Maine Off the Beaten Path® by Taryn Plumb

Author:Taryn Plumb
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781493037582
Publisher: Globe Pequot Press

Simply put, there is no place quite like Midcoast Maine.

Lincoln County

Lincoln County extends along the coast from Wiscasset to Waldoboro and inland to farm country around Somersville. There are two major peninsulas here: Boothbay Peninsula and Pemaquid Peninsula, both of which are blessed with at least two roads running down and back, allowing a loop tour. The fabled rugged Maine coast may be found in spots (notably at Pemaquid Point), but for the most part it’s a gentle and wooded coastline, ideal for unhurried back-road exploration.

Wiscasset Region

If you’re arriving in the region via US 1, one of the first towns you’ll come to is Wiscasset, located on the western banks of the Sheepscot River. This now relatively small, quiet town was once a shipmaking hub—for a time the busiest one north of Boston (but that era abruptly ended with the embargo of 1807, when American ships were prohibited from trading in all foreign ports as the result of ongoing wars between Britain and France).

The rise and fall of this industry is evident in the story of Castle Tucker. Located just a few blocks off US 1, at the end of Wiscasset’s High Street, visitors will no doubt be struck by this architecturally eccentric (and fittingly named) brick home overlooking the river and surrounded by more modest and contemporary structures. Particularly striking are two-story semi-circular protrusions that were added to either side of the original structure, as well as a piazza with floor-to-ceiling windows.

It was first built in 1807 by Judge Silas Lee, then widely modified around 1860 by Captain Richard H. Tucker, a sea captain who made his fortune in the cotton trade. Tucker added the grand three-floor piazza overlooking the river to the front of the Federal-era house, significantly altering the home’s original character. Among other alterations inside, he converted a dining hall into a billiards room.

The mansion was owned by Tucker’s descendants until 1997, when Jane Tucker donated it to Historic New England. She remained in the home until 2003, helping the nonprofit to catalog its thousands of objects spanning three generations. Parts of the house are now under restoration, but enthusiastic tour guides provide an intriguing look at the Tuckers, from the prosperous sea captain to his ancestors who had to resort to renting out its rooms as a boarding house. There’s a grand piano, an elaborately-carved billiard table and a beautiful Empire Crawford cast iron stove, as well as many portraits, medallion-backed Victorian furniture and numerous curios, ranging from a delicate egg collection to antique utensils. Architectural flourishes include an impressive freestanding elliptical staircase, a parquet floor, and plaster trim painstakingly painted to look like oak.

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