In My Footsteps
Christopher Setterlund
Trip 87: Rockland, Maine
October 2, 2010
The next town over from where I stayed in Owl’s Head, Rockland, Maine is a popular tourist destination and it is easy to see why. Called ‘Catawamteak’ by the local Abenaki Indian tribe which means ‘great landing place’ Rockland is a small town yet it has all of the amenities of a larger town. It was known as Lermond’s Cove and then ‘Shore’ village from when it was settled in 1769 until adopting the name Rockland in 1850.
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| Wyeth Center, as seen from 'inside' a sculpture. |
Rockland originally made its name through shipbuilding and the production of the mineral lime
. However as time passed into the latter half of the 20th century it became popular due to its amazing Main Street with many shops and restaurants. There are also some really nice art galleries. I checked out the Farnsworth Art Museum on Museum Street and enjoyed the outdoor collection on the rear lawn.
. However as time passed into the latter half of the 20th century it became popular due to its amazing Main Street with many shops and restaurants. There are also some really nice art galleries. I checked out the Farnsworth Art Museum on Museum Street and enjoyed the outdoor collection on the rear lawn. The Museum specializes in Maine’s role in American art with pieces ranging from the 18th to the 20th century. There is also a separate building across the street called the Wyeth Center which houses man paintings from the Wyeth 
family of artists who were all realist painters during the 20th century. If you want to see some nice sculptures while still being outside you can walk around the rear lawn and see some nice pieces. I do not know much about art but I was able to appreciate what I saw so it should not deter any visitor from checking them out.
family of artists who were all realist painters during the 20th century. If you want to see some nice sculptures while still being outside you can walk around the rear lawn and see some nice pieces. I do not know much about art but I was able to appreciate what I saw so it should not deter any visitor from checking them out. |
| The original Knox County Courthouse c.1875 |
A spot that might not be for everyone but is something that interested me is the Knox County Courthouse. I enjoyed it because there is a very modern building attached to an older looking building. The older building, the original Knox County Courthouse, was finished in March 1875 by W.H. Glover and Company at a shade under $62,000. The new building is an addition to the Courthouse which was completed in 1979. It is something to see the drastic differences in architectural styles in a hundred years. The original Courthouse building has more of a personality while the new addition is much more to the point with little creativity to it. Much like with art I do not know much about architecture but this striking difference is something that was quite apparent to me.
The fabulous Main Street is one part small-town with many local establishments and shops adorning the one-way street. Then it also has a sort of Broadway vibe due to some nice flashing neon signs for places like the Strand Theater. There was one particular sign on the corner of Main and Elm Street for a restaurant that had the word ‘EAT’ spelled out diagonally twice, a total of five letters which lit up. It ended up being a piece of art created by Robert Indiana
attached to the Farnsworth Museum which I only found out while researching this article. I saw it many times during my trip and it always gave off the Broadway 
vibe as I watched each letter light up one by one. Things like that added to the brilliance of Rockland’s Main Street.
attached to the Farnsworth Museum which I only found out while researching this article. I saw it many times during my trip and it always gave off the Broadway vibe as I watched each letter light up one by one. Things like that added to the brilliance of Rockland’s Main Street. |
| Rockland Breakwater, about halfway out. |
Any trip to Rockland must include the ocean, it is virtually impossible to journey here and not spend at least some time along the shore. For those who might not want to do too much exploring there is the Rockland Harbor Park on Main Street. Here there is a spectacular view of the harbor. On this day there were still many small boats on the water as people held on to their summer fun even into October. There is a nice harbor walk trail leading along the water around the harbor and out to a pier that you can walk out onto the water.
At the entrance to the Harbor Park there is a really nice Fishermen’s Memorial. It has a small anchor atop a large concrete slab with the year ‘1854’ behind it representing the year that Rockland was incorporated as a town. Little things like this memorial reminded me that fisherman still risk their lives each and everyday that they go to work.
The final spot I visited was the highlight of my trip to Rockland. The Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse is a definite must see for any visitor. The only thing that might hold some people back is the fact that the breakwater is just short of a mile in length. For me it was a no-brainer that I would take a walk out to the lighthouse since the beam of light from the lighthouse continuously ran across the walls of the Wataview Cottage where I stayed right across the harbor.
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| Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse |
The walk out to the lighthouse is not that difficult, the breakwater is fairly level. There were many people on the same path; some even brought their dogs with them. Once I made it out to the light station I was excited to find out that I would be allowed to climb up into the lighthouse so I could see Rockland and Owl’s Head from forty-feet high. It was too windy on this day to go outside at the top but the view was still out of this world. I thought that coming from Cape Cod I might have been the furthest traveler at the lighthouse but I was surprised to talk to a couple from Quebec and another from Minnesota!
The breakwater was built between 1881 and 1899 to protect the harbor and the lighthouse was built in 1902. Despite it being a fairly sound location I was able to see old photos where the breakwater has been totally submerged under rising water. I was glad it was a sunny day. When the Coast Guard announced that they were going to tear down the lighthouse there was massive public outcry. First the nearby Samoset Resort took over the responsibility for the lighthouse’s upkeep and then the Rockland City Council took over the same duties. Today the lighthouse is safe from the wrecking ball.
Rockland is a small town but it can also be referred to as a tourist destination, a waterfront town, an artsy community, and for a few thousand people it is home. I highly recommend taking in the Farnsworth Art Museum, walk, shopping, and eating on Main Street. Then you can get some sun and exercise walking out to visit the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. Have fun and happy traveling!
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Directions: Farnsworth Art Museum: Take Rt. 1 into Rockland, turn left at Main Street. Take 4th left onto Museum Street. Museum is on left, parking on right.
Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse: Take Rt. 1 into Rockland, turn left at Main Street, follow it 1.4 miles. Turn right at Waldo Ave., turn right at Samoset Rd., follow it to the end.
References: Wataview Cottage - Owl's Head, ME
. The view is amazing from the parking area as it is a good thirty feet above the beach. I had hoped to be able to catch a view of Curtis Island Lighthouse but unfortunately from Laite Beach it is impossible to see since it resides on the other side of the small island and is obscured by trees. 
by the Boston Opera Company.
Inn, known as Maine’s ‘Castle by the Sea.’ It is named for an alleged wondrous 16th century city which resided on the banks of the Penobscot River. The stories of this city were supposedly told by European explorers after they returned home. The castle itself was built in 1886 for Joseph Sterns who used money he had amassed by inventing a duplex telegraphy system in the 1860’s. The design was the brainchild of famed New York City architect Arthur Bates Jennings. The home became a Bed & Breakfast in 1984.
meant that I was still able to clearly make out homes and buildings in the surrounding area below; this made for a series of amazing photos.
’ in 1775-76 by bringing captured cannons to Boston from 
along the shore of Lake Champlain. He brought them by sled a distance of over 200 miles.
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.
of Plymouth Colony in 1623.
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.