1. York Harvestfest
City: York Village, ME
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (207) 363-4422
Address: 1 Stonewall Lane
Description: When York claims its celebration is old-fashioned, people should listen, this being one of the oldest towns in the nation. The community’s annual Harvestfest is built around all sorts of traditional foods and entertainments—a Native American powwow, craft demonstrations, puppet shows, antique car displays, tours of historic sites, all complemented by an ox roast, chowders, cider, apple crisp, and good old Maine baked beans. Events get under way on the Village Green—just across from Olde York Village (see, it’s so old they have to put an e on the end) and move to Ellis Park on Short Sands beach for the Hannah Jackson 5K race.
2. Steedman Woods
City: York Village, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: Old Mill Rd.
Description: Reached by the famous Wiggly Bridge, a suspension span that is indeed wiggly, this 16-acre preserve is owned by the excellent Old York Historical Society, and it’s a beauty. Spread across a peninsula between the saltwater Barrells Mill Pond on one side and the York River on the other, the preserve was given to the town’s historians by the man it’s named after, Charles Richard Steedman, with the proviso that it be kept “forever wild.” (He borrowed a page from beloved Maine governor Percival Baxter.) A little plaque on site explains that the area was “the focal point of much of York’s history for the first 300 years,” and you can understand why early settlers were drawn to the spot. It’s very beautiful, and a few trails run around its circumference, allowing for some fine water views and connecting with paths into York Harbor and York Village. You could walk the whole peninsula in a half hour or so, but it’s also a nice place to sit and read a book or take a picnic.
3. Gravestone Artwear
City: York Village, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (800) 564-4310
Address: 250 York St., Lower Level
Description: Gravestone rubbing is an age-old New England tradition, and Cassandra and Paulette Chernack have taken rubbing to the next level by screen-printing old burial-ground art onto note cards, stamps, soaps, window decals, coffin boxes, and a whole line of clothing. The mother-and-daughter team have combed the cemeteries of New England in search of cool designs, and they have found them aplenty. They’ve taken these artistic engravings and transferred them to velvet scoop-neck tops, dresses, cloaks, pouches, and scarves, but it’s their T-shirts that are the most fun, with artful displays both somber and humorous (“Time Cuts Down All, Both Great and Small” and “Happy Valley Cemetery Pit Crew,” for example). They have shirts inspired by Shakespeare, H. P. Lovecraft, and Ichabod Crane of Sleepy Hollow fame, and many have cool border designs on them. Most are available only in black. Ingenious stuff, and very good-looking to boot.
4. Old York Historical Society
City: York Village, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (207) 363-4974
Address: 207 York St.
Description: It seems fitting that one of the state’s most historic communities should have one of the best historical societies. A very active bunch, the Old Yorkers keep seven venerable properties hopping throughout the summer. They provide guided tours—in costume—and living history demonstrations, and they set up self-guided walks of their antique buildings. Mixed right into downtown York Village, these buildings include the society’s headquarters at Jefferds Tavern, a watering hole on the route between Portland and Portsmouth that dates back to 1750. (It’s painted an unfortunate brown color.) Then there’s the Old Gaol, which, built in 1719, is considered one of the oldest British public buildings in the country. Better than that, it’s a fascinating look at the treatment of prisoners in the colonial area—you wouldn’t have wanted to be one. It’s a favorite among visitors, as is the Old Schoolhouse, a one-room school from 1754. Other stops to check out are the John Hancock Warehouse, where you can see displays depicting York’s maritime heritage, and the Wilcox House, a 1742 picket-fenced beauty with more displays of York history inside. These buildings are open every day but Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from June through Columbus Day. Also plan to hit the Museum Store, which has the same hours. Children 6 and under free.