told me referring to other Mainers. “They never painted their houses all at once. Each year they paint a different side.”)
“Today, its abundance of classical architecture is evidenced by the inclusion of 10 structures in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) of 1936 and the subsequent inclusion of five buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. In 1973, a large part of the Village/Historic District became a part of the National Register.” (Source: Wiscasset.org)
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| Moses Carlton House (1804) |
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| Wiscasset Public Library - 1805 |
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| 1880 |
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| Castle Tucker |
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| 1832 |
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| Old Custom House 1869/70 |
I have spent many summers living in Wiscasset. I also lived here for a bit off season, right in the heart of the village, when I was in my twenties.
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| I have always maintained that the official vehicles of mid-coast are Subaru wagons, Volvo wagons, and of course pick-up trucks. |
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| Treats |
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| Back in the 70s the bus station occupied prime real estate. |
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| I stop at Red's, home of Maine's best lobster roll, when the line isn't too long. |
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| I have tagged along on many informal Bowdoin fraternity (Class of various 50s) mini-reunions at Le Garage which overlooks the Sheepscot River. |
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| Yacht Club - Wiscasset Style |
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| The Sheepscot River |
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| The Bridge from Edgecomb. |
When I was much younger we all became quite accustomed to seeing the two schooners, the Hesper and the Luther Little, abandoned next to the bridge (from Edgecomb). They ever so slowly decayed before our eyes. Finally in 1998 the town of Wiscasset removed the remains. Still, it was sad to have them gone.
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| The Hesper and The Luther Little (We got this print at Granite Hall.) |
My appreciation for the
downtown of Wiscasset is very - for lack of a better word - "traditional European". There are many classic structures and a casual relationship with natural beauty that is worth preserving. However, ultimately, my respect for Wiscasset as a whole is as much Oberholz as Louvre. Within the town borders are hotbeds and incubators of innovation, typically around cutting edge technologies and processes for sustainable living, that necessarily define what is best about this wonderful piece of Maine.
