In My Footsteps
Christopher Setterlund
Trip 85: Thomaston, Maine
October 2, 2010
The tiny old seaport of Thomaston amazed me with its quaint, peaceful feeling. However it was the ‘Museum in the Streets,’ an absolutely brilliant idea, that made this trip stand out for me. The ‘Museum’ consists of thirty panels strategically located in front of, or across the street from, important and historical sites in the town. These panels made the entire town appear to me to be more of a scavenger hunt; it was such a fun experience.
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| Replica of Gen. Knox's Montpelier. |
Located in the area around the St. George River, the land on which Thomaston stands was originally a trading post established in 1630. The most famous name associated with Thomaston is that of General Henry Knox. Knox was a Revolutionary War hero who played a pivotal role in the ‘Siege of Boston
’ in 1775-76 by bringing captured cannons to Boston from Fort Ticonderoga
along the shore of Lake Champlain. He brought them by sled a distance of over 200 miles.
’ in 1775-76 by bringing captured cannons to Boston from Fort Ticonderoga along the shore of Lake Champlain. He brought them by sled a distance of over 200 miles. Knox became a close friend of George Washington when he was a General and Washington made him the United States’ first Secretary of War once he was named the first President. There are two separate forts named for him, one near Louisville, Kentucky and another located in Prospect, Maine.
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| The only remaining building from the original Montpelier estate. |
Knox retired to Thomaston in 1795 to his estate called Montpelier. That original mansion was torn down in 1871 after it had decayed and Knox’s oldest grandson had no desire to repair it. The only building remaining from the original Montpelier estate is a small brick building which was used as the train station for the Knox and Lincoln Railroad. That building currently houses the Thomaston Historical Society.
The current Montpelier Museum is a reconstruction located on a hill at the corner of Rt. 1 and Rt. 131. It is a magnificent building at an equally magnificent location. There is a parking area off to the right of the white building; I parked in front of it where there is a small turnoff. The building looked to me a lot like the White House
with the golden eagle above the front door. It had that sort of regal air to it the way it stands above everything else around it.
with the golden eagle above the front door. It had that sort of regal air to it the way it stands above everything else around it. |
| Watts Hall |
The only surviving building from the original Montpelier is one of the stops on the ‘Museum in the Streets.’ In actuality this building, despite being an original piece of history, is not as eye-catching as the replica of Montpelier. If I had not been specifically looking for it I would not have known that the small brick building, built in 1795, had any sort of significance but for the oval sign on the façade which alerts you to the fact that this is more than just a run of the mill train station.
The ‘Museum in the Streets’ plaques are scattered all over the little town of Thomaston but the main cluster of them can be found along Main Street and Knox Street. One historic site I checked out was Watts Hall on Main Street. The building was erected and donated to the people of Thomaston by Captain Samuel Watts in 1890. The interesting part of the story is the fact that in 1915 there was a tremendous fire in the stable located behind the building which caused the entire block to burn to the ground. The current Watts Hall was rebuilt by Watts’ daughter Mary Jane in memory of her father. The building is used for town meetings and the large auditorium on the second floor is used by several theater groups.
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| St. Baptist Episcopal on left, Thomaston Baptist on right. |
Another spot on Main Street with an interesting story is the location of two churches. The Thomaston Baptist Church and the St. John Baptist Episcopal Church have been good neighbors ever since they were first built in 1816. The two institutions have come to symbolize the love and respect between all religions in the small town. In fact when the Baptist church’s steeple burned down in the 1990’s the money to rebuild it was raised by all of the other religious groups in town. This lesson of love and respect between religions was not lost on me during this time in the world.
The ‘Museum in the Streets’ comes to an end along the banks of the St. George River where there are four plaques arranged around a large wooden cross on a green. The cross was erected in commemoration of Captain George Waymouth’s landing there on June 12, 1605. One of the plaques I found most intriguing was the one which featured information about an old wooden toll bridge which once spanned the river to the west. There is a normal paved bridge there now but the story is that north of where that bridge stands was an original Indian trading post established by the Pilgrims 
of Plymouth Colony in 1623.
of Plymouth Colony in 1623. |
| Cross commemorating George Waymouth's landing. |
Thomaston was also known as the town which built more ocean-going vessels than any other town in the entire country. That fact surprised me when taking a drive around this little town. It is amazing how much history, such as the building of all of those ships, happened in such a small place.
There are a total of thirty plaques making up the ‘Museum in the Streets,’ many of those facing the place described on the plaque. It is a fun way to learn about the history of a great little town, I never imagined during my trip to Maine that I’d been taking part in a sort of scavenger hunt, it was a lot of fun. I highly recommend any visitor to the area take in the replica of General Knox’s Montpelier estate, breathe the salty air of the St. George River, and take some time to find all thirty of the plaques of the ‘Museum in the Streets.’ Have fun and happy traveling!
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Directions: Montpelier Museum: Take Rt. 1 into Thomaston, turn onto Rt. 131/High St. Museum is on the left, parking is on left just beyond it.
St. George River: Take Rt. 1 into Thomaston, turn right at Knox Street which is next right after Watts Hall. Follow it to the end. There is a parking area which is where the final plaques and wooden cross are located.
Watts Hall: Take Rt. 1 into Thomaston. Watts Hall is 110 Main Street/Rt. 1. This is where a cluster of Museum plaques are located as well.
References: Wataview Cottage - Owl's Head, Maine
This house has an amazing view of Rockland Harbor and the Breakwater Lighthouse. What a thrill it was for me to be able to sit out on the enclosed porch after dark and simply enjoy the sight of the lighthouse lantern as it spun rhythmically across the water and into the windows. It is available for rent up until the beginning of October and the website is included at the end of the article.
and was called Bedabedec Point by the Abenaki tribe of Native Americans. The name means ‘Cape of the Winds.’ The town got its name from mariners who thought the shape of the rock ridge where Owl’s Head Light currently stands looked like an owl. Though it has over 400 years of history the town was not incorporated until 1921.
Ridge Channel Islands which sit about a mile off shore. This area ended up being the best possible starting point for my time in Maine and it only got better from here.
in 1885. It looks incredibly out of place even among vehicles from thirty years later but there are many features to it which are still used in cars today. I found the vehicles from the 19th and very early 20th century to be the most interesting mostly because of the history and how these awkward looking vehicles actually changed the world.
. Stark was a Revolutionary War hero and was known as the ‘Hero of Bennington’ for his service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777. Stark was born is what is today known as Derry, New Hampshire and moved at age eight to modern-day Manchester. His grave, as well as that of three generations of Starks, is located in the back of the park surrounded by an iron fence. These graves show you that General Stark was a real person and not just some name engraved on a statue.
Bridge. I enjoyed Elm Street because while it was in many ways the typical city street with high rise buildings and hotels it was pretty much the only street that looked that way to me. Much like I mentioned about Newport, New Hampshire and a few other towns I have seen there were many brick buildings with names located up near the roof level.
ad on the side of a building.
, Paul Newman, Al Gore, and Guy Fieri. The seats where famous people have eaten are marked by small red plaques which make each visit special in its own right. 
is as of today the only President born in New Hampshire. Pierce was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He also fought as a brigadier general in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848. He was seen as very personable and therefore made a great deal of friends, however his record as president was less than stellar and is widely forgotten.
Pond Lane. The term ‘manse’ means ‘a house lived it by its owner,’ it was bestowed upon the house in 1969 as a nod to Pierce’s longtime friend, author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne’s Salem, Massachusetts home was known as ‘The Old Manse.’
from 1931-42. After finding this information out I had to stop and really take in the beauty of the field, imagining what it was like when the ‘after supper’ games first began over a hundred years ago. 
Planetarium. This was a spot I really wanted to see because of the connection the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion has to my childhood. I remembered learning about the citizen astronauts, especially Mrs. McAuliffe who was a teacher, when I was in second grade in 1986. We watched the launch live and saw the unbelievable tragedy as it unfolded.
, is the very definition of a mountain town. The drive to get there, going through the very well known Sunapee area of New Hampshire, is worthy of an article all its own. I found it very interesting that despite it being for a totally different reason Newport, New Hampshire was just as beautiful as Newport, Rhode Island. Where Newport, Rhode Island is beautiful thanks to its mansions and scenic coastline Newport, New Hampshire is beautiful thanks to its covered bridges and scenic mountains.
these magnificent old relics of a forgotten time were very hard to find. Luckily two of the bridges were located on the same road, Chandler’s Mill Road. 
and that was in Vermont so standing inside this wooden masterpiece with only the sound of the birds and the soft trickling of the water below was something wonderful. I truly felt like I was alone in the world during the time I was underneath the shelter of Pier Bridge. The sunlight trickled in from all sides through the small spaces between boards. It was something that words won’t do justice to, a photo will do much better.
on this day. Sometimes that is how I feel as well.
in central New Hampshire was getting into full gear. The red, orange, and yellow leaves seemed to be springing up as I watched. This added bonus made each and every photo I took even better.
which were a constant reminder of just how far from home I was. To make this scene complete were a pair of 
trees in full bloom by the road. I enjoyed their shade for a moment before continuing on my way.
. Though it was a bit too cool to swim I still enjoyed the tremendous scenery that seemingly exists everywhere in New London. This beach became a popular tourist destination in the late 19th Century and many of those vacationers eventually built summer homes along its shore. There was even a small golf course built in the area way back then but it no longer exists. I was also intrigued by a home built on a concrete breakwater sticking out close to a hundred feet into the water. Not knowing if it was inhabited or not I enjoyed it from afar and went about my business. 
