City: Pemaquid, ME

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (207) 677-2423

Description: One of Maine’s oldest settlements was here at the end of the Pemaquid Peninsula, where the English arrived in the 1620s. Over the years a village took shape that once included many houses and 1692 Fort William Henry. The remains of this compound are being excavated by archaeologists today in one of the longest-running digs in the state, and visitors are welcome and typically fascinated. Several cellar holes scattered about show exactly how the compound was laid out, and they’ve yielded a lot of finds to archaeologists. Little interpretive pedestals sit next to them, and they tell the story of the village, which grew when a pair or merchants from Bristol, England, acquired patent rights to the area and began recruiting settlers. It’s estimated that by 1665 there were 30 homes by the water here, but this was on the outskirts of British territory then, and Pemaquid residents were beset with raids by the French and Indians—hence Fort William Henry. Though it was a big and impressive bastion for those days, with walls close to 40 feet high, 20 cannons, and 60 soldiers, the fort was overrun by the French and Indians only four years after it went up, and the Brits decided not to rebuild. (The current fort is a replica of a section of the original.) Visitors today can learn about all this early history by stepping into the museum and visitor center and perusing the more than 75,000 artifacts that have been unearthed here. From tools, hardware, and pipe fragments to fine china and ceramics from across Europe, these items—and the other displays nearby—paint a compelling picture of life in the early days of Maine settlement. There are so many various elements here—the fort, sea vistas, the museum, the excavations—that everyone finds something of interest. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Memorial Day through August.