Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Coastal Maine

Overview | Hot Spots | Festivals and Events | Suggested Itineraries | Coastal Maine Advertisers

Maine's earliest known inhabitants, from around 3,000 BC, were the "Red Paint" people, named for the graves of red clay in which they buried their dead. They were followed by a progression of Native Americans who fished and feasted along the state's rivers and shores. History has it that European cod fishermen were next on the scene by the early 1600s, but many wonder whether Leif Erikson and a band of Viking explorers beat them to it. Ancient Norse records reveal accounts of a land like Maine, and in 1956, archeologists working at a dig site south of Mount Desert Island discovered a Norse coin from around 1066. Was it carried here by traders? Or dropped by early explorers? No one knows.

What is known is that in 1607, English settlers were the first to plant a colony on the craggy coast of Maine, choosing the mid-coast peninsula of Popham in Phippsburg to build. Unfortunately, the brave boys in Maine barely survived the winter before sailing for home. In 1641 residents in southern Maine fared better when they chartered York, America's first city.

Maine is a seafaring state. The first ship built in America was constructed by Popham colonists. The port of Wiscasset, on the Sheepscot River, was shipping more tonnage across the Atlantic than any port north of Boston. And, at one point, more ships were built on the Kennebec River in Bath than any river in the world.

Maine's rich history is rivalled only by its remarkable size. The largest state in New England, Maine contains 17 million acres of forestland, 6,000 lakes and ponds, 32,000 miles of rivers and streams, 2,000 islands, half-a-million acres of national and state parks and just 1.2 million people. Whether it's history and art, shopping and leisure or hiking and sailing, Maine offers it all.